What Is a Stall?

What a Stall Really Is

Air normally flows smoothly over the top of the wing, and that is what holds the airplane up. If you tilt the wing too steeply against the air, the smooth flow breaks away and the wing stops lifting. That is a stall.

Angle of Attack

The angle between the wing and the air coming at it. Small angle: smooth air, lots of lift. Too big an angle: the air can't follow the wing and lift disappears.

Critical Angle of Attack

The biggest angle the wing can handle, about 16 to 18 degrees. Go past it and the wing stalls.

The Fix

Always the same: lower the nose to reduce the angle, and add full power. The wing starts flying again right away.

Here's the mind-bending fact: an airplane can stall at ANY speed and ANY position — even pointing straight down — if the wing is tilted past its critical angle. Speed is only part of the story; the angle is what really matters.

Instructor Setup

Cessna 172 with G1000, airborne at 4,000 feet in level cruise. Plan about 20 minutes. This session is mostly demonstration and discussion — keep it gentle. Confirm a HELL check and clearing turn before any slowing.

Session Flow

1. Explain angle of attack (5 min). Use the G1000 attitude display and your hand to show how the wing meets the air. Keep it simple and visual.
2. Demonstrate the build-up (6 min). Slowly raise the nose and have the student watch what happens as the wing angle increases and the air stops following the top of the wing.
3. Reach the stall (4 min). Let the gentle stall break happen so the student sees the wing quit flying. Keep it benign, well clear of any wing drop.
4. Show the fix (3 min). Push forward to reduce the angle and add full power. Point out how quickly lift returns.
5. Wrap (2 min). Recap: stall = too big an angle; fix = reduce angle plus power.

Emphasize the concept over performance. The goal is that the student can explain why a wing stalls.

Debrief

Check that the student can explain a stall in their own words before moving on.

• Understands that a stall is about angle of attack, not just speed
• Saw how raising the nose too far makes the wing stop lifting
• Knows the critical angle is roughly 16 to 18 degrees
• Knows the fix: reduce the angle (lower the nose) and add full power

Next Lesson

Next up is "Power-Off Stall" (K23): practicing the kind of stall that can sneak up on a slow landing approach, and recovering from it. If explaining angle of attack was fuzzy today, review it in the first two minutes of K23.

Skills You'll Work On

These are the maneuvers and procedures covered in this lesson. Your instructor tracks each one as you progress.

• Clean Stall Entry & Symptoms
• Recovery With & Without Power

Grades reflect what was covered in this lesson, not a certification of pilot competency.

Lesson Plan

Where this fits: First of three sessions drawn from PPL Lesson 8, "Stalling." This session teaches the angle-of-attack concept; K23 covers the power-off (approach) stall and K24 covers the power-on (climb) stall.

Prerequisite

K20 "On the Edge" — has felt the buffet and stall warning and recovered with power.

Materials

C172 G1000 simulator, student checklist card, headset sized for the student.

Goal for this session

Student can describe angle of attack, the critical angle, and the standard stall recovery (reduce angle plus power).

Looking Ahead

• K23 — Power-Off Stall: the landing-approach stall and its recovery.
• K24 — Power-On Stall: the takeoff and climb stall, with rudder to keep the wings level.