Stalls and Spins

When I started taking flying lessons, I guess I knew that I would have to learn how to do some scary maneuvers. I just didn't dwell on it too much. So last night when I started watching the cd-rom lesson describing what I would be learning on my next flight, my stomach dropped a little when I heard the word "stalls". Stalling an airplane isn't really the same thing as stalling a car. I have stalled a car before and simply got out onto terra firma and called my dad. But stalling an airplane..... I had heard of these moments when air is no longer flowing smoothly over the top of the wing and producing lift because the angle of your wing is too severe in relation to the wind. I don't know much about aerodynamics yet, but smooth air and lift sound rather pleasant and safe. To make my nervousness reach a new height, the lesson also included spins. This is a situation in which you do not use enough rudder to correct for a turning tendency while you stall causing your airplane to spiral downward, towards the earth, gathering speed. The instructor on the cd-rom told me I wouldn't be spinning on my flight; that in-flight spins are not required by the FAA to obtain a private license. But couldn't I inadvertently put us in a spin anyway? Forget whether I am supposed to or not. I just hoped my young instructor at the flight school had eaten something light for lunch.

I got to the flight school this afternoon and quickly completed my pre-flight. I wanted to get into the air and get the inevitable over with. We reached a safe altitude of around 7500 ft. and my instructor asked if I would like to stall by myself first or if I would like him to demonstrate one. I wanted to say I wanted to stop at a Starbucks and not have to learn about stalls at all, but agreed to a demo. He pulled the controls back, lifting the nose high into the air. The stall warning bell started to sound and I held my breath. Suddenly, the airplane stopped climbing, buffeted in the wind and started to fall with the nose still high. He very calmly lowered the nose and added power. No big deal. "Your turn," he said.

The good news is that I am back on the ground. The better news is that I am not done with stall training yet. The great thing about learning scary maneuvers is that I will get plenty of practice with someone experienced in the plane with me before I ever encounter them on my own. I just hope I don't lose my own lunch.

Oh and the picture included is a Cessna Skyhawk 172- the kind of plane I am learning to fly.