I've stayed out of this discussion so far, but here's my two cents.  Stall recovery at low altitudes, which is where the seem to always happen, is not possible.  So the real issue is NOT stalling.

 

Through training, we can get some practice with how our airplanes feel when they get too slow.  I think learning to recover before the stall is more important than full stall recovery.  I got distracted once in my ES, taking some photos at about 600 AGL, and felt the controls get really light.  I looked down at the airspeed and it was down around 75.  I added some power and it was a non-event.  The ES has very heavy controls, so when they get really light, you know there's something wrong!

 

I check the airspeed almost continuously in the pattern, and have an AOA.  I don't go below 90 until I'm established on final.  That's a pretty healthy margin above stall for my maneuvers in the pattern.  I've never stalled my ES, but practiced slow flight on several occasions.  I've gone down to 75 clean and 70 dirty and that's well below anything I experience in the pattern, except maybe right over the runway.

 

I was concerned about 90 knots in the pattern flying into Oshkosh with heavy traffic.  So I went in a day early, and early in the morning and had very light arrival traffic.  I call it the WOOS1 arrival.  I can only imagine how much worse it could be with the faster Lancairs.

 

Mike Easley

Colorado Springs