I’m not an expert on the subject of stalling Lancairs.

 

I do have some experience on the subject of training.

 

First, I fly a 360 and trained with HPAT last year.  We did NOT stall the airplane.  We approached stalls, recognized the indicators of impending stall, and recovered.  But that’s it.

 

Second, with respect to 747 and Raptors – I don’t think those planes are stalled in practice either.  In a REAL simulator (ie. equipment that accurately reflects aircraft performance)?  Yes.  In the airplane?  No.

 

Third, I work in aviation training.  When we developed our simulator for the Kingair (a relatively benign twin) we had great difficulty finding ANYONE who had EVER actually stalled the aircraft.  That includes multiple FAA inspectors and more than a handful of professional pilots.  We ended up hiring a Beechcraft test pilot to provide subjective feedback on the matter.

 

Honestly, I’m not exactly sure of where “impending stall” and the recognition that a stall is going to occur ends and where the ACTUAL stall occurs…  Again, not my area of expertise.

 

So, although I can only relate MY experiences, those experiences suggest that even professional pilots don’t fully stall complex/high performance aircraft IN THE AIRPLANE. 

 

Not sure it really furthers this conversation, but as long as we are beating a dead horse I figured I might as well kick it a few times too.

 

Matt