I've read the responses to this thread with a bit of unease. As I posted earlier, I *have* accidentally stalled. Sitting here thinking about it, I realized it happened 41 years ago this month.
But it's not the memory of the stall itself that makes me uneasy. It's the attitude of some of my fellow pilots here. I see too many statements like:
1. I keep my airspeed up, so it can't happen to me.
2. I'm attuned to the airplane, so it can't happen to me.
3. My airplane has a gentle stall, so even if it happens, it'll be minor.
I would have expressed the same opinions 41 years ago. Only the fact that the stall happened at ~2000 AGL meant that I'm alive today to explain it. The basic cause was stupidity; I'm sure no one here is going to duplicate my actions. The important thing I want folks to understand is the suddenness and *surprise* of the thing.
The airplane was a Champion 7ECA...the first Citabria. These were basically Champs with 100-115 HP engines; no fancy acro features. The airframes weren't even rated to +6/-3 Gs; they were aerobatic under the old CAR standard.
I had just received my Private license in Champ 60Golf, the local CAP aircraft. I had 80 hours total, all but the first 15 in 60Golf. It took me 80 hours not (just) because I was dense, but because I had packed a lot of flying in before I was age-eligible for the Private checkride. It was like I'd lived most of the year in the cockpit; the plane was a tube-and-fabric limb graft. No question I was comfortable in her.
The flight was my first after passing my Private checkride on October 6th. The passenger was a fellow cadet, my best friend, who was getting ready to start lessons in the same aircraft. I had earned free flying time by performing janitorial work for the local CAP headquarters, and my buddy was taking over the job so he could get some time as well.
It happened during a very complex maneuver: A left turn.
During my solo flying, I'd gotten into the bad habit of doing steep, fast, 90-degree turns by dropping a wing and hauling back hard on the stick. It was fun, and I offered to do one for my friend. He said, "Sure!"
Down went the left wing, back came the stick.
Undoubtedly, the plane was heavier (it's not like I ever did this with an instructor onboard). The CG was undoubtedly further aft. And, quite possibly, I pulled extra hard to show off.
It got about a quarter through, and WHAM!
"Wham" is an inadequate term. All of a sudden, my tube-and-fabric cocoon turned into a snarling she-dervish. The horizon flicked inverted in front of my disbelieving eyes, quickly being replaced by whirling green as the Champ went over the top into an upright spin.
Please note: The maneuver had started at cruise power and airspeed. There was no "laboring" or "warning" prior to the spin. I added loading quickly, but it's like what might happen if you suddenly spotted a bird or even conflicting traffic during a base-to-final turn. I had flown this airplane ~65 hours in the preceding six months, including ~20 hours of instruction (including acro). And it wasn't just a gentle little nose drop, it was a completely unexpected snap roll into a spin.
As I mentioned, this happened at altitude. I popped the stick forward, jammed the right rudder, and pulled back to level flight. My back, against the vinyl seat back, suddenly was drenched in sweat.
We flew in silence for about fifteen seconds. Then my friend said, "Uhh...that wasn't just a turn, was it?"
We flew real careful, after that.
There's an old saying, attributed to Mark Twain, along the lines of, "A man who has tried to put a bobcat into a gunny sack knows more than the man who hasn't." The biggest lesson I learned (other than not being stupid) was how suddenly it happened (little or no warning), and how OUT OF CONTROL the airplane becomes.
So please, don't get into that smug "It can't happen to me" mode. Keep alert, and always remember that if the airplane decides to bite, it will bite harder than you could dream.
Ron Wanttaja
