Your Definitive Guide To RC Stalls

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Our educational videos are written and narrated by Zach - our full-scale professional pilot & instructor who brings both his real-world and RC experience into our videos. This script was also reviewed and given two thumbs up by many fellow full scale and RC pilots, as well as an FAA designated examiner and some aerospace engineers, Woody and Adam. We hope you found it fun and informational and learned from it as well! 😁
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Links:
More info on spins: www.boldmethod.com/learn-to-f...
More info on why you shouldn't use ailerons in a stall recovery: www.boldmethod.com/learn-to-f...
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Buy this season's Tail Heavy merch: tailheavyrc.com/collections/m...
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Happy Landings! Fly outside the box. 📦✈

[@SuperMillerman10]

Pretty neat how you can see the whole model at 8:08 buffeting as it’s forced through the stall!

[@A.M.-RC]

My theory is planes fly with magic, when the magic stops they fall from the sky. I'm good at stopping the magic 😂

[@redwineisfine]

I think i am not alone when i say Mark Staal is one of my favorite Staals

[@cantsleep4231]

"LET IT GO" on a T-shirt I'd buy one. As always another great video

[@Mr89Falcon]

A complicated concept in aviation explained in a concise fashion with accurate terminology and fantastic graphics! Thanks so much for this production. It will be mandatory viewing for my RC students henceforth! Thanks for your fantastic dedication to aviation excellence, whether RC or full scale flying!

[@TailHeavyProductions]

Thank you! Glad you enjoyed it!

[@Talleke5384]

You make the best video’s Can you make A video of witch plane to buy after beginner planes

[@RCnurse]

Awesome video guys, always a pleasure seeing your videos pop up!

[@darealsherlock8026]

I need to get an rc aircraft man.... I keep watching videos, again and again and again, but I have no plan to buy one yet....

[@airplanyguy68]

Went on a 737 flight test to stall test some flap mods. When a commercial jet "drops a wing", it's pretty dramatic. Boeing test pilots rock, btw!

[@TailHeavyProductions]

One of the folks who helped fact check this video is a newly minted Boeing test pilot. Agreed!

[@thatairplaneguy]

You did a real good job explaining a complicated subject with an incredible amount of factors and contributors. It’s easy to blanket every stall on which a wing drops violently as a “tip stall” because it just looks so obvious that the stall started or was only at that one wingtip. What hurts us the most is all stalls are pilot error. Just like a motorcycle or bicycle won’t fall over once it’s in motion, an airplane won’t stall on its own once it’s flying (if trimmed for coordinated flight). Pilots induce the stall by uncoordinated control inputs or failure to maintain sufficient airspeed for the attitude they’re trying to fly at.

[@GT0_]

LOVE YOU VIDEOS hope everyone’s having a great day!!! Edit: there’s no way tail heavy productions liked my comment!!!

[@boss2234]

These are grate videos, the community needed this.

[@pieterpretorius1014]

I used stalls too my advantage last week to get another plane away from a large gasser that was flown by a kid who is a bit of a hotshot. The little zohd dart can handle some pretty rough flying even when there is a large gasser on its tail. Smaller aircraft have lighter wing loading and can dive like a bat out of hell too get out of the way

[@EJ-74]

I like flying my smaller planes more than my big ones, a lot less stress 😁

[@pieterpretorius1014]

Also a lot less frustration. I'm really starting to despise nitro engines

[@EJ-74]

@@pieterpretorius1014 Yeah I raced nitro 1/8 buggys 1/10 stadium trucks for about 4yrs and I had a couple nitro planes back 20+ years ago, it's messy AF and they don't like the cold weather, electric is much easier and much cleaner for sure!!!

[@Jackrabbit.2]

You saved my friend and I's maiden twin timber flight

[@C-17Flyer]

You guys are great. It’s refreshing to hear someone who understands aerodynamics and explains it correctly. WAAAY too many RC KZbinrs are spewing incorrect crap.

[@mavicminipilot]

fIrSt oF aLl iF you CrAsh yOur pLane that’s A sKilL IsSue.

[@TailHeavyProductions]

😂

[@iammeobviously6815]

​@@TailHeavyProductionspin this guy

[@RWJetfan]

Just judging by your KZbin name and drone photo. Its probably a good thing you fly a mavic drone that can't really be crashed. 😂

[@mavicminipilot]

@@RWJetfanIve sent it back to dji 6 times then sold it. Onto a Mavic air. 😂

[@N3ttleStar-CatFMRadioReboot_2]

*boom*

[@bkhaos2590]

Great video. As a (insert massive ego boosting resume of a pilot), I appreciate how well you broke complex aerodynamics down. In the airline world it was interesting to see stall recovery philosophies change after Colgan 3407. 6:23 #alternatelaw #imissmytraytable

[@TailHeavyProductions]

I appreciate the ego joke. LOL. Always especially funny and eye-roll worthy when people throw their ratings into their insta bios. 😂 For sure regarding the 121 world. I’ve never understood how it was ever SOP to try and lose as minimal altitude as possible in a stall. The new AQP stuff is great and was much needed. Happy landings! -Zach

[@brooksshepard9649]

You folks are such a great help. Sign me up for a tee shirt

[@anatolyodievich7658]

I would totally buy a "I dropped a wing" shirt.

[@flynnsrc5501]

Zach you are still my biggest opp

[@LaserEnginesAGC]

You are quite correct about the difference, but I always say tip stall myself as they are functionally the same as an asymmetric stall (from the 'oh no my plane flipped over' point of view) and everyone knows what i mean when i say it. If someone wants to argue about the granular detail they clearly have more time to waste on it than i do.

[@TailHeavyProductions]

That's why we're proponents of just saying "I dropped a wing" instead of one or the other. It avoids any unnecessary arguments and is correct for either a tip stall or asymmetric stall. 👍

[@Lopez_rc]

8:00 looks like a Mick Reeves spitfire, mine is a weird one because I can’t get it to tip stall. I’ve done several stall tests but it just won’t stall. It gently drops the nose like I push forward on the stick and doesn’t tip stall at all

[@isaacpomerantsev2082]

u guys fr be making my day 10x better

[@Everyonelove_Games]

I found out the flat spin recovery on my own through playing War Thunder SB of all things. However, rudder was not needed

[@richardunruh4035]

Just found your channel. Thanks for the excellent clarification. I learned to fly RC after I earned my private license. I treated learning RC flying like I did full-size: It was a different world, I didn't know squat, and I'd better listen to the people who knew what they were doing. But I kept hearing about something I'd never heard of in my private training: the "tip stall". I asked guys at the field what was meant by a "tip stall". Some said that's what it's called because the wing "tipped over", others said it was the wing tip becoming aerodynamically stalled leading to dropping the stalled wing (on straight-wing trainers). That's why I'm really glad you provided this excellent clarification. Subscribed.

[@TailHeavyProductions]

Glad you enjoyed it - thanks for watching!

[@ShockeWulf190]

I love messing around with stall mechanics so this helped and was fun watch

[@moonmullins8227]

If only RC pilots learned that the Rudder is more than a way to steer the plane for takeoff, and then back to the parking spot. It is necessary for coordinated flight, and especially in a imminent stall and right after stall. Mantra: Aileron kills, rudder saves.

[@whatsthematter8767]

Congrats on 30K subs guys!

[@SystemsPlanet]

Technical videos hurt my brain

[@TailHeavyProductions]

🤯

[@g36pilot92]

There is so much accurate information presented through this entertaining "fire hose" that I'm sharing w/my RC friends. GREAT work by this channel. Keep it coming!

[@TailHeavyProductions]

Thank you! Glad you enjoyed it.

[@brenno835]

Hey tail heavy productions, I know this isnt related to the video but do you guys have the FMS Maule 1500mm? What are your thoughts on it? Y'all are one of the best rc channels ive seen so I always come here whenever I search up more about a rc plane (like the PA-18, loved that review)

[@SomeGuyInSandy]

Did this with my Timber-X yesterday. Shortened the Xoar prop by two inches on each end, but flew out of it, lol. Flying a Timber-X like it is an AeroScout is a recipe for disaster.

[@Jackson27mc]

keep the speed up, keep it flat in turns,

[@SomeGuyInSandy]

@@Jackson27mc Yep!

[@TailHeavyProductions]

Dang! It should be noted that legit flat turns (aka skidding turns) are a recipe for a wing drop due to the uncoordinated condition you’re in - ESPECIALLY when flying slow. Make sure your turns are *coordinated* above all else and keep your nose low during your downwind/base/final legs into the round out and flare. Flat turns are fun to try for fun when done on purpose! Good cross control practice. 👍

[@Jackson27mc]

@@TailHeavyProductions yes , keep the speed up

[@allendyer5359]

When I "drop a wing" , I call it hangar rash ..unless there's a toe size dent from my foot kicking it on the way down.

[@williamcrane8236]

GAWD! I hope you finally got that out of your system. I think the only shirt you should produce and sell should say "Just the tip, Honey." And let it go.

[@TailHeavyProductions]

😂

[@noahpaez4266]

10:30 RIGHT RUDDERRRR

[@jeremiahjohnson3018]

I've been waiting all week for a video stall.

[@matthew1464]

Hey 700th like let’s go

[@randomcat1015]

I think I speak for everyone when I say that I would definitely buy an "I dropped a wing" T-shirt.

[@BarrettCharlebois]

This was really helpful. One question: I’m operating a flying wing that doesn’t have rudder. Does that make PARE just PAE? Also, this thing stalls like crazy but if I go any more nose heavy it wont pull up, what do?

[@ToastyMozart]

Might just need to lower the throws on your elevons.

[@Jesusistheonlyway86]

Hey, I just repaired and recovered an rc champ and on take off when it got in the air it was crazy like the cg was tail heavy, but after the crash i measured the cg again and it was even a little nose heavy. Should this have been a assemetrical stall if it looks like it flys tail heavy.

[@BladeScraper]

I'd buy a "dropped a wing" T :)

[@whatsthematter8767]

My cursor tip stalled and made me click this video

[@athenovae]

Why did it crash? Me. I didn’t pilot it right. 😂 Haven’t flown for a few years and got a Volantex micro warbird so I forget I need more throttle on turns and a few toilet flushes later I remember to add power on aggressive on turns 😂

[@dronecatalyst]

I would buy that shirt! Just dropped a wing today, 😂

[@loganyoutube4818]

Can we get a comparison of stol planes focused on slow/scale flying?

[@My2cents860]

Love all the technical jargon sprinkled with a touch of sarcasm! Awesome job explaining a term so often used incorrectly!👍🏻👍🏻

[@Coops777]

Thanks guys for the huge effort you put in. I think this is a really excellent theory video. Well done!!

[@TailHeavyProductions]

Thanks, glad you enjoyed it!

[@airhammer6203]

👍👍👍

[@KiloFoxtrotJosh]

I was hoping you were going to include forward swept wing jets too, their stall characteristics are different from a traditional jet wing if I remember right. "I dropped a wing" shirt? Yes please. I would like a Tail Heavy shirt too, but XXL is out of stock 😢

[@JohnDoe50047]

I've crashed my Corsair exactly like the one at 4:08. Can you break down what went wrong, and what the pilot should have done?

[@bokusimondesu]

Seems like you broke it down by yourself. 😜 sorry 😅

[@darendth8594]

I’d rather see an appropriate displayed “let it go!” Tee shirt referencing the stall. 😉😁👍🏻

[@stevecox4465]

Great video, some went straight over my head!

[@beansmcbeans1449]

Just passed my CFI checkride today, I notice your use of FOIs in the videos and I actually gain a lot from videos like this from a instructional perspective.

[@athenovae]

There are hammer head and cobra stalls too if those are the right terms

[@TailHeavyProductions]

Those are more defined as maneuvers rather than a type of stall. They are fun, though!

[@athenovae]

@@TailHeavyProductions ohhh okay thanks! Btw how come I don’t see any micros on your channel. Even in your “what your rc plane tells about you” or “rc pilots you’ll run into” vids 🤣

[@PilotRyanMedia]

All should watch this. Just say no to tip stall

[@TailHeavyProductions]

Just remember, though, that they absolutely DO exist - but arguing over whether or not a wing drop was a tip or asymmetric stall isn't worth the effort. Long live, "I dropped a wing"! 😁

[@ssrattus]

Great video! Thanks!

[@PhilipCockram]

Does the 5 second rule still apply for eating a dropped wing ? 🐔

[@Zero-dw2fk]

👍

[@R.B_B]

Another great video! By the way at 2:03 what is that model?

[@TailHeavyProductions]

Fun Cub

[@galaxy_282]

at christmas im probably getting the Arrows Hobby P-51 is it worth the £202?

[@bokusimondesu]

Excellent tutorial 👍

[@stitch1007]

I'd buy a "I dropped a wing" T-shirt.

[@koko-wt1ub]

Amazing video, well explained!

[@butterflyfpv]

Perfect👌

[@heli-man-]

Hey guys any chance of seeing you put an Arrows Bigfoot through its paces as a bush plane 🙏

[@autogyro333]

Is the angle of attack the angle between the relative wind and the chord line?

[@autogyro333]

Ow, watched again and it is in the vid!!!!

[@ignasanchezl]

Everything is a tip stall until you sabre dance

[@kohersh]

Excellent. Are you guys CFIs?

[@TailHeavyProductions]

Thanks! Yesir - I instruct and Ben is the only person I ever taught and let solo in my Luscombe. He’s working towards his private. He’s a great stick. 👍 -Zach

[@kohersh]

@@TailHeavyProductions Awesome. I think it's perfect. You guys have a great channel.

[@tristanmedford3524]

Could someone let me know what hanger rash is. I hear this term a lot and I can't find a good answer on google.

[@michaelwayne607]

ill buy the t shirt i guess

[@NoahJohnson7452]

How do you get out of a spin if you don’t have a rudder?

[@TailHeavyProductions]

Let go! 😁

[@Kajskare]

Yea, that should cover most of this subject. Well produced, guys!

[@nicholassamuel2634]

That was about as clear a mud....but I'm a bit thick😵‍💫

[@dalekelley3003]

My 1430mm Corsair fell out of the sky, straight down, no rotation, no spin, I thought I dropped a wing, no control response at all so, now I'm thinking signal loss.

[@MChronicleSword]

Surprised theres no recommendation to use the flaps to aid in stall recovery or prevention. Any reason why? Shouldnt be a big detriment in RC

[@TailHeavyProductions]

We’ll cover that in a future Stalls 301 video 😁

[@matthewh6242]

Old guys just blame spektrum

[@noahcutting546]

I'm number 13

[@alexanderscholz8855]

Great video!!! i'm not a rc guy anyway, but it was AWESOME! I like the style and make me laughed so hard i start tears. Keep going and i hope some people take the advise: "It's a hobby and have fun and help others to join! Dont be a toxicgoalkeeper. It's hobby=fun not WAR!" This is for all hobbys, it's a HOBBY! Greatings to the Team and stay safe

[@Cubanito_RC]

Ohhhh... Genial 👌... Execelente trabajo 😊. Saludos desde Cuba 🇨🇺.

[@TCAS_Daniel]

ok but one question, how do you recover from spin with no rudder?

[@TailHeavyProductions]

If the plane doesn't have any weird design characteristics and has good directional stability, then just letting go, rolling the wings level, and then gently pulling up works fine.

[@darendth8594]

THANK YOU! 😁👍🏻 Will share. I’m glad I have fellow “choir” members to sing the accurate songs. Good job boys.

[@TheYammerHammer]

rudder control

[@johnw5734]

I tip stalled a very nice (new) T-Clips on final last year trying to slow for landing. I still fell bad about the crash but saying, "I dropped a wing" somehow makes me feel better. Yeah, I'll buy the tee shirt.🤠

[@dereksater1785]

I'm pretty disappointed this video isn't trying to convince me that the latest 1100mm warbird isn't the best ever at some obscure category

[@TailHeavyProductions]

👀

[@adadadatt]

Fantastic, thank you

[@nikitahenkelman5771]

My areoscout died to a tip stall

[@liamp7957]

Yeah trainers like that tend to have the worst stalls

[@kilroy07]

"I'd buy that for a dollar!"

[@AnonymousRedCat]

so an airspeed of 0 means that the wing can't stall?

[@TailHeavyProductions]

Mind clarifying what part of the video you're referencing? Or are you asking a question outside of the video?

[@AnonymousRedCat]

@@TailHeavyProductions at around 1:27, you say that a wing can stall at “any non-zero airspeed”. So wing at zero air speed would therefore not be able to stall, correct? Or am I just taking this way too far?

[@methus9812]

me, being an absolute noob and not understanding why pilots seem to "panic" and throw the plane upside down before landing: wtf?

[@Productive-RC]

Ya I need a t shirt that says I dropped a wing. 😂 Love your videos.

[@air-headedaviator1805]

Y’all over at Tail Heavy are so knowledgeable on aviation stuff; perhaps y’all could also answer a question I had on Sport EDFs. I know that swept wings are useful for aircraft that experience supersonic flow over their surfaces, but since sport jets don’t go that fast at all, how come so many are built with them? Are there other uses for swept wings in at Electric RC scales?

[@TailHeavyProductions]

I hit up Adam who helped fact check this video. Here’s his answer. “Ok, short answer is that the point of a sport jet is to look like a jet, while also being fun to fly. Gotta have those swept wings and internal fan to look fast and sound wooshy. Most of the time having swept wings at the rc scale is not going to help it fly better. Lots of sport jets have dogtoothed leading edges or something else to *mitigate* the nasty effects of having a swept wing. I guess one exception to this is the category of flying wings, where having that sweep can give you some yaw stability (at the cost of potential dutch-roll nastiness) and can sometimes allow for a larger range of acceptable cg locations.”

[@air-headedaviator1805]

@@TailHeavyProductions thanks for the reply guys! Interesting situation…gives me a clear path for how to innovate in my scratch builds

[@GOAFPilotChannel]

Bit confused, don't cambered airfoils produce lift at negative alpha

[@TailHeavyProductions]

You're correct, cambered airfoils produce some lift at small negative angles of attack. We don't recall ever having said anything to the contrary. Would you mind pointing out what part of the video you take issue with?

[@GOAFPilotChannel]

Sure, right at 1:00

[@TailHeavyProductions]

The way we worded that portion of the video ("an angle of attack to the relative wind is required") and displayed a cross section on the screen might have been a little misleading to the point you brought up - but it was a necessary sacrifice to try to drill in the far more important lesson of how stalls are related to angle of attack instead of speed. For a video on the basics of stalls, getting into the nitty gritty is just going to confuse folks new to these concepts. In a future video, we'll definitely dive more into the intricacies of this stuff. Stalls 301. 😁👍

[@GOAFPilotChannel]

@@TailHeavyProductions Makes sense and thanks for getting back!

[@fliegerdefunes7758]

Sorry but where is the nitro timber?

[@garrettatkinson]

Hi

[@derekterry4157]

Entertaining and informative! Great vid. I think it’s also good to note that if your flying with SAFE and stall you need to turn off SAFE and then let go of the sticks to recover from a stall.

[@BullyBreedRC]

This vid just shined so much light on the stalling issue I've been having. Pulling up on the elevator and dropping a wing have been kickin my butt lately haha! Great vid! 👊🏿

[@TailHeavyProductions]

Thanks! So glad it helped you! 😁

[@watashiandroid8314]

I watched the video because I fly the plane in the thumbnail (N704JH). Turns out the content of the video was good as well. I like your delivery.

[@kdr955]

The mythical “tip stall” on straight-wing aircraft seems to only be a thing with RC “pilots”.

[@TailHeavyProductions]

RC pilots are pilots, too. They just fly smaller scale aircraft. 👍 Take it from us - we fly both.

[@kdr955]

@@TailHeavyProductions Why are “tip stalls” not a thing for private/commercial pilots?

[@TailHeavyProductions]

Per the video - they are a thing depending on the wing type. 🙂

[@kdr955]

What kind of wing type?

[@kdr955]

@@TailHeavyProductions Notice that I said “straight-wing”.

[@godfreytomlinson2282]

This was actually really informative. Well done with the quality info

[@Videolinquency]

Thank you. It's such a relief to hear common youtubeisms shot down from time to time, I am so sick and tired of hearing the tip stall yell. I hope you'll get to the so-called "downwind stall" some day, and the tendency to call all rolls 'barrel rolls'!