minimum controllable airspeed

Traffic Pattern Nov 12, 2026

Slow Flight, the ACS Revision That Redefined Minimum Controllable Airspeed, and the Speed Bracket Every Student Gets Wrong on Checkride Day

The FAA's 2017 ACS redefined slow flight - the stall horn is no longer the target, and students who don't know that are failing checkrides.

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Traffic Pattern Oct 20, 2026

Slow Flight Under the Current ACS Standard, the Stall Warning Confusion That Still Fails Checkride Candidates, and What Minimum Controllable Airspeed Actually Means Today

The current ACS requires slow flight without sustained stall warning activation - a key change from the old PTS standard that still catches checkride candidates off guard.

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Traffic Pattern Aug 10, 2026

Maneuvering During Slow Flight, the Twenty Sixteen ACS Change, and Why the Stall Horn Should Never Sing

How the 2016 ACS changed slow flight: fly just above the stall warning, not through it, and build the reflex that saves lives on final.

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