SUPER STALL Introduction 1.

In the past a number of valuable high performance ac and some precious lives were lost in air accidents believed to have been caused by super stall. If the persent generation of supersonic ac with highly swept wings and high wing loadings are operated without a thorough understanding of the phenomenon of super stall disaster could easily befall. Today I will cover this subject of superstall in detail. Conventional Stall 2. An ac requires lift to maintain straight and level flight that is L = W = CL 1/2 V2s. Since 1/2 S is constant at a particular height, L CL.V2. If the speed is reduced V2 reduces and CL needs to be increased by increasing angle of attack. Reduction in V2 can be offset by increasing CL till the stalling angle is reached. Thereafter the CL drops and level flight can not be maintained. When stall occurs an ac is unable to maintain height, till it is unstalled and enough lift generated to support the weight of the ac. Lift : Conventional Aircraft 3. If we study the CL curve for conventional ac we find that there is a uniform increase in CL with AOA and that there is a well marked peak where CL max occurs. If angle of attack is increased beyond this there is a sudden drop in CL. The CL max usually occurs at AOA of about 15 to 16. Lift : High Performance Aircraft 4. Modern high performance aircraft have swept back wings of low aspect ratios, low t /c ratios and high wing loadings. Such design feature enable the ac to fly faster because of reduced drag at high speeds. But low speed handling becomes trickier due to high AOA and ac operating close to CL max. If we compare the CL curve of a typical swept wing high performance ac with that of a conventional aircraft we find that :(a) Slope of the CL curve is shallow (b) The CL max is lower (c) The CL max is not well defined (d) The CL max occurs at very high AOA. The CL curve flattens out at high AOA and consequently at high AOA increase in angle of attack does not cause any significant increase in CL. 1
Collected & compiled by Sqn Ldr VS Savekar

Drag : Conventional Aircraft 5. In a conventional ac the CD increases gradually till the stalling angle. Near the stalling AOA the CD increases rapidly as a result of airflow seperation. The total drag of the ac till minimum IAS as dictated by stall is usually less than the thrust available. Hence the minimum speed for fly ing is governed by the stall due to airflow seperation and not by the thrust available at low speeds. Drag : High Performance Aircraft 6. In a high performance ac CD increases gradually at low angles of attack but increases sharply at higher AOA. This is due to the high induced drag and greater frontal area presented to the airflow. Unlike conventional aircraft this drag increase occurs well below the stalling angle is reached. Thus the total drag of the ac increases phenomenally at low speeds and is usually greater than the thrust available even before the stalling angle is reached. Thus the minimum flying speed of the high performance ac is governed by the thrust available and not by the wing stall due to airflow seperation as in the case of a conventional ac. Stability at the Stall 7. When an ac stalls a loss of height occurs, thus an upward component of airflow is intoduced. This upward component causes an increase in angle of attack and the ac would tend to remain stalled as long as it continues to lose hight. However as soon as the ac stalls the CP moves sharply back. Also the area aft of CG is greater than the area ahead of it. When the ac sinks a nose down pitching moment is caused due to the greater area aft of the CG. This together with the rearward movement of the C of P causes the nose to pitch down, thereby reducing the AOA. In conventional ac the reduction in angle of attack so caused is faster than increase in AOA due to loss of height. Consequently a conventional ac can unstall on its own even if the pilot holds the stick fully back, provided that antorotation does not commence. Such is not the case in most of the high performance ac, because due to the design features the nose down pitching moments at the stall are not strong enough to overcome the increase in the angle of attack due to the loss of height. This is the crux of the problem. 8. In a swept wing, high tail ac like the Trident, the tailplane is out of the wake of the wings at normal flying AOA. As the AOA is increased the tailplane gets closer to the turbulent wake of the wings and eventually gets into it. When the tailplane gets into the downwash of the wings there is loss of tail lift and the ac pitches up causing the AOA to increase further. If this is allowed to continue the ac stalls and starts losing height. Loss of height causes the AOA to increase further. As the CG is well aft the nose down pitching moment due to the loss of height at the stall are too low to overcome the increase in AOA so caused. The ac therefore settles down in a stalled condition. By then the tailplane gets below the downwash and is stalled. Full forward movement of the stick is unable to reduce the AOA, the ac continues to sink maintaining a fairly low IAS, an angle of attack of about 50 and a ROD of as high as 10,000 ft/min. No 2

Collected & compiled by Sqn Ldr VS Savekar

recovery is possible at this stage. At the development stage test pilots deploy a tail chute to pitch the nose down as recovery by elevator alone is impossible. This phenomenon that can occur on a swept wing, high tail ac with aft CG is called superstall. The stage at which the pitch up takes place is considered to be the point of no return, as beyond this stage recovery is not possible. 9. It should not be too difficult to visualise how high the drag of an ac would be at about 50 AOA and that even the max thrust would be unable to accelerate the ac out of this condition. Fortunately our problem in service flying is not this type of superstall from which no recovery is possible but the one that could be caused and inadvertantly maintained by an unsuspecting pilot. Pilot Induced Super Stall 10. Lets us have a look at the thrust required and the thrust available curves. We find that the thrust required at lower speeds in high performance ac is hgiher as compared to the conventional ac. Due to the sharp increase in CD of the high performance ac their thrust requirement increases sharply with reduction of speed below the endurance speed. Consequently the thrust requirement for level flight at high AOA tends to be more than Ta. The maximum and minimum speeds are obtained where the Ta and Tr meet. Level flight above and below these speeds respectively is not possible. 11. If an ac is accelerated in level flight with max Ta it would reach the max speed when Ta equals Tr. Thereafter a higher speed can only be attained by losing height in a dive so that a component of weight balances excess drag. This rate of descent can be arrested by simply easing the stick back. If this ac is decelerated in level flight a ROD will occur when either the ac stalls (ie CL is reached in a conventional ac) or Tr equals Ta(in a high performance ac). A lower speed will require a loss of height as a component of weight can balance excess drag. This ROD cannot be arrested by easing the stick back. In fact such an action on part of the pilot will cause the ac to sink further and get into a pilot induced superstall. 12. The region of reverse command is encountered when operating below the endurance speed. In this portion of the flight envelope greater thrust is required to fly level at lower speed. Let us consider an ac flying level in this region. If the airspeed is allowed to drop (at constant thrust) a loss of height would ensue unless the angle of attackis increased to get higher CL, to offset the loss of speed (L = CL 1/2 V2s). As noted earlier, in high performance ac at high angles of attack the CL curve is flat, hence increasing angle of attack does not increase CL as desired. At the same time the drag increase markedly and decelerates the ac aggravating the situation further. The reduced speed at about the same CL causes a loss of lift, consequently the weight acting downwards causes a loss of height. This loss of height increases the AOA and drag further, speed reduces further. The vicious circle starts leading a pilot to disaster. If adequate thrust is applied in time (ie before Tr exceeds max Ta) the ac will accelerate, for the prevalent CL higher speed will give enough lift to arrest the loss of height and the ac will become flyable again. If a pilot is slow in the application of thrust and the Tr 3

Collected & compiled by Sqn Ldr VS Savekar

exceeds Ta max the ac will continue to lose height in a pilot induced superstall. This state will continue as long as the pilot holds the control column back; usually in an attempt to increase CL as he did in conventional ac to offset the loss of speed. 13. Unlike in conventional ac the nose down pitching moment at the stall is not strong enough to overcome the increase in angle of attack due to sink as long as the stick is held back by the pilot. Foirtunately this is not an impossible situation like in a Trident ac where no recovery is possible even if the stick is pushed fully forward. In our types of ac recovery is assured if the pilot recognises this condition pushes the stick forward (or even releases the back pressure that he is holding to keep the nose up and has adequate height to accelerate the ac to safe speed. 14. So far only level flight has been considered for ease of understanding. Manoeuvring flight increases the lift requirement above the basic weight of the ac : the ac has to be necessarily flown at high angles of attack even at higher sppeds. So the problems encountered in level flight not only occur but are compounded because of higher lift requirement and increased pilot workload during manoeuvring flight. Add to this the need to keep `enemy aircraft' in sight (air combat) and you could have a pilot induced stall in a platter if this phenomenon is not clear understood. Comparison with a Conventional Stall 15. The basic differences of a superstall from a conventional stall are :(a) The ac may not be past stalling angle of attack. (b) Well marked buffet/clear warning may be absent. (c) There is no nose drop. (d) It can occur in a turn without flicking. (e) High sink rates may lead to excessive loss of height. (f) There are no stable, pitching moments hence recovery has to be deliberate. 16. The similarities between the two are :(a) Reduced effectiveness of controls in general and that of aileron in particular (b) Low speed (c) Loss of height Detection of a Super Stall 17. Whenever an ac begins to lose height with the nose at or above the horizon conditions favourable to the occurance of super stall exist. Due to poor 4

Collected & compiled by Sqn Ldr VS Savekar

forward/downward visibility it is very difficult to detect the loss of height visually. A rate of descent indicated by the VSI is the only reliable indication of the loss of height. It should be clearly understood that to get 45 to 50 AOA the nose of the does not have to be 45 to 50above the horizon. The AOA would be 45 if the ac sinks at a rate at which it is noving forward in near level flight attitude. Prevention and Recovery from a Super Stall 18. Precautions to be considered especially in high performance ac for preventing superstall conditions are :(a) Avoid high approaches at low RPM. (b) Avoid low dragging approaches. (c) In both cases to correct slightest error of judgement open throtle before raising the nose. (d) In air combat maintain either height or speed, do not lose both simultaneously. (e) While manoeuvring watch the VSI. (f) Keep a watch on the angle of attack indicator. (g) At low levels do not wash off speed in tight turns - use adequate throttle. 19. If prevention fails, recovery could be effected by the following :(a) Ease the stick forward to get the nose well below the horizon, use throttle to increase speed. Do not ease back till minimum flying speed is achieved. (b) If in a turn, roll out simultaneously ease the stick forward and recover as above. (c) If the nose does not come down as a last resort try deploying the tailchute. Conclusion 20. Superstall is a hazard which needs to be understood to avoid and/or overcome. It is not an impossible situation. The fear of super stall borne out of inadequate knowledge and experience can prevent the use of a high performance ac as an effective weapon platform. On the other hand superstall can also result in loss of precious lives and ac if it is not clearly understood by our pilots. ///// SOP //// SUPER STALL Introduction 1. In the past a number of valuable high performance ac and some precious lives were lost in air accidents believed to have been caused by super stall. If the persent generation of supersonic ac with highly swept wings and high wing loadings are operated without a thorough understanding of the phenomenon of super stall disaster could easily befall. Today I will cover this subject of superstall in detail. Conventional Stall 5
Collected & compiled by Sqn Ldr VS Savekar

2. An ac requires lift to maintain straight and level flight that is L = W = CL 1/2 V2s. Since 1/2 S is constant at a particular height, L CL.V2. If the speed is reduced V2 reduces and CL needs to be increased by increasing angle of attack. Reduction in V2 can be offset by increasing CL till the stalling angle is reached. Thereafter the CL drops and level flight can not be maintained. When stall occurs an ac is unable to maintain height, till it is unstalled and enough lift generated to support the weight of the ac. Lift : Conventional Aircraft 3. If we study the CL curve for conventional ac we find that there is a uniform increase in CL with AOA and that there is a well marked peak where CL max occurs. If angle of attack is increased beyond this there is a sudden drop in CL. The CL max usually occurs at AOA of about 15 to 16. Lift : High Performance Aircraft 4. Modern high performance aircraft have swept back wings of low aspect ratios, low t /c ratios and high wing loadings. Such design feature enable the ac to fly faster because of reduced drag at high speeds. But low speed handling becomes trickier due to high AOA and ac operating close to CL max. If we compare the CL curve of a typical swept wing high performance ac with that of a conventional aircraft we find that :(a) Slope of the CL curve is shallow (b) The CL max is lower (c) The CL max is not well defined (d) The CL max occurs at very high AOA. The CL curve flattens out at high AOA and consequently at high AOA increase in angle of attack does not cause any significant increase in CL. Drag : Conventional Aircraft 5. In a conventional ac the CD increases gradually till the stalling angle. Near the stalling AOA the CD increases rapidly as a result of airflow seperation. The total drag of the ac till minimum IAS as dictated by stall is usually less than the thrust available. Hence the minimum speed for fly ing is governed by the stall due to airflow seperation and not by the thrust available at low speeds. Drag : High Performance Aircraft 6. In a high performance ac CD increases gradually at low angles of attack but increases sharply at higher AOA. This is due to the high induced drag and greater 6

Collected & compiled by Sqn Ldr VS Savekar

frontal area presented to the airflow. Unlike conventional aircraft this drag increase occurs well below the stalling angle is reached. Thus the total drag of the ac increases phenomenally at low speeds and is usually greater than the thrust available even before the stalling angle is reached. Thus the minimum flying speed of the high performance ac is governed by the thrust available and not by the wing stall due to airflow seperation as in the case of a conventional ac. Stability at the Stall 7. When an ac stalls a loss of height occurs, thus an upward component of airflow is intoduced. This upward component causes an increase in angle of attack and the ac would tend to remain stalled as long as it continues to lose hight. However as soon as the ac stalls the CP moves sharply back. Also the area aft of CG is greater than the area ahead of it. When the ac sinks a nose down pitching moment is caused due to the greater area aft of the CG. This together with the rearward movement of the C of P causes the nose to pitch down, thereby reducing the AOA. In conventional ac the reduction in angle of attack so caused is faster than increase in AOA due to loss of height. Consequently a conventional ac can unstall on its own even if the pilot holds the stick fully back, provided that antorotation does not commence. Such is not the case in most of the high performance ac, because due to the design features the nose down pitching moments at the stall are not strong enough to overcome the increase in the angle of attack due to the loss of height. This is the crux of the problem. 8. In a swept wing, high tail ac like the Trident, the tailplane is out of the wake of the wings at normal flying AOA. As the AOA is increased the tailplane gets closer to the turbulent wake of the wings and eventually gets into it. When the tailplane gets into the downwash of the wings there is loss of tail lift and the ac pitches up causing the AOA to increase further. If this is allowed to continue the ac stalls and starts losing height. Loss of height causes the AOA to increase further. As the CG is well aft the nose down pitching moment due to the loss of height at the stall are too low to overcome the increase in AOA so caused. The ac therefore settles down in a stalled condition. By then the tailplane gets below the downwash and is stalled. Full forward movement of the stick is unable to reduce the AOA, the ac continues to sink maintaining a fairly low IAS, an angle of attack of about 50 and a ROD of as high as 10,000 ft/min. No recovery is possible at this stage. At the development stage test pilots deploy a tail chute to pitch the nose down as recovery by elevator alone is impossible.This phenomenon that can occur on a swept wing, high tail ac with aft CG is called superstall. The stage at which the pitch up takes place is considered to be the point of no return, as beyond this stage recovery is not possible. 9. It should not be too difficult to visualise how high the drag of an ac would be at about 50 AOA and that even the max thrust would be unable to accelerate the ac out of this condition. Fortunately our problem in service flying is not this type of superstall from which no recovery is possible but the one that could be caused and inadvertantly maintained by an unsuspecting pilot. 7
Collected & compiled by Sqn Ldr VS Savekar

Pilot Induced Super Stall 10. Lets us have a look at the thrust required and the thrust available curves. We find that the thrust required at lower speeds in high performance ac is hgiher as compared to the conventional ac. Due to the sharp increase in CD of the high performance ac their thrust requirement increases sharply with reduction of speed below the endurance speed. Consequently the thrust requirement for level flight at high AOA tends to be more than Ta. The maximum and minimum speeds are obtained where the Ta and Tr meet. Level flight above and below these speeds respectively is not possible. 11. If an ac is accelerated in level flight with max Ta it would reach the max speed when Ta equals Tr. Thereafter a higher speed can only be attained by losing height in a dive so that a component of weight balances excess drag. This rate of descent can be arrested by simply easing the stick back. If this ac is decelerated in level flight a ROD will occur when either the ac stalls (ie CL is reached in a conventional ac) or Tr equals Ta(in a high performance ac). A lower speed will require a loss of height as a component of weight can balance excess drag. This ROD cannot be arrested by easing the stick back. In fact such an action on part of the pilot will cause the ac to sink further and get into a pilot induced superstall. 12. The region of reverse command is encountered when operating below the endurance speed. In this portion of the flight envelope greater thrust is required to fly level at lower speed. Let us consider an ac flying level in this region. If the airspeed is allowed to drop (at constant thrust) a loss of height would ensue unless the angle of attackis increased to get higher CL, to offset the loss of speed (L = CL 1/2 V2s). As noted earlier, in high performance ac at high angles of attack the CL curve is flat, hence increasing angle of attack does not increase CL as desired. At the same time the drag increase markedly and decelerates the ac aggravating the situation further. The reduced speed at about the same CL causes a loss of lift, consequently the weight acting downwards causes a loss of height. This loss of height increases the AOA and drag further, speed reduces further. The vicious circle starts leading a pilot to disaster. If adequate thrust is applied in time (ie before Tr exceeds max Ta) the ac will accelerate, for the prevalent CL higher speed will give enough lift to arrest the loss of height and the ac will become flyable again. If a pilot is slow in the application of thrust and the Tr exceeds Ta max the ac will continue to lose height in a pilot induced superstall. This state will continue as long as the pilot holds the control column back; usually in an attempt to increase CL as he did in conventional ac to offset the loss of speed. 13. Unlike in conventional ac the nose down pitching moment at the stall is not strong enough to overcome the increase in angle of attack due to sink as long as the stick is held back by the pilot. Foirtunately this is not an impossible situation like in a Trident ac where no recovery is possible even if the stick is pushed fully forward. In our types of ac recovery is assured if the pilot recognises this condition pushes the stick forward (or even releases the back pressure that he is holding to keep the nose up and has adequate height to accelerate the ac to safe speed. 8
Collected & compiled by Sqn Ldr VS Savekar

14. So far only level flight has been considered for ease of understanding. Manoeuvring flight increases the lift requirement above the basic weight of the ac : the ac has to be necessarily flown at high angles of attack even at higher sppeds. So the problems encountered in level flight not only occur but are compounded because of higher lift requirement and increased pilot workload during manoeuvring flight. Add to this the need to keep `enemy aircraft' in sight (air combat) and you could have a pilot induced stall in a platter if this phenomenon is not clear understood. Comparison with a Conventional Stall 15 The basic differences of a superstall from a conventional stall are :(a) The ac may not be past stalling angle of attack. (b) Well marked buffet/clear warning may be absent. (c) There is no nose drop. (d) It can occur in a turn without flicking. (e) High sink rates may lead to excessive loss of height. (f) There are no stable, pitching moments hence recovery has to be deliberate. 16. The similarities between the two are :(a) Reduced effectiveness of controls in general and that of aileron in particular (b) Low speed (c) Loss of height Detection of a Super Stall 17. Whenever an ac begins to lose height with the nose at or above the horizon conditions favourable to the occurance of super stall exist. Due to poor forward/downward visibility it is very difficult to detect the loss of height visually. A rate of descent indicated by the VSI is the only reliable indication of the loss of height. It should be clearly understood that to get 45 to 50 AOA the nose of the does not have to be 45 to 50above the horizon. The AOA would be 45 if the ac sinks at a rate at which it is noving forward in near level flight attitude. Prevention and Recovery from a Super Stall 18. Precautions to be considered especially in high performance ac for preventing superstall conditions are :(a) Avoid high approaches at low RPM. (b) Avoid low dragging approaches. 9
Collected & compiled by Sqn Ldr VS Savekar

(c) In both cases to correct slightest error of judgement open throtle before raising the nose. (d) In air combat maintain either height or speed, do not lose both simultaneously. (e) While manoeuvring watch the VSI. (f) Keep a watch on the angle of attack indicator. (g) At low levels do not wash off speed in tight turns - use adequate throttle. 19. If prevention fails, recovery could be effected by the following :(a) Ease the stick forward to get the nose well below the horizon, use throttle to increase speed. Do not ease back till minimum flying speed is achieved. (b) If in a turn, roll out simultaneously ease the stick forward and recover as above. (c) If the nose does not come down as a last resort try deploying the tailchute. Conclusion 19. Superstall is a hazard which needs to be understood to avoid and/or overcome. It is not an impossible situation. The fear of super stall borne out of inadequate knowledge and experience can prevent the use of a high performance ac as an effective weapon platform. On the other hand superstall can also result in loss of precious lives and ac if it is not clearly understood by our pilots. -0-0-0-

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Collected & compiled by Sqn Ldr VS Savekar