How to fly the maneuver

Maneuvering during slow flight is the deliberate practice of flying at minimum controllable airspeed — just above the stall warning — while holding altitude, heading, and configuration. The maneuver builds familiarity with the airplane's behavior near stall so that when you encounter the same flight regime on final approach, the airplane feels predictable. It's also the most direct way to teach the back side of the power curve by feel.

You're not flying at stall — you're flying right above it. The standard is the slowest airspeed at which the airplane can be maneuvered without stalling. Stall warning may be intermittent; full stall is not part of the maneuver.

Setup

1. Climb to maneuvering altitude — at least 1,500 ft AGL, ideally 3,000+ ft so any inadvertent stall can be recovered with comfortable margin.
2. Clear the area with two 90° clearing turns (or one 180°) — same standard as other maneuvers (V.A).
3. Pick a visual heading reference on the horizon.

Establish slow flight

1. Reduce power to begin slowing the airplane.
2. Apply progressive nose-up pitch to hold altitude as airspeed bleeds.
3. Add flaps incrementally as airspeed drops below each flap-limit speed.
4. Configure to full landing configuration (full flaps, prop full forward if applicable).
5. Continue reducing airspeed until the airplane is operating just above stall warning — the airspeed at which any further reduction triggers the stall warning continuously.

The pitch attitude in established slow flight is nose-high — visibly higher than cruise — because high AoA is required to produce the lift needed at low airspeed.

Hold the configuration

1. Pitch attitude controls airspeed in this regime — but inversely from normal flight. Nose up → airspeed bleeds further → approaching stall. Nose down → airspeed builds → climbing out of slow flight.
2. Power controls altitude — adding power climbs, reducing descends. This is the back side of the power curve (cross-ref to the soft-field takeoff PRI, C, and the short-field takeoff PRI, E, for the underlying aerodynamics).
3. Rudder authority is critical. At high AoA and full power changes, left-turning tendencies (P-factor, torque) are exaggerated. Use rudder actively to maintain heading.
4. Primary controls feel sluggish — ailerons and elevator respond slowly. Expect this; don't over-control.

Maneuver

The ACS may require:

• Constant-altitude turns at bank up to 30° (VII.A.S4). Bank steepens stall speed (V.A's load-factor relationship — V_S × √n applies), so margin shrinks at the steeper end of the band.
• Climbs and descents in slow-flight configuration — by adding or reducing power without changing pitch attitude significantly.
• Heading changes with rudder coordination.

Throughout, maintain the established airspeed band.

Recover to cruise

1. Reduce pitch to allow airspeed to build.
2. Add full power as the airplane accelerates.
3. Retract flaps incrementally as airspeed exceeds each flap limit (typical order: full → 20° → 10° → 0°).
4. Trim for cruise climb.
5. Re-establish cruise flight at altitude.

Common pitfall: rapid power changes producing yaw. At slow flight with high AoA and full configuration, a sudden throttle change causes a strong yaw moment — left if you add power, right if you reduce. Add rudder progressively as power changes. The aim is no heading deviation through the power change.