Stalls and Spin Awareness
Why wings stall, how to recognise and recover, and how an uncoordinated stall becomes a spin.
A stall happens when the wing exceeds its critical angle of attack and the airflow separates — it has nothing to do with the engine and can occur at any airspeed or attitude. Understanding it removes most of its danger.
Recognising a stall
- A high angle of attack: nose high, low airspeed, or high load factor in a turn.
- Warning signs: the stall horn, buffeting, mushy controls, a high sink rate.
Recovering
The universal recovery is to reduce the angle of attack first: 1. Lower the nose (release back-pressure) to reduce angle of attack. 2. Level the wings with coordinated aileron and rudder. 3. Apply power as needed. 4. Return to level flight, minimizing altitude loss without a secondary stall.
From stall to spin
If a wing stalls while the aircraft is uncoordinated (yawing — one wing more stalled than the other), it can drop and the aircraft enters a spin: a stalled, autorotating descent. The standard recovery is PARE — Power idle, Ailerons neutral, Rudder opposite the spin, Elevator forward — then recover from the dive. The best defense is coordination: keep the ball centred, especially in the pattern where altitude is scarce.
Practice stalls with an instructor; the goal is instinctive recognition and recovery long before a wing fully stalls.
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*Reference and training only — not for navigation. Always consult the current AIM, FAR/AIM, your aircraft’s POH/AFM and a certificated flight instructor.*