Sporty's Stage 1, Lesson 11

Preparation for the flight

Read Sporty's additional study items

Read the Cessna POH for spin recover procedures

Read the AFH for the differences between a spin and a steep spiral

Briefing and discussion items

• Review of the previous flight - trying different visual focus areas for different phases of flight. A distant, end of the runway, focus sometime improves takeoff centerline control and landing flare height estimation
• Constant rate climbs and descents... how to use P-A-T to control the VSI as a performance target. (Note, there is no ACS standard for constant rate climbs and descents)
• Spin awareness, POH spin recovery procedures (Cessna POH 3-19) Discuss the difference between an incipient spin and a full spin and when to execute POH recovery procedures.
• Load factor effect of stall AOA and stall speed
• Stall speed with different flap settings

Emergency procedure of the day

• What causes a spin?
• difference between a spin and a descending spiral
• Spin recovery procedures

Conduct of the flight

• takeoff with focus on centerline control and rotation at 55 KIAS. I'll call "50-55-rotate" and assist with back pressure to allow you to focus on the rudder input and centerline control. We'll try multiple takeoffs from a stop-and-go. We can also try the "partial control" technique again.
• climb to the west with targeting various rates of climb on the VSI. Remember... the VSI lags more than other performance instruments
• Slowflight, with turns focus on altitude throughout the maneuver
• Steep turns
• Power off stalls turning
• power off stalls at takeoff flaps
• Normal takeoffs and landings... if we have time, we'll do this at an uncontrolled field to introduce non-towered operations. EEN, FIT or CON are good options.

Tips on comm: If you don't understand what the controller wants you to do, for example, ATC says to "enter a left base" but you're unsure of where the airplane is in relative to the base entry, just read it back as briefly as you can and then we'll discuss what ATC meant. I use this technique when copying IFR flight plans... If the read back involves a reroute (it most often does) I'm not likely to have any idea where they are sending me as I'm copying the clearance. I read-it back to them verbatim, and after the read back, I look at the map and program the FMS... it's then that I understand what they wanted.

updated 4/27/2025