Aerodynamic Reply,
Please do not get confused...
ANY Airplane (or glider) stalls when the wing reaches its CRITICAL ANGLE
OF ATTACK.
If you are airborne reducing power will cause the aircraft to settle,
but the aircraft stalling is a result of angle of attack. As the
relative wind changes direction when the pilot reduces power (from the
aircraft settling), the pilot will need to decrease pitch to maintain
the same angle of attack. IF the aircraft is just above the critical
angle of attack and/or at a low altitude when the power is reduced, two
things can happen:
1) There is not enough time or height to reduce the aircraft
pitch... ie. you will stall
or
2) you won't have enough energy (either Potential - Height, or
Kinetic - Velocity) with which to arrest the descent and flare the
aircraft for landing.
So YES... Reduce power slowly... but think about your angle of
attack and energy state... Do you have altitude or speed?
Do you have something in your back pocket to trade for the loss of
energy being input into the equation by the engine?
I hope this makes sense to all readers.
Get some dual and ground school from a good instructor. Be careful.
Have fun. And FLY SAFE.
Dave Conrad, A078, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA
|