Power-off stalls seem simple until you're in front of an examiner and every input feels magnified. What trips up most students isn't the stall itself — it's the recovery, the coordination, and the altitude lost.
What the ACS Actually Requires
For the power-off stall, the ACS requires you to:
- Configure the aircraft in a landing configuration (full flaps, gear down if applicable)
- Establish a stabilized descent at approach airspeed
- Apply back pressure smoothly until the first indication of stall (buffet or stall horn)
- Execute a coordinated recovery with minimum altitude loss
- Return to a specific airspeed, altitude, and configuration as assigned
"Minimum altitude loss" is the phrase that matters. Aggressive pitch-downs during recovery are a common failure point.
The Most Common Errors
- Failing to establish a proper glide before the stall — the setup is part of the maneuver
- Secondary stall — recovering too aggressively, then stalling again immediately
- Skidding through the recovery — coordination is evaluated the entire time, not just at the break
- Excessive altitude loss — stomping full power and pitching aggressively causes both problems
- Missing the stall indications — hesitating past the buffet into a full break
How to Execute It Correctly
- Clear the area — two 90° clearing turns
- Reduce power to idle, carb heat on (if applicable)
- Configure flaps in stages as airspeed allows, establish approach attitude
- Trim for the descent — the setup shows the examiner you're in control
- Apply smooth, steady back pressure — watch for the stall horn or buffet
- At first indication: simultaneously lower pitch to horizon, apply full power, reduce flaps incrementally
- Coordinate with rudder throughout — especially as power comes in and torque increases
- Climb back to assigned altitude at Vx or Vy as appropriate
Why Students Fail This on Checkride Day
The stall itself isn't the bust. The recovery coordination is. Examiners watch your feet. If you're skidding or slipping through the recovery, you've demonstrated incomplete understanding of the maneuver.
Checkride Ready walks you through every stall variant with ACS criteria built in — so your recovery technique is trained to standard before you meet your examiner.
Keep Training
- Steep Turns ACS Standards Explained — builds the scan discipline that carries into stall work
- Slow Flight Mastery: ACS Standards and Control Techniques — slow flight is the stall's closest neighbor; master them together