CFI Checkride Guide
Chair flying / Secondary Stall Demonstration

Secondary Stall Demonstration

Demonstrate the stall that follows a rushed recovery — why the second stall is worse, and why the recovery must be complete before you climb.

Teaching Frame (Brief — Demo — Practice — Debrief)

  1. Preflight brief on the ground: what, why, how, and the completion standard
    Name the maneuver, tie it to the ACS task and the standard, explain why it matters operationally, then walk the procedure. The student should be able to describe it back before engine start (AIH ch. 5).
  2. Set the ground rules: positive exchange of controls, three-way
    Every transfer is spoken and acknowledged both ways, with a visual check. Establish it before the first maneuver and hold it all flight (AIH ch. 8).
  3. Clearing turns and airspace — you are responsible for the whole airplane
  4. Demo with a running narration — talk the picture, not just the numbers
    Say what you look at and when: outside references, then the instrument cross-check. The student learns your scan, not only your control inputs.

Setup

  1. Brief the point: recovering too quickly — pulling back before the wing is flying — stalls it again
  2. Brief that the second stall typically happens lower, faster, and with less warning
  3. Extra altitude margin; clearing turns

Execution

  1. Enter a normal stall as demonstrated previously
  2. Begin the recovery, then deliberately raise the nose too soon and too muchRushing the recovery
  3. Narrate the second break as it arrives — less warning, more altitude loss
  4. Recover properly: reduce AOA and let the airspeed build before establishing the climbReduce AOA — accelerate — then climb

Recovery

  1. Level flight, power set, altitude noted for the debrief
  2. Debrief the number that matters: how much extra altitude the second stall cost

ACS tolerances

  • Demonstration with a running explanation
  • Complete recovery from the secondary stall with minimum altitude loss

Common errors

  • Demonstrating so aggressively the airplane is mishandled rather than taught
  • Not letting the student see the altitude cost
  • Failing to show that patience — not more elevator — is the fix
  • Starting too low to recover twice