The flying was going wonderfully well, as far as I was concerned. That the instructors were reduced to casting lots to see who would have to fly with me was not something I particularly cared about. That, after all, was their job wasn't it?I had been thumbing through the pages of the NSAC syllabus from time to time, and the section that had caught my eye repeatedly was the section referred to as Stalls. Of all the descriptions of the various actions to be taken in an airplane, the Stall was the one term that I recognized. That is, I knew the meaning of the word and the relationship (bad) it had to flying; more than that, however, I did not know, although that lack of knowledge did not prevent me from experiencing the fear and dread that any sane person attaches to the word Stall.And why not? Consider some of the other terms: Climbing and Descending. Medium Turns. Straight and Level. Effects of Controls. Circuits. Rejoins. Do any of those terms instil fear and dread? No. They are perfectly harmless-sounding, suggesting nothing more than an airplane floating lazily and smoothly over the beautiful New Zealand landscape. But the word Stall, in the same sentence as the word airplane, is a word that is impossible to read or hear without experiencing an uncomfortable surge in the pit of the stomach.
This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://www.avweb.com/flight-safety/the-cessna-the-sky-and-the-cartoonist-chapters-six-and-seven