Steep Spiral (ASEL, ASES)

A gliding turn holding a constant radius around a surface reference point while descending rapidly — turns around a point, except you're losing a lot of altitude (AFH 10-3). The objective is to dissipate substantial altitude while remaining over a selected spot, which is exactly what you need in an engine-out approach to a chosen field (AFH 10-3). That's why the ACS makes "relationship to emergency landing procedures" a knowledge element (CA.V.B.K1).

• Select an altitude that allows at least three 360° turns (CA.V.B.S2)
• Bank not to exceed 60° at the steepest point (CA.V.B.S3, S4)
• Airspeed ±10 knots
• Roll out toward an object or on a specified heading, ±10°
• Complete the maneuver no lower than 1,500 feet AGL (CA.V.B.S6)

Tolerances per FAA-S-ACS-7B, Task V.B. The AFH matches: at least three 360° turns, beginning high enough to conclude no lower than 1,500 feet AGL (AFH 10-3).

1. Clear the area (CA.V.B.S1).
2. Throttle to idle, carburetor heat on if equipped, and establish gliding speed (AFH 10-4).
3. Once at gliding speed, lower the pitch and roll to the desired bank as the reference point is reached (AFH 10-4).
4. Pick your distance from the point deliberately — that distance sets the turning radius, and the steepest bank must not exceed 60° (AFH 10-4).

Steepen the bank on downwind headings, shallow the bank on upwind headings (AFH 10-4). Groundspeed is highest downwind, so you need a higher rate of turn to keep the radius constant; upwind, groundspeed drops and a steep bank would tuck you in toward the point. And keep correcting — the AFH says the pilot should continually correct for changes in wind direction and velocity throughout the descent (AFH 10-4).

Because airspeed tends to fluctuate as the bank angle changes — each time you steepen or shallow for wind, the vertical component of lift changes and the nose wants to move (AFH 10-4). The fix is anticipation: lead the pitch correction as you change the bank rather than chasing the airspeed indicator afterward (AFH 10-4). Holding a constant airspeed here is the skill the maneuver is actually testing.

Prolonged idle can cause excessive engine cooling, spark plug fouling, or carburetor ice (AFH 10-4). Mitigations:

• Periodically advance the throttle and sustain it for a few seconds.
• Monitor cylinder head temperature if you have a gauge.
• When you clear the engine, adjust pitch to hold constant airspeed — and preferably do it headed into the wind (AFH 10-4).

Toward a definite object or on a specific heading, within ±10° (CA.V.B.S6; AFH 10-4). The AFH suggests making it harder in practice by rolling out on a heading perpendicular to or directly into the wind rather than toward an object — that's the version that transfers to a real forced landing (AFH 10-4). The rollout should recover you to a wings-level glide with no change in airspeed (AFH 10-4).

The altitude lost per turn. The AFH calls this out specifically: knowing your altitude loss per revolution lets you judge, in an actual emergency, when to roll out so you're neither too high nor too low to make a safe approach (AFH 10-4). Learn the number for your airplane and it becomes a usable planning tool, not just a checkride maneuver.

They look similar and are not the same maneuver. The AFH notes the reasons for using the two differ, and the airspeed and configuration are usually different (AFH 10-3):

• Steep spiral — power at idle, clean, gliding speed, holding a constant radius over a chosen point.
• Emergency descent — get down fast for a reason (fire, smoke, hypoxia). Bank approximately 30 to 45° to keep positive load factors, gear and flaps per the manufacturer, prop to low pitch/high RPM as an aerodynamic brake, and the maximum allowable airspeed consistent with the procedure — never past VNE, VLE, or VFE, and comply with VA in turbulence (AFH 18-8, Emergency Descent).

No — and that assumption is how applicants arrive underprepared. The full Area V selection matrix is under Task V.A; the part that matters here is that the steep spiral is paired with steep turns, and the evaluator picks which one you fly (ACS Appendix 3, Area V).

You don't choose, and you won't know until the checkride. Practically that means the steep spiral has to be at checkride standard on its own — a maneuver you have flown to ±10 knots, rolling out on a specified heading ±10°, finishing no lower than 1,500 feet AGL (CA.V.B.S6) — not a maneuver you have merely seen.

Assume you enter abeam the point heading south with a west wind:

• Downwind (heading east) — groundspeed highest, radius wants to grow. Steepest bank here, up to but not exceeding 60° (CA.V.B.S3).
• Crosswind — bank transitioning; also the point where you're changing bank fastest, so watch airspeed most closely (AFH 10-4).
• Upwind (heading west) — groundspeed lowest. Shallowest bank, or you'll spiral in toward the point.

Through all of it, pitch is doing whatever is required to hold the one gliding airspeed, and your eyes are mostly outside on the reference point.

Because the ground radius, not the air radius, is what the examiner is grading. For a given true airspeed the radius of turn through the air varies with bank angle (AFH 3-14), but the wind is translating that circle across the ground the whole time. To keep a constant radius over the ground, you increase the bank — and therefore the rate of turn — when groundspeed is high, and reduce it when groundspeed is low (AFH 7-4, Drift and Ground Track Control). Same physics as turns around a point; more of it, because a steep spiral spends longer in the turn and covers a wider spread of groundspeeds.

• Airframe and airspeed limitations (CA.V.B.R7) — a nose-low gliding spiral builds speed fast. Set pitch for the target glide speed and guard it; the ACS gives you only ±10 knots.
• Uncoordinated flight (CA.V.B.R5) — steep bank plus a distracting ground reference invites skidding. A skidding, descending, steep turn is the classic spin entry.
• Low altitude maneuvering / CFIT (CA.V.B.R3) — the 1,500 feet AGL floor is the mitigation, and it's a hard number (CA.V.B.S6).
• Collision hazards (CA.V.B.R2) — you're descending through 2,000+ feet of airspace over a fixed point. Clear before, and keep scanning through the descent (AFH 10-4).
• Effects of wind (CA.V.B.R6) — misjudging it turns your constant-radius circle into a spiral that walks downwind.
• Division of attention (CA.V.B.R1) — three revolutions demand you split attention between the ground reference, the airspeed, and the traffic scan. Budget it: reference point on every quadrant, airspeed on every bank change, altimeter once per turn.
• Distractions and disorientation (CA.V.B.R4) — "becoming disoriented" is a listed common error (AFH 10-4). Three continuous turns with your head outside is exactly where it happens. Fixed rollout criteria — a definite object or a specific heading — and a known altitude-loss-per-revolution number keep you oriented instead of guessing.

Straight from the handbook (AFH 10-4):

1. Not clearing the area
2. Inadequate pitch control on entry or rollout
3. Not correcting the bank angle to compensate for wind
4. Poor flight control coordination
5. Ineffective use of trim
6. Inadequate airspeed control
7. Becoming disoriented
8. Flying by reference to the instruments rather than visual references
9. Not scanning for traffic
10. Not completing the turn on the designated heading or reference

Work backward from the floor: three full turns plus a rollout, all finished at or above 1,500 feet AGL (CA.V.B.S2, S6). Note your altitude loss per revolution in practice and add margin.