Low-Level Training

[KlausNW]

http://seaplanemagazine.com/2017/10/19/icons-low-altitude-guidelines-published/

My opinion, this topic goes back to the FAA not requiring Stall and Spins.

Over the years the students have not been "comfortable" with unusual attitudes so, they don't have any basic maneuvering skills. If a pilot is uncomfortable with aggressive flying than one day they decide to go play a little because the weather is nice...

You can't feel the aircraft if you're all white knuckled on the controls. Sensing a stall also takes awareness of the aircraft's lift and attitude. Students should be trained on how to practice unusual attitudes at higher altitudes where mistakes in recovery are safer.

I was given instruction early on how to practice slow flight maneuvering. The instructor had me go through a series of stalls (power-on, power-off, in a bank and excessive pitch changes) every week. He didn't want me to be a moose stall statistic. Many of the high time pilots that mess up and hit the ground haven't practiced in quite a while before their accident. Just like any skill, if you don't keep in constant practice you loose it.

[RKittine]

Many of the changes seem to be because of more modern wing and fuselage designs as well as safety features, like deployable chutes etc. Part 141 curriculum tries to satisfy some of the older training issues.

I am with you Klaus. I have now done a number of Tail Wheel endorsements given to newer pilots trained with much less use of unusual attitudes, no more accelerated or whip stalls, but most concerning, trained to correct a low wing (the one falling off ) during a stall with "Coordinated Aileron and Rudder". I teach strictly, Rubber to right a low wing in a stall and neutral rudder and show students what will happen in a 60 plus year old constant chord, slab wing will do when an aileron is lowered on the low wing, looking (and acting) like a big old flap and starting a rotation into that wing. Really important on my Multi-Engine Students when doing VMC demonstrations also.

Although I really do not do primary instruction any more, when I did, spins was always in the curriculum and always in an aircraft that was fun and safe to spin, rather than a C-172 that needs to be forced into one. Interesting to see how uninformed newer students are about the end results of cross controlled stalls and just taught to keep the ball centered, which is much easier to do when you know you are going to do a stall and STAY AWARE or the ball, unlike in the real world when correcting that low level base to final turn that they did not plan or execute well.

Did a few Flight Reviews the other day (no longer called Biennial Flight Reviews by the FAA) and did some of my old Unusual Attitude Training. "Close you eyes and flight straight and level" which I let them do until we are in some real unusual attitude that they never felt was coming nor could look out the side of a hood and sense what was going on. No change in engine setting or noise. Just like how I handle spatial disorientation training for Instrument Students, but I leave out the Sugary Donut and Regular Coke as well as the starless night over water, that I use for Instrument training.

Bob