Slow Flight Myths Vs. The Airplane Flying Handbook

So this new series that we're gonna be starting is basically me reading you the Airplane Flying Handbook.

Now, that might sound boring.

Maybe it will end up being boring.

We'll see.

But the reason why I have decided to give this a try at the very least is because there are so many misconceptions about a given maneuver, a given technique that I will often find myself asking my students or people I'm flying with, you know, where they're coming up with these ideas that they have about a given maneuver.

One example would be slow flight.

And I will so often be with a pilot and we'll say, okay, what speed are we going to fly for slow flight? And they say, oh, well, about 60, just objectively.

And I'm like, okay, where'd you get that number? And the answers could vary, but they might be something like, oh, well, that's just what I always have done.

Or it could be, well, that's 10 over stall.

And that's what we do.

And I'm like, okay, well, even if that is true, is that what the ACS calls for? And they're like, yeah, it is.

And I'm like, really? I don't think so.

And so then I have to go back and I have to read them the definition of the speed at which slow flight calls for to be flown at.

And I've made videos about this.

I've got my slow flight video, which you can find up here in the corner.

And a more recent short where we talk about how speed really doesn't matter when it comes to slow flight.

Because in fact, slow flight is about, yes, learning what the airplane feels like at these slower speeds where your control effectiveness is going to be reduced and the aircraft's going to have some different tendencies.

But it's really about testing your ability to fly at not just the low speed, but a high angle of attack and a specific angle of attack.

That's what it's looking to test is not a specific speed.

but a specific angle of attack.

So it's misconceptions like these that I find prevalent throughout the flight training community and can simply be overcome and avoided if people actually just went and read, won the ACS, but Also, more specifically, the Airplane Flying Handbook.

It spells it out for you.

So I thought I would read through the Airplane Flying Handbook and address some of the common misconceptions and essentially allow you to hear straight from the horse's mouth.

the horse being the FAA, as to exactly what these maneuvers should be and why they should be it.

And for you instructors out there, this serves as a perfect template for your lesson plans.