Certified Flight Instructor (CFI) Practice Exam

What should a pilot do after establishing a climb attitude during a power-on stall?

1. Hold the attitude until power is reduced

2. Bring the nose upward to an attitude obviously impossible to maintain

3. Reduce the power immediately

4. Change the aircraft configuration

The correct answer is: Bring the nose upward to an attitude obviously impossible to maintain

In the context of a power-on stall, after a pilot establishes a climb attitude, it is crucial to understand the correct response to the situation. The correct course of action is to bring the nose upward to an attitude that is obviously impossible to maintain, which allows the pilot to identify the stall conditions through deliberate control inputs. This action teaches pilots about the critical angle of attack and the limits of the aircraft’s performance. By intentionally bringing the nose up into an unrealistic position, pilots can observe how the aircraft responds before experiencing an actual stall. This provides valuable insight into the handling characteristics near the stall limit, reinforcing the importance of understanding the aircraft's aerodynamic boundaries. Holding the climb attitude until power is reduced could lead to an actual stall without recognizing the onset, while reducing power immediately could disrupt the learning objective. Changing the aircraft configuration would also take away from the specific focus on the stall recovery process under power-on conditions. Thus, embracing and recognizing an exaggerated climb attitude in this training scenario plays a vital role in understanding stall recovery and safe flying practices.