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 = C L 1/2 V2s.
Since 1/2 S is constant at a particular height, L C L.V2. If the speed is reduced V 2
reduces and CL needs to be increased by increasing angle of attack. Reduction in V 2
can be offset by increasing CL till the stalling angle is reached. Thereafter the C L 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 C L 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 C L max occurs. If angle of
attack is increased beyond this there is a sudden drop in C L. 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 C L curve flattens out at high AOA and
consequently at high AOA increase in angle of attack does not cause any significant
increase in CL.

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Drag : Conventional Aircraft

5. In a conventional ac the C D 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 C D 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
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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 C D 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 T a 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 C L 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 C L, to offset the loss of speed (L = C L 1/2
V2s). As noted earlier, in high performance ac at high angles of attack the C L curve is
flat, hence increasing angle of attack does not increase C L 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 C L 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 T r exceeds max Ta) the ac will
accelerate, for the prevalent C L 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
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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 C L 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
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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 50°above 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 ////

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Collected & compiled by
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