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Private pilot · ACS PA.VII.C · lesson pack

Power-On Stalls

Why this one matters

Departure stalls are among the deadliest because they happen low, right after takeoff or during a go-around: a high nose to clear an obstacle, a distraction, an engine hiccup with the nose held up. This task trains recognition and a reflexive recovery for exactly that moment.

1 · Know these cold

  • •Recovery, every time: Disconnect any autopilot or wing leveler; reduce the angle of attack (pitch down until the stall warning stops); then level the wings with coordinated aileron and rudder; add power as needed (with right rudder for the left-turning tendency), retracting any speed brakes; then return to the desired flight path. The POH procedure governs.(AC 120-109A, Stall Prevention and Recovery Training)
  • •The power-on stall simulates takeoff and departure: the takeoff, departure or cruise configuration (as the evaluator specifies), coordinated throughout, power set as assigned to no less than 65%.(Private Pilot ACS (FAA-S-ACS-6C), PA.VII.C.S3-S4)
  • •High power at low airspeed means strong left-turning tendencies: right rudder keeps you coordinated.(Airplane Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-3C), slow flight, stalls and spins)
  • •A wing drop at the break with uncoordinated flight is how spins start. While still stalled, don't use aileron (a down aileron raises that wing's angle of attack): reduce the angle of attack until the warning stops, then level the wings with coordinated aileron and rudder.(Airplane Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-3C), slow flight, stalls and spins)
  • •Elevator trim stall: a go-around with nose-up trim and full power can pitch the nose up sharply. Push and re-trim.(Airplane Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-3C), slow flight, stalls and spins)
  • •Accelerated stall: abrupt back pressure stalls the wing above normal stall speed.(Airplane Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-3C), slow flight, stalls and spins)
  • •Clear the area and choose an entry altitude so the task is completed no lower than 1,500 feet AGL; bank no more than 20° in turning stalls.(Private Pilot ACS (FAA-S-ACS-6C), PA.VII.C.S1-S2, S6)

2 · The lesson

Why it's different with power
  • The wing still stalls at its critical angle of attack. Stall speed rises with load factor (as its square root), weight and a forward CG, and falls slightly with power on; an aft CG lowers it but flattens the break and weakens stability and recovery. Any stall speed figure is valid only for its stated weight, load factor and configuration. With power on, the nose attitude at the stall is much higher.(PHAK (FAA-H-8083-25C), Aerodynamics of Flight)
  • Left-turning tendencies at high power and low airspeed: P-factor and the spiraling slipstream yaw the airplane left; torque mainly rolls it left; gyroscopic precession acts only while the propeller's plane is changing (pitching down yaws left, pitching up yaws right, for a clockwise propeller) and disappears in a steady climb. It takes right rudder to stay coordinated.(PHAK (FAA-H-8083-25C), Aerodynamics of Flight)
  • Impending stall cues are the same: the warning, buffet, mushy controls. The break can be sharper, often with a wing drop if you're uncoordinated.(Airplane Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-3C), slow flight, stalls and spins)
How it happens, and the recovery
  • Real power-on stalls come from a too-steep climb after takeoff, trying to clear an obstacle, a go-around with too much nose-up trim, or a distraction during the climb.(Airplane Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-3C), slow flight, stalls and spins)
  • The recovery: Disconnect any autopilot or wing leveler; reduce the angle of attack (pitch down until the stall warning stops); then level the wings with coordinated aileron and rudder; add power as needed (with right rudder for the left-turning tendency), retracting any speed brakes; then return to the desired flight path. The POH procedure governs.(AC 120-109A, Stall Prevention and Recovery Training)
  • The recovery follows your POH; the steps above are the generic AC 120-109A template behind most POH procedures. If a wing drops, reduce the angle of attack first; once the warning is gone, level the wings with coordinated aileron and rudder. Don't pick up the wing with aileron while still stalled.(Airplane Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-3C), slow flight, stalls and spins; AC 120-109A, Stall Prevention and Recovery Training)
  • The entry, step by step: clear the area, pick an entry altitude that lets you finish no lower than 1,500 feet AGL, set the assigned configuration, slow to normal liftoff speed, set at least 65% power, then smoothly raise the nose to the attitude that induces the stall and hold it (heading or bank as specified) until the stall. Departure stalls are normally practiced at maximum power, reduced only to avoid an excessive nose-up attitude.(Airplane Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-3C), slow flight, stalls and spins; Private Pilot ACS (FAA-S-ACS-6C), PA.VII.C.S1-S5)
  • After the recovery: retract flaps only to the recommended setting, and the gear, once there's a positive rate of climb; accelerate to VX or VY before the final flap retraction; then return to the specified altitude, heading and airspeed.(Private Pilot ACS (FAA-S-ACS-6C), PA.VII.C.S9-S10)
  • Prevention: hold the climb attitude for Vy (or Vx when needed), not a higher nose, and keep your scan going.(Airplane Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-3C), slow flight, stalls and spins)
Warnings, other stalls, and the environment
  • Stall warning devices come on shortly before the stall but can fail or be drowned out. A stall warning on climb-out means lower the nose now.(Airplane Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-3C), slow flight, stalls and spins)
  • Elevator trim stall: during a go-around from a landing approach trimmed nose-up, full power can pitch the nose up steeply. Hold forward pressure, lower the nose, and re-trim.(Airplane Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-3C), slow flight, stalls and spins)
  • Accelerated stall: abrupt pull-up or excessive back pressure stalls the wing above the normal stall speed.(Airplane Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-3C), slow flight, stalls and spins)
  • Secondary stall: re-stalling during the recovery by pulling back before the angle of attack and speed have recovered. Cross-control stall: an uncoordinated (usually skidding) turn with aileron held against rudder, classically overshooting final with inside rudder and back pressure; the inside, slower wing stalls first and the airplane can roll into a spin.(Airplane Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-3C), slow flight, stalls and spins)
  • Turbulence and gusts change the angle of attack and load factor suddenly; a microburst, downdraft or loss of headwind on departure can drop the airspeed and performance; at high density altitude the engine makes less power. For all three: hold the correct climb attitude and speed, don't pull the nose up to fight it, and plan before takeoff.(PHAK (FAA-H-8083-25C), Aerodynamics of Flight)
Doing it safely
  • The high nose blocks your view ahead: clear the area first and keep looking for traffic.(Private Pilot ACS (FAA-S-ACS-6C), PA.VII.C.S1)
  • On a real departure, fly the airplane first. Checklists, radios and passengers can wait until you're climbing at a safe speed.(Risk Management Handbook (FAA-H-8083-2A))

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

On the flight

ACS standards

  • Power no less than 65%; heading ±10° in straight flight; bank no more than 20°, ±10°, in turning flight.(Private Pilot ACS (FAA-S-ACS-6C), PA.VII.C.S4, S6)
  • Recover promptly after a full stall; complete no lower than 1,500 feet AGL; return to the specified altitude, heading and airspeed.(Private Pilot ACS (FAA-S-ACS-6C), PA.VII.C.S2, S7, S10)

What your instructor is watching for

Your instructor watches your right rudder as the airspeed drops, a prompt nose-down recovery, no aileron use to fight a wing drop while stalled, and a smooth climb at Vx or Vy afterward.

3 · Say it out loud

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

  1. Remember Recall it

    “What configuration and power do you use for a power-on stall?”

  2. Understand Explain why

    “Why does the airplane want to yaw left as you approach a power-on stall?”

  3. Apply Use it on a flight

    “On a go-around, you add full power and the nose pitches up hard. What's happening and what do you do?”

4 · Common mistakes

  • Not enough right rudder.

    Uncoordinated flight at the stall can drop a wing and start a spin.

    Instead: Add right rudder progressively as airspeed falls; keep the ball centered.

  • Raising a dropped wing with aileron.

    Down aileron increases that wing's angle of attack and can deepen the stall.

    Instead: Reduce the angle of attack until the warning stops, then level the wings with coordinated aileron and rudder.

  • Leaving the nose-up trim in on a go-around.

    Full power plus nose-up trim can pitch the nose up into a stall.

    Instead: Push to a safe climb attitude, then re-trim.

5 · Quick check

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

  1. 1. What is the minimum power for a power-on stall on the checkride?

  2. 2. Which flight phase does the power-on stall simulate?

  3. 3. What is an elevator trim stall?

  4. 4. What is an accelerated stall?

  5. Scenario5. Climbing out at high density altitude, the airplane barely climbs. Do you raise the nose?

Trained it? Now prove it: practice power-on stalls 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 · Slow Flight & Stalls

A gusty crosswind gives you a tailwind on base, and the higher groundspeed carries you through final on the turn. You're slow and tempted to add bottom rudder to tighten the turn.

What links slow flight, stall recognition and spin awareness here? Decide, then see the worked answer

The tailwind on base raised your groundspeed and carried you through the final course; that's the setup, so recognize the setup rather than wait for stall cues, because a cross-controlled stall gives little warning. Rudder doesn't tighten a turn the way you want. Bottom rudder yaws the nose in and steepens the bank, so you hold opposite aileron to stop the roll and pull to keep the nose up. Bottom rudder, opposite aileron and back pressure together drive the inside wing to its critical angle of attack first, and the airplane can roll into a spin too low to recover. Overshoot plus inside rudder plus opposite aileron plus back pressure means unload and go around, now. The go-around is the default for this overshoot; continue only if you can rejoin with a gentle, coordinated, shallow turn and a stabilized approach. Bank raises the stall speed, and at pattern altitude about 30° of bank is a common warning limit. If it does stall: reduce the angle of attack first, roll the wings level with coordinated controls, add power as appropriate, and go around. Don't pull through it, and don't try to raise a dropping wing with aileron alone.

AFH (FAA-H-8083-3C), Maintaining Aircraft Control; AC 61-67

Brings together: Maneuvering During Slow Flight · Power-Off Stalls · Spin Awareness

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 120-109A; Private Pilot ACS (FAA-S-ACS-6C); Your airplane's POH/AFM. Checked against current sources 2026-11-12.