Elevator Trim Stall (Demonstration)
A CFI demonstration stall showing what happens during a go-around when the airplane is trimmed nose-up for a slow approach and full power is applied. The strong nose-up pitching moment, combined with the nose-up trim, can pitch the airplane to a stall if the pilot does not firmly counter it. It teaches go-around pitch control.
Step by step
- 1At a safe altitude, configure as for a landing approach: gear/flaps down, low power, trimmed nose-up for a slow approach speed.
- 2Establish a stabilized descent at approach speed, fully trimmed.
- 3Simulate a go-around: smoothly apply full power without re-trimming.
- 4Allow the nose-up trim and power to pitch the nose up toward a stall — feel the strong nose-up tendency.
- 5Recover before/at the stall: apply firm forward pressure to hold a safe pitch attitude, then re-trim and clean up flaps/gear in stages.
- 6Establish a normal climb and discuss controlling pitch firmly during every go-around.
Tips & common errors
- The takeaway: during a go-around, anticipate and firmly control the nose-up pitch, then re-trim — do not let trim fly the airplane into a stall.
- Maintain control with elevator pressure first; re-trimming comes after you have the pitch under control.
- Demonstrate with altitude to spare; the pitch-up can be aggressive.
- Common student error: relaxing forward pressure too soon and allowing a secondary pitch-up.
ACS completion standards
The commonly-tested tolerances for this maneuver. Always confirm the current ACS for your certificate.
- Demonstrate the entry and recognition of an elevator-trim stall during a simulated go-around.
- Recover promptly by applying control pressure to maintain a safe pitch attitude, then re-trim and reconfigure.
- Explain the cause and the proper go-around pitch/trim technique.
FAA source
FAA-S-ACS-25 (Flight Instructor ACS), Task: Elevator Trim Stall (demonstration); Airplane Flying Handbook FAA-H-8083-3, Chapter 4.
This is an original, plain-English study summary grounded in the public-domain FAA Airman Certification Standards and FAA handbooks cited above. It is a study aid, not flight instruction, and not a substitute for the official ACS, the handbooks, your aircraft’s POH/AFM, or a certificated flight instructor.
Related maneuvers
- Maneuvering During Slow FlightSlow flight is sustained flight at a low airspeed just above the stall warning, where the airplane is on the back side of the power curve and controls feel mushy. You learn to control altitude, heading, and airspeed precisely with coordinated use of pitch, power, and trim. Per the current ACS, slow flight is flown at a speed above the one that would activate the stall warning.
- Power-Off Stall (Approach-to-Landing Stall)A power-off stall simulates the stall that can occur in the approach/landing configuration — power reduced, flaps and gear down, descending. You recognize the aerodynamic stall (buffet, mushy controls, stall warning) and recover promptly with minimum altitude loss.
- Power-On Stall (Departure Stall)A power-on stall simulates the stall that can happen on takeoff or initial climb — takeoff power, takeoff/departure configuration, nose high. Torque and P-factor make the airplane want to roll/yaw left, so coordinated rudder is essential to a clean recovery.
- Accelerated (Maneuvering) StallAn accelerated stall demonstrates that an airplane can stall at a higher-than-normal airspeed whenever the load factor is increased — for example in a steep, level turn. The increased G raises the stall speed, so the wing reaches its critical angle of attack while the airspeed is still well above the 1G stall speed.
Keep studying
Turn maneuver knowledge into a passing checkride
Drill ACS-aligned questions and ask the AI tutor, Ace, anything — free to start, no account needed.
Take a free practice test →