Flight Training - May 2014 - 32

CHECKRIDE

By Bob Schmelzer

STALL ANXIETY

MASTER THE MANEUVER, BANISH THE FEAR

oes the thought of demonstrating stalls during your checkride make you uncomfortable? You are not alone. But it
should never be this way. Designated pilot examiners (DPEs)
easily can recognize when an applicant feels this way. A veil
of tension drops over the cockpit; the applicant's muscles tense; his
breathing rate increases; and his gaze becomes fixed and unfocused
the moment the DPE requests a stall. The most common result is a stall
recovery executed before the stall has even occurred. This leaves the
DPE wondering whether the applicant knows what a stall actually looks
or feels like, or if he would be able to recover from a real one. Remember, the practical test standards specify that the stall recovery shall be
made "after a fully developed stall occurs."
So, why must we practice a lot more
stalls? Because when any pilot still feels
anxiety-or even worse, fear-when doing
stalls, he or she has not yet mastered the
maneuver. Stalls are just another of the
many flight maneuvers that student pilots
must master on the way to becoming safe
private pilots. And, just as with any of the
other maneuvers, students must continue
to practice that maneuver until it is consistent and relatively easy to accomplish.
Just imagine if the performance of a
crosswind landing produced a similar
level of tension or fear. Would that pilot
really be ready for his or her checkride?
No way. Yet, some student pilots continue
to show up for checkrides with appar-

PLUS Reduce stall anxiety by
practicing power-on stall recovery
at 65-percent power. Ian Twombly
demonstrates in this video.

32 /

FLIGHTTRAINING.AOPA.ORG

ently minimal and certainly insufficient
quality practice of the stall maneuvers.
This is a critical oversight that needs to be
corrected.
It's only natural to avoid practicing
something that produces discomfort. But
the fact is that not continuing to practice
stalls until they become routine, easy-and
even fun-can turn a simple stall maneuver into a potentially dangerous weapon.
In short, if stall recovery was not important, it would not even be required for
the checkride. The FAA, recognizing this
dangerous trend in pilots who have never
mastered stalls, has reacted quite understandably and appropriately: Mandate
more stall training and awareness at every
level, including at the airlines.
Each time you practice recovering from
a stall, you become a little more aware
of the subtle changes that occur as the
stall is approached and less surprised by

the airplane's reactions to the stall. This
gradually increasing awareness is a huge
confidence builder that produces nice,
consistently performed, nonthreatening
stall maneuvers, with no surprises. In the
process, the stall becomes less like an evil
spirit hiding in a dark alleyway, and more
like a simple patch of ice on the sidewalk
that is easily recognized and avoided. As
youngsters, we'd frequently slip and fall
on those ice patches. But as we gained
more experience, the falls were more
easily avoided because we saw the ice
patches coming. Stalls are no different.
The problem with stalls is that when they
sneak up on us, the fall can be a lot harder.
If you still have a checkride to complete
before earning your wings, I promise you,
the stalls will become an easy maneuver,
performed without fear or trepidation, if
you continue to practice them. Remember
to climb to a sufficient altitude and clear
the area for traffic before commencing
any training maneuvers. Then practice the
stalls in a wide variety of flap and power
configurations until you can easily and
fearlessly recognize the approaching stall.
Resist the temptation to recover before
the stall is fully developed, and allow a
moment to savor that stall buffet. Listen
and feel-your airplane and its wings are
talking to you. Then follow consistent
recovery actions until you can complete
those steps as automatically as if you were
accomplishing a simple go-around.
And even if you've already successfully
passed your checkride, but still feel that
hollow feeling in the pit of your stomach
at the mere thought of practicing stalls-
please, call your old instructor and go up
together to work on those evil spirits until
they become nothing more to you than a
patch of ice on the sidewalk.
Bob Schmelzer is a Chicago-area designated pilot
examiner, a United Airlines captain, and a Boeing
777 line check airman. He has been an active flight
instructor since 1972.

http://FLIGHTTRAINING.AOPA.ORG

Flight Training - May 2014

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