Commercial pilot · ACS CA.VII.B · Instructor lesson plan

Power-Off Stalls

Student pack: Train: Power-Off Stalls · Full lesson: Prepare guide

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1 · Objective

By the end of this lesson your student can explain power-off stalls in their own words, apply it in a realistic situation, and fly it to the ACS standard for CA.VII.B.

Why it matters for safety: Approach-and-landing stalls happen close to the ground, where there's little height to recover. The turn from base to final, a go-around with full flaps and nose-up trim, and a distracted descent are the classic setups. Practicing them at altitude makes the recovery automatic, and teaches you to see the setup before it happens.

2 · Assign before the lesson

Pre-work: the free Train pack, Power-Off Stalls. The approach-and-landing stall: recognize it, recover promptly, and lose as little altitude as you can.

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Pack: pilotprep.pro/train/cpl/power-off-stalls · Full lesson: pilotprep.pro/prepare/cpl/power-off-stalls

3 · Teach sequence

Key points to land

Power-off stalls simulate the approach and landing: configured, descending, then pitched up until the stall.(Airplane Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-3C), slow flight, stalls and spins)
Recovery: Disconnect the autopilot or wing leveler if engaged; reduce the angle of attack until the stall warning stops; if a wing drops, check the yaw with rudder and keep the ailerons near neutral until the wing is flying, then level the wings with coordinated aileron and rudder; add power as needed (watching for left-turning tendency and pitch-up); then return to the desired flight path. The goal is to get the wing flying again, not to save altitude: minimum altitude loss comes from a correct recovery, and holding the nose up to save altitude causes a secondary stall.(AC 120-109A, Stall Prevention and Recovery Training)
Reducing the angle of attack is what recovers the stall and returns you to the flight path; altitude loss is accepted, and power only helps you lose less.(AC 120-109A, Stall Prevention and Recovery Training)
Pulling again too soon in the recovery causes a secondary stall.(Airplane Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-3C), slow flight, stalls and spins)
Typical real-world setup: a low, slow, overshooting turn to final, tightened with rudder.(Airplane Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-3C), slow flight, stalls and spins)
Commercial standard: heading ±10° straight, or bank not over 20°, ±5° in turns; acknowledge the cues at the first indication; recover at the first indication or after a full stall, as the evaluator asks; configure per the manufacturer and accelerate to VX or VY; return to the altitude, heading and airspeed specified.(Commercial Pilot ACS (FAA-S-ACS-7B), CA.VII.B.S6-S10)
Finish no lower than 1,500 feet AGL single-engine, 3,000 feet AGL multiengine.(Commercial Pilot ACS (FAA-S-ACS-7B), CA.VII.B.S2)

The aerodynamics

The wing always stalls at the same critical angle of attack; the speed where it gets there rises with load factor (bank, a pull, gusts), weight and a forward CG, and falls with flaps and an aft CG; power, attitude and yaw affect it too. Uncoordinated, one wing can reach the critical angle first and drop.(PHAK (FAA-H-8083-25C), Aerodynamics of Flight)
Recognize it by sight (nose high, attitude), sound (horn, quieter air noise) and feel (mushy controls, buffet, sink). Stall characteristics vary by design.(Airplane Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-3C), slow flight, stalls and spins)

How it's flown

Choose a practice area clear of terrain, obstacles and wires, with a forced-landing option in mind; clear it with clearing turns before each maneuver, and keep looking outside while you fly it, especially when the high nose blocks the view ahead.(Airplane Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-3C), slow flight, stalls and spins)
Configure for approach or landing, establish a stabilized descent, then smoothly raise the nose to the attitude that induces the stall, straight or in a turn of up to 20°.(Commercial Pilot ACS (FAA-S-ACS-7B), CA.VII.B.S3-S6)
Recover: Disconnect the autopilot or wing leveler if engaged; reduce the angle of attack until the stall warning stops; if a wing drops, check the yaw with rudder and keep the ailerons near neutral until the wing is flying, then level the wings with coordinated aileron and rudder; add power as needed (watching for left-turning tendency and pitch-up); then return to the desired flight path. The goal is to get the wing flying again, not to save altitude: minimum altitude loss comes from a correct recovery, and holding the nose up to save altitude causes a secondary stall. Then clean up as the POH says and climb at VX or VY.(AC 120-109A, Stall Prevention and Recovery Training)
Prevent it in real life: a stabilized approach, a rectangular pattern without steep turns to final, and a go-around when the approach isn't right.(Airplane Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-3C), slow flight, stalls and spins)

Warnings, secondary and cross-control stalls

Stall warnings (horn, light) must start at least 5 knots above the stall in each configuration, typically 5 to 10 knots (check the POH), and continue to the stall; they are angle-of-attack driven and can fail, and in an accelerated stall the warning comes at a higher speed. Buffet differs between airplanes. Know the other cues: mushy controls, quieter air noise, a high nose, sink.(Airplane Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-3C), slow flight, stalls and spins)
A stall warning on approach or in the flare before touchdown means lower the angle of attack, and on approach go around. The horn at the moment of a deliberate full-stall touchdown is the result of the landing, not permission to fly through a warning on final.(Airplane Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-3C), slow flight, stalls and spins)
Secondary stall: pulling out of the dive before the airspeed recovers. Accelerated stall: a stall at a higher-than-normal speed from load factor, in a steep turn, an abrupt pull-up or any abrupt maneuver, even wings level.(Airplane Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-3C), slow flight, stalls and spins)
Cross-control stall: too much inside rudder in a skidding turn, opposite aileron to stop the bank increasing, and back pressure. It can come with little or no warning; the inside wing stalls and drops sharply and the airplane can roll into a spin. The only safe fix for an overshoot is to go around.(Airplane Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-3C), slow flight, stalls and spins)
Wind shear and microbursts: first an increasing headwind and a performance gain, then a strong downdraft, then a tailwind and a rapid loss of airspeed and climb. The early gain is the trap: don't reduce power or pitch up into it.(AC 00-54, Pilot Windshear Guide)

Environment and attention

Turbulence and gusts change the angle of attack suddenly; a microburst or wind shear can drop the airspeed in seconds; at high density altitude there is less power to recover with, and the true airspeed at the stall is higher.(PHAK (FAA-H-8083-25C), Aerodynamics of Flight)
Distraction is how stalls happen in real flying: a frequency change, a passenger, traffic. Keep a scan outside and inside, and if in doubt, lower the nose first.(Risk Management Handbook (FAA-H-8083-2A))

Watch for in the airplane: Your instructor watches for clearing turns, a stabilized descent, coordination to the stall, a prompt reduction in angle of attack, no secondary stall, a smooth clean-up and climb at VX or VY, and the commercial tolerances.

4 · Ask your student

In order: recall, then understanding, then applying it. Move up only when the answer shows it.

Recall · What is the first step in any stall recovery?
A strong answer: Reduce the angle of attack: lower the nose until the stall warning stops.
Understand · Why is the base-to-final turn so dangerous?
A strong answer: You're slow and low; overshooting tempts you to tighten the turn with rudder and hold the bank with opposite aileron. That's a cross-controlled, high angle of attack setup, where a stall becomes a spin with no height to recover.
Apply · On a go-around with full flaps, the nose pitches up hard as you add full power. What do you do?
A strong answer: Anticipate it: firm forward pressure to hold the nose down (the nose-up trim makes it strong), keep coordinated, retract the flaps in stages per the POH only once a positive climb is established, and re-trim; if I can't hold the pitch, reduce power until I can. Don't let the nose-up trim stall the airplane.

Scenarios to talk through

You overshoot the turn to final with a tailwind on base. What do you do?
Sound decision: Don't tighten the turn with rudder or more bank: go around and fly a wider pattern.
In the recovery you pull up hard as soon as the nose is down, and the buffet returns. What happened?
Sound decision: A secondary stall: you raised the angle of attack again before the airspeed recovered. Lower the nose again, then ease out of the descent.
The stall warning sounds in a 20° turn to final, with flaps out. What do you do?
Sound decision: Lower the nose, level the wings, add power, and go around.

5 · Common student errors

Adding power before lowering the nose.
Why it matters: The wing is still stalled.
How to correct it: Angle of attack first, then power.
Cleaning up flaps all at once.
Why it matters: It drops the airplane and can cause another stall.
How to correct it: Retract in steps as the POH says.
Uncoordinated stalls.
Why it matters: A wing drops and the airplane can spin.
How to correct it: Keep the ball centered all the way.

6 · Completion standard

Approach or landing configuration, coordinated, stabilized descent; heading ±10° straight, bank not over 20°, ±5° in a turn, to the stall asked for.
Acknowledge the first cue, recover promptly, configure and accelerate to VX or VY, return to the assigned altitude, heading and airspeed; finish no lower than 1,500 feet AGL (3,000 multiengine).
Your student answers each "Ask your student" question in their own words, up to the Apply level, without prompting.
They talk through the scenarios and reach a safe, legal decision, explaining why.
They complete the pack’s quick check and can say what they flagged.

Area trained? Close out with a practice oral focused on CA.VII.B: pilotprep.pro/exam?exam=CPL&focus=CA.VII.B

7 · References

Airplane Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-3C), Slow flight, stalls and spins; multiengine airplanes
Pilot's Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge (FAA-H-8083-25C), Aerodynamics of Flight
AC 120-109A, Stall Prevention and Recovery Training
AC 61-67C, Stall and Spin Awareness Training
Commercial Pilot ACS (FAA-S-ACS-7B), Area VII
Your airplane's POH/AFM, stall recovery, speeds and limitations
Airman Certification Standards, task CA.VII.B

PilotPrep instructor lesson plan, from the Power-Off Stalls lesson (checked against current FAA sources 2026-11-13). A study and teaching aid, not FAA guidance; teach to your own judgment and the current ACS.