AFH Chapter 4-5 Slow Flight

Slow Flight

Slow flight is when the airplane AOA is just under the AOA which will cause an aerodynamic buffet or a warning from a stall warning device if equipped with one. 

 

A small increase in AOA may result in an impending stall, which increases the risk of an actual stall. 

 

In most normal flight operations the airplane would not be flown close to the stall-warning AOA or critical AOA, but because the airplane is flown at higher AOAs, and thus reduced speeds in the takeoff/departure and approach/ landing phases of flight, learning to fly at reduced airspeeds is essential. 

 

In these phases of flight, the airplane’s close proximity to the ground would make loss of control catastrophic;
therefore, the pilot must be proficient in slow flight.

 

The objective of maneuvering in slow flight is to understand the flight characteristics and how the airplane’s flight controls feel near its aerodynamic buffet or stall-warning. 

 

It also helps to develop the pilot’s recognition of how the airplane feels, sounds, and looks when a stall is impending. 

 

These characteristics include, degraded response to control inputs and difficulty maintaining altitude. 

 

Practicing slow flight will help pilots recognize an imminent stall not only from the  eel of the controls, but also from  visual cues, aural indications, and instrument indications.

 

For pilot training and testing purposes, slow flight includes two main elements:

1. Slowing to, maneuvering at, and recovering from an airspeed at which the airplane is still capable of maintaining controlled flight without activating the stall warning—5 to 10 knots above the 1G stall speed is a good target; and

2. Performing slow flight in configurations appropriate to takeoffs, climbs, descents, approaches to landing, and go-arounds.

 

Slow flight should be introduced with the airspeed sufficiently above the stall to permit safe maneuvering, but close enough to the stall warning for the pilot to experience the characteristics of flight at a very low airspeed. 

 

One way to determine the target airspeed is to slow the airplane to the stall warning when in the desired slow flight configuration, pitch the nose down slightly to eliminate the stall warning, add power to maintain altitude and note the airspeed. 

 

Slow Flight

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