Common errors

Power-on stall errors are similar to power-off (B) with one critical addition: uncoordinated entries that drop a wing. The combination of high power, high AoA, and bank produces the spin-prone condition that doesn't occur in power-off stalls. The seven below cover the common faults; #4 and #5 are specifically power-on hazards.

1. Pulling through the stall

What it looks like: the pilot feels the buffet, hears the stall warning, and continues to pull back. The airplane stalls more deeply; the nose drops; the pilot pulls more.

Why: the same misframing as power-off (B, ERR #1) — "if I'm slow and pitching down, I should pitch up." In power-on, the climbing entry attitude makes the pitch-up instinct feel correct.

Fix: reduce AoA first — forward elevator pressure before any other input. The recovery doctrine doesn't change for power-on.

2. Slow to recognize at high deck angle

What it looks like: the pilot doesn't announce the first indication until the airplane is fully stalled. By that point, the recovery is harder and altitude loss is greater.

Why: at steep nose-up attitude, the visual cues are dominated by sky filling the windshield. The pilot may fixate on pitch attitude instead of scanning for buffet and warning cues.

Fix: listen for the warning first, then verify with feel. The stall warning horn is the earliest cue and works regardless of visual orientation. Verbalize when you hear it.

3. Aileron correction for wing drop (the dangerous habit)

What it looks like: during the stall, a wing drops. The pilot applies opposite aileron to pick the wing up. The airplane responds with further wing drop — the down-aileron on the dropping wing increases its AoA, deepening the stall on that wing, sometimes triggering incipient spin.

Why: the natural instinct is "pick up the dropping wing with aileron" — same as in normal flight. In stalled flight, this is the wrong input.

Fix: AoA reduction first, then coordinated wings-level recovery using rudder primarily. The aileron should stay neutral until the wing is flying again. This is the most critical safety lesson of the power-on stall — getting it wrong here is the input pattern that produces spins (cross-ref VII.D).

4. Inadequate right rudder during entry

What it looks like: the airplane yaws left during the power-on pitch-up. By the time the stall warning activates, the airplane is already uncoordinated — left wing higher AoA than right.

Why: the pilot didn't anticipate the strength of left-turning tendencies at full power + high AoA. P-factor and torque at this regime require firm continuous right rudder pressure.

Fix: active right rudder continuous from the moment power is applied. The rudder pressure should feel firm, not light. Use the ball as the diagnostic — if the ball drifts left, more right rudder.

5. Power-on stall enters incipient spin

What it looks like: an uncoordinated entry (#4) followed by an aileron correction (#3) produces a wing drop that doesn't recover — the airplane begins rotating yaw + roll. This is incipient spin.

Why: the entry was uncoordinated AND the recovery was wrong. Two errors compounded.

Fix: the moment you recognize rotation (not just drop), apply the incipient spin recovery — the PARE sequence and its full reasoning live in VII.D. The maneuver in C should not develop this far if entered coordinated.

If you recognize incipient spin in a power-on entry, the recovery is immediate — not "let me try to fix it with the stall recovery first."

6. Excessive altitude loss

What it looks like: the airplane loses 500+ ft during recovery. The recovery itself was correct, but the deck angle at the break required a long pitch-down recovery.

Why: the entry was at very high pitch attitude (perhaps 30° nose-up), so the AoA-reduction recovery had to drop the nose through a large angle. Some altitude loss is unavoidable.

Fix: the standard is minimum altitude loss consistent with proper recovery — not "no altitude loss." Don't pull harder to limit altitude loss; that re-stalls the airplane and costs more.

7. Premature climb-out

What it looks like: after recovery, the pilot pitches aggressively back to climb attitude before airspeed has built. The stall warning re-activates.

Why: wanting to "get back to climbing" too fast.

Fix: wait for airspeed. Pitch smoothly to a shallow climb as the airplane accelerates. Don't chase V_Y; let the airspeed build first.

How errors compound. Uncoordinated entry (#4) is the gateway to wing drop (manifests in #5 directly). Aileron correction for the drop (#3) cascades into incipient spin (#5). The discipline that prevents the chain: active rudder during entry, neutral aileron at the stall, AoA reduction first in the recovery. The cross-control distinction from IV.G (slip vs. skid) is the foundational pedagogy — power-on stalls are where it matters most in the PPL curriculum.