Date: 25/11/2005
Time: 14:50 - 16:05 (PUT)
Aircraft: Ikarus C42 - G-CCYR
Exercise: 10b - Stalling
This subject is implicitly a bit scary - you are putting the aircraft into a situation (no longer flying), that it really should not be in. Just the thought of it can make you feel uneasy. However, it is the only way to find out what it is like and how to deal with it.
We start with recovery without power. Throttle off and pulling the stick back more and more until suddenly the nose drops and you are pointing down. Reduce back pressure to unstall the wing and allow the speed to rise to flight and then pull back to cease the dive. This loses about 500 feet of altitude.
Later we do recovery with power, which involves opening the throttle which only loses less than 200 feet. Initially, Steve does the rudder for me, but soon enough I have to tackle it myself. It is important to only use the rudder to counteract any roll and yaw and ensure that you do NOT use the ailerons - this would further stall one wing only and make the situation worse! It is a huge temptation to use the aileron. I do OKish.
Oddly enough, it isn't the nose dropping that makes me feel queezy, but the very high bank turns that Steve flys during the hasell checks (to save time) - probably because I wasn't expecting them!
Despite the nerves, I enjoyed today!