Stick and rudder skills for modern pilots, with Rich Stowell

Stick and rudder skills for modern pilots, with Rich Stowell

June 16, 2026 · 44 min · Season 1 · Episode 132

About this episode

Rich Stowell discusses the importance of manual flying skills and decision-making in aviation training.

Master flight instructor Rich Stowell says manual flying skills and decision-making skills are complementary, but they’re often presented as an either/or choice. The spin master explains why that’s wrong and illustrates it with his “power-push-roll” recovery for spiral dives, an overlooked threat in aviation. He also shares a new way to train pilots, which he calls “learn-do-fly,” emphasizing the importance of teaching at the correlation level. In the Ready to Copy segment, Rich talks about the biggest mistake CFIs make during stall training, tips for hand-propping vintage airplanes, and what martial arts taught him about flying. SHOW LINKS: * Learn-Do-Fly Training Standard: https://www.communityaviation.com/standard * Standardizing Roll Recovery: https://www.richstowell.com/standardizing-roll-recovery-in-general-aviation/ * Learn to Turn: https://www.richstowell.com/learn-to-turn/ * IFR Mastery from PilotWorkshops: https://sportys.com/mastery

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