Turning stalls are one of the often misunderstood scenarios student pilots face, especially during slow flight and pattern work.
Not everything you need to know about how to be a pilot is neatly tucked into one specific maneuver.
Sometimes, the bookwork and the flying must be synthesized together and applied to everything you do in a plane.
Never is the more evident than with turns, which change the aerodynamic forces on the airplane in direct and immediate ways that the pilot must compensate for.
Here’s a look at how turns affect your flying, and particularly why they matter during slow flight and stalls.
Aerodynamics of Turning Stalls
As the name suggests, a turning stall is one entered when the airplane is banked left or right.
However, understanding why it matters requires understanding some basic aerodynamics from the textbook. This is one of those times where it pays to have paid attention in ground school!
When an airplane banks into a turn, the total lift of the wings remains perpendicular to the wing span.
This means that a portion of the total lift is acting opposite weight and keeping the aircraft in the air (vertical lift). Another portion, the horizontal component of lift, pulls the plane into the turn.
FAA Graphic: Pilot’s Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge
Since every force has an equal and opposite reaction (thank you, Mr. Newton), the total lift also has two components — one is the pull of gravity, while the other pulls the aircraft out and away from the turn (centrifugal force).
The sum of those two forces is greater than the weight alone; it is increased by a load factor depending on the bank angle.
The load factor on the wings when level is 1 G, while at a 60-degree bank, the resultant load is 2 Gs. It goes up exponentially, not linearly.
The wings of a 2,500-pound aircraft flying at 2 Gs must support (make enough lift) to hold up 5,000 pounds in total.
FAA Graphic: Airplane Flying Handbook
The results of this increased load factor are multifaceted.
The aircraft and everything in it seem heavier. To support this extra load, the wings must produce more lift, requiring either a faster airspeed or a higher angle of attack.
This means that as you slow down and increase your angle of attack to compensate, the wings will reach their critical angle of attack earlier than they would in a 1 G condition.
The aerodynamics of turning flight is discussed in the FAA’s Pilot’s Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge, Chapter 5: Aerodynamics of Flight.
Turning Stall Scenarios
It’s essential that you understand the effects of increased load factor on stall speed when practicing maneuvers during slow flight.
When operating near or at the unaccelerated stall speed, any increase in load factor will result in a stall (which is the definition of slow flight).
So, if you want to increase the load factor by putting the airplane in a turn, you will need to speed up first to prevent the stall.
Further, all banks entered during slow flight must be done carefully, keeping all turns shallow and gradual to avoid sudden changes in load.
A stall is most dangerous when you are low and slow, such as when you are flying in the traffic pattern.
Turning stalls specifically pose a danger when you make the turns of that traffic pattern: the turn from upwind to crosswind, crosswind to downwind, downwind to base, and base to final.
Of those, the most dangerous would be the ones made when flying slowest — probably turns off upwind and onto final. However, the base leg is especially problematic for pilots flying too slowly and turning too steeply.
The Maneuver — Turning Stalls
As a maneuver, turning stalls aren’t any different than power-on or power-off stalls.
Well, there’s one difference: You establish a banked turn before you induce the stall. As soon as the stall occurs, you recover to straight-and-level flight.
It’s important to remember that an essential element of stall recovery is to get the wings level.
Don’t get confused by the name of the maneuver. A turning stall is entered from a specified bank angle, but you will level the wings during recovery.
The Private Pilot Airplane Airman Certification Standards (ACS) (2023) say you must “Maintain a specified heading, ±10° if in straight flight; maintain a specified angle of bank not to exceed 20°, ±10° if in turning flight, while inducing the stall.”
For the commercial and flight instructor ratings, you will practice a turning stall called the accelerated stall.
Unlike the power-on stalls and power-off stalls you do in banked turns for the Private and Instrument, this maneuver requires putting enough extra load on the airplane to really up the stall speed.
It’s performed at a 45-degree bank and only practiced to the incipient stall phase.
Stalls and recovery techniques are covered in the FAA’s Airplane Flying Handbook, Chapter 5: Maintaining Aircraft Control, Upset Prevention and Recovery Training.