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Most pilots were taught stalls very badly during their primary training and often way too early also. In every syllabus I have seen, stall training occurs about lesson three; before a new learner has even gotten comfortable in the airplane or learned any habitual mastery of the flight controls. Taking a learner without “instinctive rudder control” into stalls has a predictable result; terror! This prevents any real learning. It is no surprise that Loss of Control is the #1 fatal accident cause and 80% of learners quit.
I have heard young flight instructors say to new learners “We are going to introduce stalls today. This is going to scare you to death but we have to do it. It’s in the syllabus and you need to master these for your flight test.” Now *that* is a real motivator for someone who signed up to “fly for fun” or pursue an aviation career! No one should be surprised that 4 out of five flight training candidates drop out. A commonly-mentioned reason for quitting is that we scare people to death in these first few hours. Unfortunately, the newest CFIs are typically the primary instructors and are not initially aware of the “fear problem!”
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)…develops in some people who have experienced a shocking, scary, or dangerous event.
It is natural to feel afraid during and after a traumatic situation. Fear is a part of the body’s “fight-or-flight” response, which helps us avoid or respond to potential danger. People may experience a range of reactions after trauma, and most people recover from initial symptoms over time. Those who continue to experience problems may be diagnosed with PTSD.
Fear poisons all learning the brain shuts down and goes into survival mode. Consequently, even if learners do not drop out, they have no understanding of the “how and why” of stall training. Often those who continue have “stall training PTSD” and never learn and understand the basics of stalls anyway (wasted effort). These pilots actively avoid stalls in any future training and retreat to a smaller maneuvering envelope we call the “comfort zone.” In the unfortunate event of a future upset in their flying, LOC-I inevitably results; they never acquired the flight training tools to survive. Our flight training mistakes do a great disservice.
So for retention and for flight safety, rearrange your syllabus and put ground reference maneuvers in your syllabus before stalls (just switch those blocks of training). This will reduce your drop-out rate to 20% compared to the industry’s historic 80% rate. (This drop-out rate might currently be lower with the “career motivation” of airline hiring, but what I see as a DPE is that these pilots “get through” stall training, but they do not thoroughly learn – or really master – this important area of flight.)
I personally experienced this “stall training solution” while running a flight school in the upstate NY “weather warehouse.” To continue training with persistent low clouds we frequently put ground reference before stall training (requiring less ceiling) The unintended result consistently led to better pilots and fewer terrified learners dropping out. More hours and skill (yaw control) before stall training, was the solution.
More time on the controls allows learners to normalize the flight environment (get comfortable) and also to master yaw correction *before* they are (gently) introduced to stalls. Adding three-dimensional “traffic patterns at altitude,” terminating in a “go-around,” was also part of the secret sauce. Mastering the climbing right and left turns in the pattern (cross-coordination) is essential for comfortable stall training.
Two “Solutions” for “Stall Training PTSD”
But we still have a world full of pilots poisoned by “stall training PTSD.” There are usually two pathways after this damaging initial exposure to stalls. One pathway is total avoidance; these pilots retreat into their”comfort zone” and assiduously avoid any future exposure to stalls or slow flight. These pilots choose the easiest flight reviewers and only fly on calm, sunny days in 10% of the flight envelope: damaged (and dangerous) pilots. In the case of an upset, they have no recovery tools.
The other pathway is for pilots who (commendably) want to fix this issue and pursue UPRT or aerobatic training to overcome their fear. Bob Hoover, as a new pilot, famously got very sick every time he went flying. But as a result of his strenuous efforts to overcome his sickness, he became one of the most amazing aerobatic pilots the world has ever seen. So for a few pilots, this works well and might be the right answer.
But for the majority of pilots I talk to, this training is also “too much, too soon!“ It takes a very talented educator to present these courses well and not just provide a “circus ride.” Most people pay a lot of money, travel to an exotic location, and have an “exotic learning experience.” This occurs in a totally alien high-performance aerobatic plane like an Extra 300. Unfortunately, these skills do not transfer to their everyday flying because the training environment and maneuvers are so foreign. In the flight simulator world this is called “a lack of fidelity“- the training environment is too different from the daily flying environment. Ultimately, they often just get more scared or make themselves sick, with no useful transfer to their everyday flying – back to the limited “comfort zone!”
Fixing “Stall PTSD:” Extended Envelope Training
What I see after almost 30 years of flight examining pilots, is that most pilots *finally* learn how to coordinate an airplane during their commercial flight training (hopefully). That is why the commercial pilot certificate has long been called the “rudder rating.” If this training is done correctly, pilots finally discover how to really fly and become much better (safer) pilots. This is also why I initially put together the EET syllabus; for instrument pilots transitioning back to visual, “eyes out” flying. Unfortunately, this cert. requires >250 flight hours and is way too late; many lives are lost. Commercial maneuvers are valuable for all pilots. We know 90% of stall accidents in the pattern occur during take-off and climb-out. If people were taught “yaw control” as their first priority in flight training – more time on the controls *before* learning stalls – these fatal accidents might be eliminated.
One primary fact of stall recovery should be repeatedly emphasized: airplanes don’t stall, pilots stall airplanes! In a conventional aircraft, the nose is the heavy end and designed to recover.
It’s the human on board that panics and pulls back creating and maintaining the stalled Angle of Attack. A yoke or stick in a plane is a perfect “AOA Indicator;” the further back, the higher the AOA. Release and “unload” for stall recovery.
Every learner should initially practice the “ballistic” (no power) recover numerous times to emphasize that AOA is both the cause and the solution for stalling.
Teach “Yaw Control” Before Stalls!
If new pilots were taught coordinated climbing right and left turns in the first few hours to a level of instinctive response, the terror of stall training would be eliminated (as well as many accidents). Putting the ground reference maneuvers *before* stalls in your syllabus is the easy solution. Adding climbing and descending “patterns at altitude,” with a focus on yaw control, builds up “instinctive rudder control.” Then gradually add slow flight and stalls with full knowledge and control; they do not have to be scary. The Civilian Pilot Training program had this down in the 1940s-50s, but we lost our way with the Cessna Pilot Training Program in the 80s:
To overcome “stall training PTSD” – if the pilot is already “damaged goods” – EET incorporates a series of easy exercises to teach intuitive rudder control before “rediscovering stalls.” These can be performed in your own local aircraft, at your local field, with a competent instructor. This training transfers well to your everyday flying and builds confidence. As a CFI, this is an essential flight training market. We will cover this more thoroughly in our webinar this Sunday. This is FAA-approved for FAA Master WINGS credit. Fly safely out there (and often)!
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