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Old 10-01-2009, 03:27 AM
SgtPappy SgtPappy is offline
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For all intents and purposes there are 2 kinds of stalls. here's a simple explanation of them

Low speed stalls and high speed stalls; the latter of which does not actually always happen at high speed.

Low speed stalls are created when your aircraft simply runs out of sufficient speed to maintain flight and create stability. When the aircraft moves too slowly through the air, the strongest force exerted on the plane it the torque on the fin/rudder. This causes the plane to simply tumble out of the sky, and, depending on the orientation of the plane at the time, it can result in a flat spin, or a simple wing-over.The latter is preferable because it allows the plane's nose to be pointed down so you can gain speed, and thus, lift. A flat spin can be difficult to get out of, but it is possible. It is always advisable to point the nose down, in any case and hard rudder in the opposite direction.

High speed stalls are likely what you are encountering the most. This happens when the aircraft is pulling so much angle of attack (a.k.a. Alpha, a.k.a. AoA) that the airflow over top of the wing is disrupted to a point that it no longer flows down the trailing edge. This is known as airflow separation. The lift at this point is destroyed over the affected area of the wing and, once again, the torque overpowers the minimal lift (or lack thereof) created under the wings. For this stall, simply push down on the stick with both opposite rudder and opposite aileron.

BUT here's where the torque can save you, at least in real life. On an aircraft with a clockwise spinning engine (seen from the cockpit), the torque itself will push the plane the left, inducing a left spin when lift is minimal. Thus, if you manage to enter a spin to the left, cutting throttle is a good idea so that the torque's gyroscopic effect lowers. If in a spin to the right, INCREASING throttle will help. Of course, for other planes that have props spinning in the opposite directions, the opposite applies.

here's a plane with a prop that spins counter-clockwise (from pilot's view).
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