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Commercial pilot · ACS CA.V.B · lesson pack

Steep Spiral

Why this one matters

An engine failure high above a good field is wasted if the pilot glides away from it or arrives too high. The steep spiral teaches you to lose height over a point while keeping it in reach. It also trains watching airspeed and coordination in a long, nose-low, power-off turn.

1 · Know these cold

  • •The purpose: losing altitude quickly while staying over a chosen spot, as you would to set up an emergency landing from high above a field.(Airplane Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-3C), Performance Maneuvers; Airplane Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-3C), Emergency Procedures)
  • •Start high enough for at least three 360° turns and finish no lower than 1,500 feet AGL.(Commercial Pilot ACS (FAA-S-ACS-7B), CA.V.B.S2, S6)
  • •Clear the area and pick a point over an area where you could make an emergency landing; note your distance from it, which sets the radius. Throttle to idle, carburetor heat on if equipped (per the POH), glide at the specified speed ±10 knots, and keep that radius.(Commercial Pilot ACS (FAA-S-ACS-7B), CA.V.B.S3, S6)
  • •Vary the bank for wind: steepest with the tailwind (highest groundspeed), shallowest with the headwind, never more than 60°.(Commercial Pilot ACS (FAA-S-ACS-7B), CA.V.B.S4)
  • •A long idle glide can overcool the engine, foul the plugs or build carburetor ice: clear the engine periodically by advancing the throttle for a few seconds (preferably headed into the wind), adjusting pitch to hold the speed ±10 knots, watching cylinder head temperature if you have it, and following the POH.(Airplane Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-3C), Performance Maneuvers; Your airplane's POH/AFM)
  • •Watch the airspeed: a nose-low spiral can pick up speed quickly; respect VNE and VA.(Your airplane's POH/AFM)
  • •Roll out toward a chosen object or heading ±10°.(Commercial Pilot ACS (FAA-S-ACS-7B), CA.V.B.S6)

2 · The lesson

Why, and the geometry
  • It's the way to descend from high above a forced-landing field while keeping it beneath you.(Airplane Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-3C), Emergency Procedures)
  • A constant radius over the ground needs a varying bank: groundspeed is highest downwind, so the bank is steepest there and shallowest upwind.(Airplane Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-3C), Ground Reference Maneuvers)
  • Pick a point over a field suitable for an emergency landing (not just a prominent object), and enter on downwind so the first and steepest bank comes early.(Airplane Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-3C), Performance Maneuvers; Commercial Pilot ACS (FAA-S-ACS-7B), CA.V.B.S3)
Limits
  • Wind changes with altitude; adjust the bank continuously to keep the radius.(Airplane Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-3C), Ground Reference Maneuvers)
  • Hold the specified glide speed; the nose-low attitude can let speed build toward VNE and above VA, so control pitch carefully and don't exceed 60° of bank.(Your airplane's POH/AFM)
  • Clear the engine for a few seconds periodically, as the POH recommends, holding the airspeed while you do.(Airplane Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-3C), Performance Maneuvers)
  • The 1,500-foot floor is for training and the checkride. In a real engine failure over a field, keep spiraling below 1,500 feet and blend into a normal approach to land there; don't level off and abandon the field.(Airplane Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-3C), Emergency Procedures)
Doing it safely
  • Clear the area with clearing turns before every maneuver, and keep scanning: you're turning, climbing and descending through other airplanes' airspace.(AC 90-48, Pilots' Role in Collision Avoidance)
  • Finish no lower than 1,500 feet AGL; the spiral descends quickly, so plan the starting altitude.(Airplane Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-3C), Performance Maneuvers)
  • Divide attention: outside references for attitude and orientation, quick glances inside for altitude and airspeed. Fixating on one instrument is how errors grow.(Risk Management Handbook (FAA-H-8083-2A))
  • Keep the ball centered. Uncoordinated flight at high angles of attack is the setup for an accelerated or cross-controlled stall and a spin.(PHAK (FAA-H-8083-25C), Aerodynamics of Flight)
  • Distraction, poor task priorities, lost situational awareness and disorientation: fly the airplane first, re-establish orientation on outside references and the instruments, and abandon the maneuver if you lose it.(Risk Management Handbook (FAA-H-8083-2A))

Want it all on one page, with scenarios? Read the full lesson.

On the flight

ACS standards

  • At least three 360° turns, constant radius, bank not more than 60° at the steepest point.(Commercial Pilot ACS (FAA-S-ACS-7B), CA.V.B.S2-S4)
  • Specified airspeed ±10 knots; roll out toward an object or heading ±10°; complete no lower than 1,500 feet AGL.(Commercial Pilot ACS (FAA-S-ACS-7B), CA.V.B.S6)

What your instructor is watching for

Your instructor watches the clearing, entry downwind, a constant radius with bank varied for wind, airspeed held, engine cleared, coordination, and the rollout on the chosen heading above 1,500 AGL.

3 · Say it out loud

Answer each one out loud, then check yourself and mark how it went.

  1. Remember Recall it

    “What is the maximum bank in the steep spiral, and the lowest completion altitude?”

  2. Understand Explain why

    “Why is the bank steepest with the wind behind you?”

  3. Apply Use it on a flight

    “Your engine quits at 4,500 feet AGL directly over a long field. How do you use this maneuver?”

4 · Common mistakes

  • A constant bank.

    The wind drifts the circle and the radius changes.

    Instead: Steepest downwind, shallowest upwind.

  • Ignoring airspeed.

    Speed builds in the nose-low turn.

    Instead: Hold the pitch for the specified speed and check it every turn.

  • Forgetting to clear the engine, or the carburetor heat.

    Long idle descents overcool the engine, foul plugs and can build carburetor ice.

    Instead: Carb heat on at entry if equipped; clear the engine for a few seconds periodically, per the POH.

5 · Quick check

Answer, then reveal. Flag anything you want to see again.

  1. 1. How many turns must the steep spiral include?

  2. 2. What is the airspeed tolerance?

  3. 3. Where is the bank steepest?

  4. 4. Why clear the engine during the spiral?

  5. Scenario5. Engine out at 5,000 feet over a good field. How do you descend to it?

Trained it? Now prove it: practice steep spiral out loud with our examiner.

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Connect it

One situation that runs across this lesson and its neighbors in the same ACS area. Decide first, then check.

Connect it · Performance Maneuvers

A practice session: steep turns at 50°, a steep spiral, then chandelles.

What do the three have in common in load factor and energy, and what limits each? Decide, then see the worked answer

All three are about load factor and energy, but each trades it differently. The steep turn holds altitude, so you add power to hold airspeed against the extra drag; a level 50° bank is about 1.56 G, with the stall speed about 25% higher. The steep spiral is flown at idle, trading altitude for a constant gliding airspeed around a point at a constant radius, steepest bank when the groundspeed is highest (downwind), never more than 60°. Fly at least three 360° turns, finish no lower than 1,500 feet AGL unless it's an actual emergency landing, and clear the engine periodically with brief power so it stays warm and the plugs stay clean. The 60° figures (2 G, stall speed about 41% higher) are for a level turn; in the descending spiral the load is close to that but slightly less. The chandelle trades airspeed for altitude in a 180° climbing turn at a fixed power setting: about 30° of bank, entered at or below the recommended entry speed, never above VA. In the first 90° the bank stays constant and the pitch increases; in the second 90° the pitch stays constant and the bank comes out, rolling out at 180° ±10° just above the stall. Hold that attitude briefly, then lower the nose to regain airspeed without losing altitude. Coordination doesn't prevent an accelerated stall; only reducing the angle of attack and the load factor does. What coordination does is make a stall under load break evenly, not by one wing first.

Commercial Pilot ACS (FAA-S-ACS-7B), Area V; AFH (FAA-H-8083-3C), Performance Maneuvers; PHAK (FAA-H-8083-25C), Load Factor

Brings together: Steep Turns · Steep Spiral · Chandelles

Teaching this? The instructor lesson plan →

Study aid, not FAA guidance. Sources: Airplane Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-3C); Pilot's Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge (FAA-H-8083-25C); AC 90-48; Commercial Pilot ACS (FAA-S-ACS-7B); Your airplane's POH/AFM; Airplane Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-3C). Checked against current sources 2026-11-13.