Secondary Stall (Demonstration)
A CFI demonstration stall that shows what happens when a pilot recovers from a stall too aggressively — pulling back before the airplane has regained flying speed — causing a second, often more abrupt stall. It teaches a smooth, patient recovery that fully breaks the stall before resuming the climb.
Step by step
- 1At a safe altitude, clear the area and enter a power-off or power-on stall as appropriate.
- 2At the stall break, begin a recovery but deliberately raise the nose again too soon/too aggressively before the wings are flying.
- 3The airplane stalls a second time (the secondary stall), often with a sharper break.
- 4Recover properly this time: reduce the angle of attack, let the airplane accelerate to a flying speed, then smoothly raise the nose.
- 5Add power as appropriate and establish a normal climb.
- 6Debrief the lesson: a stall recovery requires patience — fully reduce AOA and let speed build before pitching up.
Tips & common errors
- The point is to teach patience: a too-eager pull after the first recovery re-stalls the wing.
- Recovery is always the same — reduce AOA, regain flying speed, then climb.
- Demonstrate with ample altitude since two stalls in sequence lose more height.
- Emphasize smooth, deliberate control inputs over snatching the nose up.
ACS completion standards
The commonly-tested tolerances for this maneuver. Always confirm the current ACS for your certificate.
- Intentionally induce a secondary stall by an improper/too-aggressive recovery at a safe altitude.
- Recover properly by reducing AOA, regaining airspeed, and then resuming normal flight.
- Explain the cause and how to avoid it during a normal stall recovery.
FAA source
FAA-S-ACS-25 (Flight Instructor ACS), Task: Secondary 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.
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