Unusual Attitude Recovery
The term Unusual Attitude Recovery has a variety of meanings in the aviation industry. At APS, unusual attitude training is fully addressed in each of our multi-day upset recovery and emergency maneuver training programs. In fact, the terms upset recovery, emergency maneuver, unusual attitude and stall/spin training have many interchangeable elements. The layman and even experienced pilot are often mixed together. Here are a few definitions:
Council on Unusual Attitude Training & Education
Unusual Attitude: An umbrella phrase that includes, among other things, the unintended attitude that can follow an encounter with an inadvertent stall or spin, wake turbulence, or an uncommanded spiral. Unusual attitudes can arise as a result of pilot and airplane interface issues, inappropriate control inputs, or environmental factors.
APS Emergency Maneuver Training
Unusual Attitude: In this web site an Unusual Attitude is defined as an unstalled flight condition where pitch exceeds 25 degrees nose-up and/or 10 degrees nose-down and/or bank attitudes exceeding 45 degrees. An Unusual Attitude differs from a Stall in that an Unusual Attitude is commonly understood as being a flight condition where the wing is not at a stalled angle of attack (AOA). Certainly, an unusual attitude can be combined with a stall, however in this discussion, unusual attitudes will be considered as unstalled conditions. Rest assured, a stalled Unusual Attitude is very effectively resolved by following the All-Attitude Upset Recovery Technique checklist.
In this site, an Unusual Attitude additionally includes any pitch or bank combination as being “unusual” if the pilot is either uncomfortable for any reason (including disorientation and/or confusion) or is presented with an adverse situation unexpectedly such as in wake turbulence encounters causing rapid changes in both pitch and bank which may or may not exceed the FAA definition of an Airplane Upset.
How to Interpret "Unusual Attitude" Training at APS
Unusual Attitude Training fully comprehended in all the APS upset recovery and emergency maneuver training programs. We have a tendency to use the term "upset recovery training" instead of unusual attitude training for simplicity and to have a broad term that encompasses a wide variety of flight conditions.
