This week’s lesson moved on to stalling with flap and medium level turns, and then combining the two to simulate real-world situations like turning from base to final. It felt like a big jump in workload, and I came away realising there was still a lot for me to absorb.
We began with stalls using 20 degrees of flap and then full flap, to simulate what could happen if the aircraft stalled on approach to landing. The recovery actions were the same as before, but it felt busier. There were more control inputs to manage and I found myself trying to keep track of everything at once. Part of the difficulty was that I kept expecting to see a specific stall characteristic, like a wing drop, but it did not always happen. Sometimes the only sign was the stall warner sounding, followed by a small loss of altitude. At first this confused me, because I was waiting for the “classic” symptoms rather than reacting to what was actually happening in front of me.
Next we moved on to medium level turns. Here the focus was on keeping the bank angle steady, maintaining balance with the rudder, applying the right amount of back pressure to hold altitude, and holding a consistent attitude. The need for effective lookout was reinforced again, and Greg made sure I was scanning for traffic properly as part of every turn. It was a continuation of the basics from earlier lessons, but with more precision required.
To tie it all together, Greg combined the two exercises by simulating a stall in a turn, just like what could happen if you became distracted while turning onto final approach. It was a clear reminder of why situational awareness is so important, and how quickly things can deteriorate if you do not stay ahead of the aircraft.
I will be honest: I found this lesson difficult. Something about it just did not click while I was in the cockpit, and I felt like there was a lapse in my understanding. Thankfully I had both my GoPro and voice recorder running. Reviewing them afterwards, I realised that my mistake was focusing too much on waiting for a wing drop to confirm the stall. What I needed to do was react quickly to any stall symptom, whether it was the stall warner, a buffet, or a sudden loss of altitude. Understanding that helped me make sense of the lesson in a way that I had not managed at the time.
To reinforce it, I went away and watched a few helpful YouTube videos of pilots demonstrating stalls with flap and in turns. Seeing how others recognised and recovered from them gave me extra perspective and helped cement what Greg had been teaching.
Looking back, this lesson was tough, but it was also one of the most valuable so far. It pushed me to recognise that not every stall looks the same and that the key is to react decisively the moment you see the signs. Medium level turns also gave me more confidence in handling the aircraft smoothly. With more practice, I know both of these exercises will start to feel much more natural.
Modular Pilot Kiran 