Power-on stalls - confidence zero, can't feel them or hear horn

topdog91

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topdog91
So my training has been going great. Until we got to the dreaded (I must admit) power-on stall. "Pull back more", my instructor says over and over, until suddenly he's telling me to "get the nose down", and we're all over the place, veering right, and a couple of times he's taken controls.

After about three of these (imagine my frustration), I realize, bizarrely, that:
1) I can't hear the stall horn (my instructor is surprised by this, but I have good hearing, it's barely audible over the engine noise.
2) I can't feel the stall when it occurs! I know it sounds crazy but it explains what happened. I got to the stall and carried on pulling back!

Either of these ring any bells with anyone? Also, I realized I had been using the airplane part of the turn coordinator to try and keep the wings level - I don't think that was very clever... :(

My confidence got dented badly today and I'm not really looking forward to going up tomorrow. :(
 
Sounds like your instructor isn't fully comfortable with power on stalls ether.


Get enough altitude and start some falling leaf stalls, then power off, then power on, also do some spins.

Your instructor should demo and have you do one, he should not be talking much, nor should he sound stressed nor should he raise his voice, the plane isn't going to explode, it's just stalls, with good altitude you shouldn't be able to do anything in most trainers that your CFI couldn't easily recover from, this shouldn't be stressful for ether of you.

Remember always step on the high wing.
 
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Get your head outside more. You can easily tell what the airplane is doing.
 
Your instructor should demo and have you do one

Your instructor should demo a few so you can see the pitch, feel whatever buffet (probably minimal) and hear the horn which you should hear well since you're actually listening for it.

might take 4 or 5 demos until you're telling HIM what to do with pitch and power, and then you'll take the plane back and be surprised how easy it is.

NEVER settle for a watch one, do one.
 
So my training has been going great. Until we got to the dreaded (I must admit) power-on stall. "Pull back more", my instructor says over and over, until suddenly he's telling me to "get the nose down", and we're all over the place, veering right, and a couple of times he's taken controls.

After about three of these (imagine my frustration), I realize, bizarrely, that:
1) I can't hear the stall horn (my instructor is surprised by this, but I have good hearing, it's barely audible over the engine noise.
2) I can't feel the stall when it occurs! I know it sounds crazy but it explains what happened. I got to the stall and carried on pulling back!

Either of these ring any bells with anyone? Also, I realized I had been using the airplane part of the turn coordinator to try and keep the wings level - I don't think that was very clever... :(

My confidence got dented badly today and I'm not really looking forward to going up tomorrow. :(

What are you flying? You should be able to feel the controls get lighter and lighter as you get close to the stall (unless you fly a Cirrus, in which case this is masked by the control centering springs) and feel the buffeting. Once the stall is fully developed, you should observe a noticeable "break". From there you recover by pitching the nose down and pitching for airspeed and then a positive trending rate of climb.
 
What kind of airplane? 172s have fairly firm stalls, but Cherokees have a bit of shudder and an almost imperceptible break.

Make sure your headset isn't filtering the stall warning out (try a different one). It really shouldn't.
 
Confidence...don't be too hard on yourself. You're learning.

Hearing the horn. If you are using active noise suppression headsets, that may be part of the problem? But you should hear the horn well before the actual "nose over" begins.

Noting the nose over: don't stare at the panel. Keep peripheral vision to keep wings level. That will also allow you to notice nose-over. As soon as that happens, react.

Key with stalls is to build in a trained reaction in yourself that when a stall happens, you DO NOT want to react by pulling back on the yoke to stop your descent. Counter intuitive.

Couple interesting things while we were doing stalls (I asked to do more, cuz I was not 100% there...):
-one time one wing dropped severely and we were about to start a spin. Good experience. Tought me to stay coordinated and keep wings level, and jump on opposite rudder if a wing starts to drop on stall.
-another time, the stall was so abrupt that we went neg gravity for a sec. Scared the crap outta me for a sec and if we weren't belted in well, heads would have banged the ceiling.

Stay with it. I didn't want to go to my next lesson one after a confidence blowing flight, but I did and I'm glad I did. Just do it and get past this phase. I gave my self a 20 hr window...said if I didnt feel like I was "getting it" that I was gonna hang it up. I finally "got it" at the 9 hour mark. I still feel humbled almost every other flight, but I know it's just part of the learning process. Get used to it.

(Edit- by "nose over", I mean the very start of it, the "break" that the guys are talking about. If you see nothing but ground in the windshield by the time you react, you need to react quicker.)
 
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So my training has been going great. Until we got to the dreaded (I must admit) power-on stall. "Pull back more", my instructor says over and over, until suddenly he's telling me to "get the nose down", and we're all over the place, veering right, and a couple of times he's taken controls.

After about three of these (imagine my frustration), I realize, bizarrely, that:
1) I can't hear the stall horn (my instructor is surprised by this, but I have good hearing, it's barely audible over the engine noise.
2) I can't feel the stall when it occurs! I know it sounds crazy but it explains what happened. I got to the stall and carried on pulling back!

Either of these ring any bells with anyone? Also, I realized I had been using the airplane part of the turn coordinator to try and keep the wings level - I don't think that was very clever... :(

My confidence got dented badly today and I'm not really looking forward to going up tomorrow. :(

No one is going to be able to do it well the first time. And look outside not at the instruments.
 
Your instructor should demo a few so you can see the pitch, feel whatever buffet (probably minimal) and hear the horn which you should hear well since you're actually listening for it.

might take 4 or 5 demos until you're telling HIM what to do with pitch and power, and then you'll take the plane back and be surprised how easy it is.

NEVER settle for a watch one, do one.


It's a whole lesson worth, stalls, falling leaf stalls, turning stalls, spins, etc. Lots of demo, lots of experimenting.

By no means was I saying a watch one do one.

Also forget the silly horn, you should be able to feel it, eyes outside, relax your back and feel the ball.
 
It's a whole lesson worth, stalls, falling leaf stalls, turning stalls, spins, etc. Lots of demo, lots of experimenting.

By no means was I saying a watch one do one.

Also forget the silly horn, you should be able to feel it, eyes outside, relax your back and feel the ball.

Just curious, what's a "falling leaf" stall? I've been flying for quite some time, including instructing in the 80's, but never heard that term. I've heard power on, power off, approach to landing, takeoff, departure, but never "falling leaf". I guess I can sort of vaguely picture such a thing, but certainly have never been asked to demonstrate one.
 
Just curious, what's a "falling leaf" stall? I've been flying for quite some time, including instructing in the 80's, but never heard that term. I've heard power on, power off, approach to landing, takeoff, departure, but never "falling leaf". I guess I can sort of vaguely picture such a thing, but certainly have never been asked to demonstrate one.
You take an airplane into slow flight at a safe, higher altitude (4000 AGL or so for me) and hold the plane in that stall using rudder to try and keep a relatively wings level attitude while still in a stall. It's pretty useful to get a student's feet working better than before. I demonstrate first, then have the student either hold the yoke, or use feet first, not both. Then let them put it together to do it themselves.
 
You take an airplane into slow flight at a safe, higher altitude (4000 AGL or so for me) and hold the plane in that stall using rudder to try and keep a relatively wings level attitude while still in a stall. It's pretty useful to get a student's feet working better than before. I demonstrate first, then have the student either hold the yoke, or use feet first, not both. Then let them put it together to do it themselves.

Okay thanks... I think that explains it. Sounds like it's more of a training technique rather than a specific classification of stall ?
 
Okay thanks... I think that explains it. Sounds like it's more of a training technique rather than a specific classification of stall ?

More or less.

Big difference is it's not just a stall and recover, you keep it in the stall, teaching wise it's not about recovery, it's about knowing as long as you step on the high wing she ain't going to spin, I'd go up to 7k and do a falling leaf all the way down to 2500, yoke full aft, ailerons glued center, just keeping on the rudder.
 
Hi all,

Thanks for responding. Some answers to points raised above:
Flying a Cessna 152.
As for not hearing the horn, I even tried lifting my headset earcup, and it was still really faint. I generally have good hearing.
I was looking at the instruments mainly to keep coordinated (keeping the ball in the centre). I can try this peripheral vision thing to keep the wings level. I guess I use the ailerons for this, but how do I know how.much right rudder without looking at the turn coordinator?
He did demo a few. But if I can't feel it, it doesnt matter how many he demos.
I didn't feel the buffeting or controls getting lighter.

I appreciate the support, think I've reached my limits here. It was utterly unpleasant for me. I'll try again tomorrow, but I haven't slept well, so what will that be like?
 
I was looking at the instruments mainly to keep coordinated (keeping the ball in the centre).
Stop doing that.

I can try this peripheral vision thing to keep the wings level. I guess I use the ailerons for this, but how do I know how.much right rudder without looking at the turn coordinator?
Ailerons can make a wing drop worse (depends on the airplane). Rudder works. Just look out the windscreen and use as much rudder as you need to keep the wings level. If you are holding a heading and the wings are level, then the ball will follow. Also, the ball is too slow to react to a wing drop - just look out the window and if the right wing drops, give it left rudder. Don't be shy.
 
Stop doing that.


Ailerons can make a wing drop worse (depends on the airplane). Rudder works. Just look out the windscreen and use as much rudder as you need to keep the wings level. If you are holding a heading and the wings are level, then the ball will follow. Also, the ball is too slow to react to a wing drop - just look out the window and if the right wing drops, give it left rudder. Don't be shy.

Yuuuup
 
You should be ignoring the horn anyway. That goes off prior to a stall, not at the stall……. It sounds like you are over controlling the aircraft. Just keep firmly pulling back using subtle rudder movement to keep the nose straight (no ailerons). When the nose drops, pitch forward with it to gain airspeed and then slowly pitch back and start climbing out at proper airspeed.
 
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Right rudder, right rudder, right rudder.........
 
Eyes outside is a good suggestion. Definitely don't be so fixated on the horn as everyone has already said, it's to warn you of an impending stall not necessarily that you are IN a stall. I used to recover when the horn went off, and the instructor's were like..what are you doing? Keep going..

Airspeed is a good crosscheck too, you already know what speed the plane stalls at clean/dirty so when you are closing in on that you should be "feeling" for that buffet of air, wing drop, etc.

Some planes don't even have a horn, the Piper I fly has a light that goes off which does help, but again doesn't necessarily tell me a stall is happening, just that I'm close to one.

Definitely do the falling leaf. The first time I did one in a Cessna, the instructor had me do one with a power off stall, I could keep up pretty easily with the alternative rudder movements. Then we did one power on, holy crap, that was harder. He showed me and I was shocked at how fast you had to move your feet to keep that thing stabilized. It was like he was tap-dancing on the rudders.

Oh and one little suggestion for power-on stalls, you don't have to use full power. Often times you can go 65% - 75% power once you've reached Vr (which is the speed I used).

Some planes like the C162 I flew can climb like crazy, so slightly less than full power is acceptable to get you to stall quicker. The DPE I flew with on my PPL checkride also said, just go 65% power so we can get there faster.

Slow down to Vr, pitch up 20% adding power to 65% and HOLD the angle, don't keep pitching up. It'll happen :)
 
Right rudder, right rudder, right rudder.........

Rookie CFI stuff.

Just be sure you're in spin envlope and at altitude, say (not shout) it once, then let things go where they will, ether way no biggie and a lesson learned anyway, you really should spin train your guys before first solo anyways.
 
I did falling leaf stalls and spins after I got my ticket. I really wish I had done them before. If your instructor is uncomfortable with the idea, find one who is not.
 
152 stall horns are passive reeds and they do occasionally pop out or plug up. You should suck on it in preflight. Does it work then? Does a different 152 work better?

You should learn all maneuvers with eyes outside, except perhaps for a glance here and there. Steep turns are going to kick your butt otherwise. keep the nose pointed at a landmark. React to a dipped wing with rudder only.
 
Hi all,

Thanks for responding. Some answers to points raised above:
Flying a Cessna 152.
As for not hearing the horn, I even tried lifting my headset earcup, and it was still really faint. I generally have good hearing.
I was looking at the instruments mainly to keep coordinated (keeping the ball in the centre). I can try this peripheral vision thing to keep the wings level. I guess I use the ailerons for this, but how do I know how.much right rudder without looking at the turn coordinator?
He did demo a few. But if I can't feel it, it doesnt matter how many he demos.
I didn't feel the buffeting or controls getting lighter.

I appreciate the support, think I've reached my limits here. It was utterly unpleasant for me. I'll try again tomorrow, but I haven't slept well, so what will that be like?
At a minimum, it sounds like you and your instructor have a communications problem. If he's got any experience at all, he should have picked up on the bolded statements already and you should know that they are a problem.
As others have said, this is an "eyes outside" maneuver for the most part. Sometimes I demo for the student what it looks like and have them watch the instruments if they really need to, but that's NOT primary. I'm guessing you have also not had a good lesson prior to this on adverse yaw and exactly what the ailerons and the rudder do and how to use them in coordinated fashion. That's pre-stall training for me.
If you're not feeling the buffeting or controls, you're probably not in "tune" with the aircraft yet and still too nervous for your brain to process additional things. May take some time. Practically, I would ask if you're carrying stuff in your back pockets and tell you to find another place for that stuff. Once pilots connect everything together, a good tailwheel pilot can FEEL for the most part whether or not he is coordinated without looking at the "ball" and that is one of the major advantages of that kind of training. I really didn't "feel" the ball until after I had gotten my TW endorsement - AFTER I already had my pilot's license!
 
Trim nose up all the way, and you can always back off on the power if you must, though you shouldn't have to in a 152. What all the other guys said, keep the ball centered and the wings level. If things get too hairy just let go the controls, the airplane will happily right itself. Mine used to drop the left wing; made things entertaining.

The other thing is of course to let your instructor do it a couple times just to experience it. I despise doing power on stalls and could never get my Cherokee to break, even with reduced power and full nose up trim. Just didn't seem to have the elevator authority.
 
Stop doing that.


Ailerons can make a wing drop worse (depends on the airplane). Rudder works. Just look out the windscreen and use as much rudder as you need to keep the wings level. If you are holding a heading and the wings are level, then the ball will follow. Also, the ball is too slow to react to a wing drop - just look out the window and if the right wing drops, give it left rudder. Don't be shy.

I just don't get it, I'm sorry. I thought a fundamental principle was that ailerons control roll, and rudder controls yaw.

You should be ignoring the horn anyway. That goes off prior to a stall, not at the stall……. It sounds like you are over controlling the aircraft. Just keep firmly pulling back using subtle rudder movement to keep the nose straight (no ailerons). When the nose drops, pitch forward with it to gain airspeed and then slowly pitch back and start climbing out at proper airspeed.

My instructor mentioned it, he said that when the stall actually occurs the siren stops, and that might make it easier for me to "notice" the feeling of the nose dropping.

Right rudder, right rudder, right rudder.........

What?

Eyes outside is a good suggestion. Definitely don't be so fixated on the horn as everyone has already said, it's to warn you of an impending stall not necessarily that you are IN a stall. I used to recover when the horn went off, and the instructor's were like..what are you doing? Keep going..

Airspeed is a good crosscheck too, you already know what speed the plane stalls at clean/dirty so when you are closing in on that you should be "feeling" for that buffet of air, wing drop, etc.

Definitely do the falling leaf. The first time I did one in a Cessna, the instructor had me do one with a power off stall, I could keep up pretty easily with the alternative rudder movements. Then we did one power on, holy crap, that was harder. He showed me and I was shocked at how fast you had to move your feet to keep that thing stabilized. It was like he was tap-dancing on the rudders.

Oh and one little suggestion for power-on stalls, you don't have to use full power. Often times you can go 65% - 75% power once you've reached Vr (which is the speed I used).

Some planes like the C162 I flew can climb like crazy, so slightly less than full power is acceptable to get you to stall quicker. The DPE I flew with on my PPL checkride also said, just go 65% power so we can get there faster.

Slow down to Vr, pitch up 20% adding power to 65% and HOLD the angle, don't keep pitching up. It'll happen :)

I'm doing what my instructor tells me. He tells me to go with full power. I might bring this up but see below.

Rookie CFI stuff.

Just be sure you're in spin envlope and at altitude, say (not shout) it once, then let things go where they will, ether way no biggie and a lesson learned anyway, you really should spin train your guys before first solo anyways.

What?

I did falling leaf stalls and spins after I got my ticket. I really wish I had done them before. If your instructor is uncomfortable with the idea, find one who is not.

Everyone here says this is a good idea, I have to consider it.

152 stall horns are passive reeds and they do occasionally pop out or plug up. You should suck on it in preflight. Does it work then? Does a different 152 work better?

You should learn all maneuvers with eyes outside, except perhaps for a glance here and there. Steep turns are going to kick your butt otherwise. keep the nose pointed at a landmark. React to a dipped wing with rudder only.

We did it in preflight once, and it works. It's just not loud enough for me to hear during flight.

At a minimum, it sounds like you and your instructor have a communications problem. If he's got any experience at all, he should have picked up on the bolded statements already and you should know that they are a problem.
As others have said, this is an "eyes outside" maneuver for the most part. Sometimes I demo for the student what it looks like and have them watch the instruments if they really need to, but that's NOT primary. I'm guessing you have also not had a good lesson prior to this on adverse yaw and exactly what the ailerons and the rudder do and how to use them in coordinated fashion. That's pre-stall training for me.
If you're not feeling the buffeting or controls, you're probably not in "tune" with the aircraft yet and still too nervous for your brain to process additional things. May take some time. Practically, I would ask if you're carrying stuff in your back pockets and tell you to find another place for that stuff. Once pilots connect everything together, a good tailwheel pilot can FEEL for the most part whether or not he is coordinated without looking at the "ball" and that is one of the major advantages of that kind of training. I really didn't "feel" the ball until after I had gotten my TW endorsement - AFTER I already had my pilot's license!

He's 22 with 1500 hours, and he's passed 20 students. I'm 38 with 5 hours. I said to the school before I joined, that I was concerned about his age, because I would appreciate the understanding and eloquence of experience. Here's the response I got:

My name is xxx. I am the Assistant Chief Pilot here for xxx. I see you have a concern with the Instructor you are partnered with as in maturity or personality. We have you with xxx as your primary Instructor and with that said I want you to understand I have personally trained over 90 students and xxx being one of them. Let's put it this way, I trust him with my family in the airplane. xxx is everything you described you needed in an Instructor. As for him looking young, xxx is 22 years old and probably one of my most trusted pilots. I taught him the tricks of the trade. So before you make a decision based on your knowledge of what you think you need let me assure you I know my Instructors and whats best for you as a new upcoming pilot

When I was flustered during the power-on stall, he kind of said "don't get panicky, it doesn't make me nervous but it can be a bit annoying, you have to stay calm". Easy for him to say, I don't know what the hell's going on, and then before I know it we're dropping and rolling to the right. I felt utterly out of control, I'm all for pushing my comfort zone, but within limits.

The rest of the lesson (slow fight, power off stalls, a landing), I was in a bit of a daze and forgot some really basic things. He also just got accepted with an airline job, he starts in a month or so. He's obviously talented but I'm starting to wonder if he's not the instructor for me and I should ask for an alternative, or if i should just quit. I want to enjoy it, I'm not now, it's clearly much harder than I expected, and I don't want to stay in it because of misplaced pride. Sorry if this seems negative. It's also annoying that I'm in an accelerated program, it's not like I can take a week or two off to chill out and re-evaluate. I really appreciate everyone's contributions and thoughts, I have big respect for you all!

You are correct, I have not had the lesson on adverse yaw, and how to use the ailerons and rudder in coordinated fashion. All my turns have been ailerons only, during take-off I give right rudder so as not to veer left, other than that the rudder usage is a mystery.

I just met my instructor this morning and he was already talking about what we're going to do today. I said hold on, I barely slept last night, I'm not comfortable with yesterday, he said don't worry we'll do lots more stalls, I said at the moment I don't want to do even one, because I still don't understand what to do, how the controls influence what happens, and what happened yesterday. He sort of clammed up, I don't think he has much empathy. I'm not criticizing him, he's obviously talented, and he's fun. That doesn't of course mean he's a good instructor, or at least right for me.
 
Trim nose up all the way, and you can always back off on the power if you must, though you shouldn't have to in a 152. What all the other guys said, keep the ball centered and the wings level. If things get too hairy just let go the controls, the airplane will happily right itself. Mine used to drop the left wing; made things entertaining.

The other thing is of course to let your instructor do it a couple times just to experience it. I despise doing power on stalls and could never get my Cherokee to break, even with reduced power and full nose up trim. Just didn't seem to have the elevator authority.

Again, some people say don't look at the ball e.g. Capt. G Thorpe. Again, I have no idea how to keep the wings level when I'm looking at the sky, although people have mentioned peripheral vision.

He did a couple, but obviously it wasn't enough for me to "get it". I'm certainly happy to hear that you also despise them. :D
 
I'm doing what my instructor tells me. He tells me to go with full power. I might bring this up but see below.

There's technically nothing wrong with that, but full power means you wait longer for the stall, climb higher, takes forever sometimes.

Nothing in the PTS says full power on this maneuver. Try less power and see if that makes the stall happen sooner, use the same stuff you've been doing, perhaps with the exaggerated movements and pitch not only will it happen sooner, but it may be more pronounced, while the 152 isn't a high performance airplane it doesn't matter, the fact that you keep pulling it up and he has to force you back down says you've got the power too high probably:

NOTE: In some high performance airplanes, the power setting may
have to be reduced below the practical test standards
guideline power setting to prevent excessively high pitch
attitudes (greater than 30° nose up).

Objective: To determine that the applicant:

1. Exhibits satisfactory knowledge of the elements related to
power-on stalls.
2. Selects an entry altitude that allows the task to be
completed no lower than 1,500 feet AGL.
3. Establishes the takeoff or departure configuration as
specified by the examiner. Sets power to no less than 65
percent available power.

4. Transitions smoothly from the takeoff or departure attitude
to the pitch attitude that will induce a stall.
5. Maintains a specified heading, ±10°, if in straight flight;
maintains a specified angle of bank not to exceed 20°,
±10°, if in turning flight, while inducing the stall.
6. Recognizes and recovers promptly after a fully developed
stall occurs.
7. Retracts the flaps to the recommended setting; retracts the
landing gear if retractable, after a positive rate of climb is
established.
8. Accelerates to VX or VY speed before the final flap
retraction; returns to the altitude, heading, and airspeed
specified by the examiner.
 
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Wow. An accelerated program and an FU from the assistant chief pilot?

It's true that age isn't that important. But taking you up without explaining controls, or at least assigning some study and checking it? Umm....

I don't think you're ready to start an accelerated program without some ground study.

Most rudders are well above centerline and will roll the airplane as well as yaw. Just about everything else will introduce some yaw, including pulling the nose up at high throttle.

I would suggest trying out each of the controls in normal flight, to see what they really do. This should have been part of the first lesson.
 
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Wow. An accelerated program and an FU from the assistant chief pilot?

It's true that age isn't that important. But taking you up without explaining controls, or at least assigning some study and checking it? Umm....

I don't think you're ready to start an accelerated program without some ground study.

Most rudders are well above centerline and will roll the airplane as well as yaw. Just about everything else will introduce some yaw, including pulling the nose up at high throttle.

I would suggest trying out each of the controls in normal flight, to see what they really do. This should have been part of the first lesson.

To be fair, I have completed the Gleim Part 141 Ground School with good scores. Doesn't mean I remember everything, right?

Trying each of the controls, wasn't a part of the first lesson, at least not in and of itself. It was more "take off, go to this altitude, turn this way, turn that way".
 
Unfortunately, some instructors teach to pass rather than teaching to proficiency. Sounds like this guy is focused on passing students rather than getting everyone comfortable with bread/butter techniques.

I had one of those. Told me I'd be ready for the checkride way faster then I thought, I was like..huh? I knew I wasn't there and it showed when we were in the air.

I switched instructors and now I spend sometimes an entire lesson on ground. In the air we went back to basics because, if you can't master basics, then there's no way you're going to be able to adequately handle the concepts that BUILD on those basics.
 
To be fair, I have completed the Gleim Part 141 Ground School with good scores. Doesn't mean I remember everything, right?

Trying each of the controls, wasn't a part of the first lesson, at least not in and of itself. It was more "take off, go to this altitude, turn this way, turn that way".

Airplanes do some funny things during power on stalls and if you have never done them before they can be startling. :dunno:


Do them over and over and its not a big deal, even when the airplane rolls sharply etc.


Don't let newbie-itis scare you off. (5 hours is nothing)


Watch a few youtube videos and see what they are doing.

"Eyes outside" seems useless as you can't see jack in front during power-on stalls. I watch the ball and the attitude indicator until I start to feel buffet then look up as the nose drops.
 
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Hi all,

Thanks for responding. Some answers to points raised above:
Flying a Cessna 152.
As for not hearing the horn, I even tried lifting my headset earcup, and it was still really faint. I generally have good hearing.
I was looking at the instruments mainly to keep coordinated (keeping the ball in the centre). I can try this peripheral vision thing to keep the wings level. I guess I use the ailerons for this, but how do I know how.much right rudder without looking at the turn coordinator?
He did demo a few. But if I can't feel it, it doesnt matter how many he demos.
I didn't feel the buffeting or controls getting lighter.

I appreciate the support, think I've reached my limits here. It was utterly unpleasant for me. I'll try again tomorrow, but I haven't slept well, so what will that be like?

This is a nerve-wracking procedure, so allow yourself some leeway. The full engine power adds to the noise and vibration, which increases your anxiety. This is normal to feel uncomfortable doing this. Please don't beat yourself up over this.

I found that one of my problems was that in pulling back hard, my left arm was overly tense such that I was not as smooth with my control inputs. Also, in pulling back hard, I tended to pull the stick to the left without realizing it.

As you do more, you will get used to the sensation, and you will relax more, which will help you. It just takes time. Allow yourself to be patient with yourself as you acclimate to this maneuver.
 
Also, take all of these specific suggestions, and critiques (both of you and your instructor) with a grain of salt. Many people here tend to think that only their way is the right way. In truth, some times there are many different ways that work fine and are acceptable. In this particular situation, I think there are many different recommendations that any given student might find useful. You have to find what works for you.

The most important thing to understand is that you really have very minimal time, and everything will get easier with more time. You are completely normal, and most of us have been right where you are right now.
 
I just don't get it, I'm sorry. I thought a fundamental principle was that ailerons control roll, and rudder controls yaw.
Ok. There's the problem. First, roll and yaw are coupled, second, ailerons don't always work as primary roll control. Trying to pretend that one control controls one axis can leave you in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Look at the following plot of (normalized) lift (vertical axis) as a function of angle of attack (horizontal axis):
680px-Lift_curve.svg.png

Most of the time, we are flying in the 5 - 10 degrees AoA range. There, you see that as you increase the AoA, you increase lift and vice versa. Turn the yoke to the right, the left aileron goes down (increasing angle of attack) which gives more lift on the left; and the right aileron goes up (reducing angle of attack) and decreasing lift on the right. Result - a roll to the right.

But. what happens at the stall? The stall, by definition, is an angle of attack that exceeds the AoA for maximum lift. About 17 degrees in the above diagram from Wikipedia. Once you are stalled, you are on the "back" side of the lift curve; and when you increase AoA you DECREASE the lift (and add lots of drag, but that's not shown here). So, if the outboard portion of the wing is stalled, when you turn the yoke to the right, you decrease the lift on the left side, increase it on the right so the aircraft rolls left - the "wrong" way. Also, the change in drag will yaw the aircraft to the left and you are set up for a spin entry.

Now, lettuce look at what rudder does. Assume the left wing drops; now we step on the right rudder. This starts a yaw to the right which increases lift on the left wing due to increased speed and decreased AoA. Conversely, lift on the right is decreased. Result? You pick up the left wing by stepping on the right rudder. Rudder works when ailerons don't.

Bottom line. Sometimes ailerons work, sometimes they don't. Rudder always works.
 
I had the same concerns about my instructor-- a baby faced instructor who had not sent a single student pilot to a check ride. He had all the signs that most people would tell you to avoid-- young instructor from a pilot mill who was building time to get to the airlines. But he was fantastic, and I consider him a good friend to this day. So, don't be too hard on him, either. His job is to teach you to be safe, and to prepare you for the check ride. You will continue to learn after you earn your private. They call it a license to learn for a reason. The take-away is that just because he doesn't teach you everything there is to know does not mean he isn't doing a fine job.
 
Ok. There's the problem. First, roll and yaw are coupled, second, ailerons don't always work as primary roll control. Trying to pretend that one control controls one axis can leave you in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Look at the following plot of (normalized) lift (vertical axis) as a function of angle of attack (horizontal axis):
680px-Lift_curve.svg.png

Most of the time, we are flying in the 5 - 10 degrees AoA range. There, you see that as you increase the AoA, you increase lift and vice versa. Turn the yoke to the right, the left aileron goes down (increasing angle of attack) which gives more lift on the left; and the right aileron goes up (reducing angle of attack) and decreasing lift on the right. Result - a roll to the right.

But. what happens at the stall? The stall, by definition, is an angle of attack that exceeds the AoA for maximum lift. About 17 degrees in the above diagram from Wikipedia. Once you are stalled, you are on the "back" side of the lift curve; and when you increase AoA you DECREASE the lift (and add lots of drag, but that's not shown here). So, if the outboard portion of the wing is stalled, when you turn the yoke to the right, you decrease the lift on the left side, increase it on the right so the aircraft rolls left - the "wrong" way. Also, the change in drag will yaw the aircraft to the left and you are set up for a spin entry.

Now, lettuce look at what rudder does. Assume the left wing drops; now we step on the right rudder. This starts a yaw to the right which increases lift on the left wing due to increased speed and decreased AoA. Conversely, lift on the right is decreased. Result? You pick up the left wing by stepping on the right rudder. Rudder works when ailerons don't.

Bottom line. Sometimes ailerons work, sometimes they don't. Rudder always works.

tl,dr version: When a wing drops because it stalls on that side only, adding aileron on that side increases the angle of attack, causing the stall to get worse rather than increasing lift as it would in normal flight. So use opposite rudder instead.
 
Again, some people say don't look at the ball e.g. Capt. G Thorpe. Again, I have no idea how to keep the wings level when I'm looking at the sky, although people have mentioned peripheral vision.
If the horizon is "level" in the windscreen, the wings are level. If the horizon is tilted in the windscreen the wings are banked.

I have to ask - did you spend a lot of time on flight simulators games?
 
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