CA.VII.B — Power-Off Stalls

CA.VII.B for the Commercial Pilot Airplane ACS: official objective, references, and 22 exact knowledge, risk-management, and skill descriptions.

FAA-S-ACS-7B, November 2023. This study page does not replace the current FAA publication or an examiner's plan of action.

Official task context

CA.VII.B official ACS context
Certificate or rating	Commercial Pilot
Aircraft category	Airplane
Area of operation	Area of Operation VII. Slow Flight and Stalls
Task	Task B. Power-Off Stalls
Task code prefix	CA.VII.B
Official references	AC 61-67; FAA-H-8083-2, FAA-H-8083-3, FAA-H-8083-25; POH/AFM
FAA document	FAA-S-ACS-7B — Commercial Pilot for Airplane Category Airman Certification Standards
FAA source library	Open the official ACS library

Official task objective

To determine the applicant exhibits satisfactory knowledge, risk management, and skills associated with power-off stalls.

What the ACS code means

CA identifies the ACS standard family used for this Commercial Pilot Airplane document.
VII identifies Slow Flight and Stalls, the Area of Operation.
B identifies Power-Off Stalls, the Task within that Area.
K, R, and S identify knowledge, risk-management, and skill elements. The number selects the item; a trailing lowercase letter identifies a listed sub-element.

Knowledge elements

Official ACS knowledge items and mock-oral treatment
ACS code	Official description	How a mock oral can probe it
CA.VII.B.K1	Aerodynamics associated with stalls in various airplane configurations, including the relationship between angle of attack, airspeed, load factor, power setting, airplane weight and center of gravity, airplane attitude, and yaw effects.	Explain the element, apply it to a scenario, and connect the answer to current references or aircraft information when relevant.
CA.VII.B.K2	Stall characteristics as they relate to airplane design, and recognition impending stall and full stall indications using sight, sound, or feel.	Explain the element, apply it to a scenario, and connect the answer to current references or aircraft information when relevant.
CA.VII.B.K3	Factors and situations that can lead to a power-off stall and actions that can be taken to prevent it.	Explain the element, apply it to a scenario, and connect the answer to current references or aircraft information when relevant.
CA.VII.B.K4	Fundamentals of stall recovery.	Explain the element, apply it to a scenario, and connect the answer to current references or aircraft information when relevant.

Risk management elements

Official ACS risk management items and mock-oral treatment
ACS code	Official description	How a mock oral can probe it
CA.VII.B.R1	Factors and situations that could lead to an inadvertent power-off stall, spin, and loss of control.	Work through a scenario by identifying the hazard, evaluating the risk, and explaining a practical mitigation or decision.
CA.VII.B.R2	Range and limitations of stall warning indicators (e.g., aircraft buffet, stall horn, etc.).	Work through a scenario by identifying the hazard, evaluating the risk, and explaining a practical mitigation or decision.
CA.VII.B.R3	Stall warning(s) during normal operations.	Work through a scenario by identifying the hazard, evaluating the risk, and explaining a practical mitigation or decision.
CA.VII.B.R4	Stall recovery procedure.	Work through a scenario by identifying the hazard, evaluating the risk, and explaining a practical mitigation or decision.
CA.VII.B.R5	Secondary stalls, accelerated stalls, and cross-control stalls.	Work through a scenario by identifying the hazard, evaluating the risk, and explaining a practical mitigation or decision.
CA.VII.B.R6	Effect of environmental elements on airplane performance related to power-off stalls (e.g., turbulence, microbursts, and high-density altitude).	Work through a scenario by identifying the hazard, evaluating the risk, and explaining a practical mitigation or decision.
CA.VII.B.R7	Collision hazards.	Work through a scenario by identifying the hazard, evaluating the risk, and explaining a practical mitigation or decision.
CA.VII.B.R8	Distractions, task prioritization, loss of situational awareness, or disorientation.	Work through a scenario by identifying the hazard, evaluating the risk, and explaining a practical mitigation or decision.

Skills elements

Official ACS skills items and mock-oral treatment
ACS code	Official description	How a mock oral can probe it
CA.VII.B.S1	Clear the area.	Describe the procedure, interpretation, or decision process that can be discussed during an oral. Physical aircraft performance remains part of the practical test.
CA.VII.B.S2	Select an entry altitude that allows the Task to be completed no lower than 1,500 feet above ground level (AGL) (ASEL, ASES) or 3,000 feet AGL (AMEL, AMES).	Describe the procedure, interpretation, or decision process that can be discussed during an oral. Physical aircraft performance remains part of the practical test.
CA.VII.B.S3	Configure the airplane in the approach or landing configuration, as specified by the evaluator, and maintain coordinated flight throughout the maneuver.	Describe the procedure, interpretation, or decision process that can be discussed during an oral. Physical aircraft performance remains part of the practical test.
CA.VII.B.S4	Establish a stabilized descent.	Describe the procedure, interpretation, or decision process that can be discussed during an oral. Physical aircraft performance remains part of the practical test.
CA.VII.B.S5	Transition smoothly from the approach or landing attitude to a pitch attitude that induces a stall.	Describe the procedure, interpretation, or decision process that can be discussed during an oral. Physical aircraft performance remains part of the practical test.
CA.VII.B.S6	Maintain a specified heading, ±10° if in straight flight; maintain a specified angle of bank not to exceed 20°, ±5° if in turning flight, until an impending or full stall occurs, as specified by the evaluator.	Describe the procedure, interpretation, or decision process that can be discussed during an oral. Physical aircraft performance remains part of the practical test.
CA.VII.B.S7	Acknowledge the cues at the first indication of a stall (e.g., aircraft buffet, stall horn, etc.).	Describe the procedure, interpretation, or decision process that can be discussed during an oral. Physical aircraft performance remains part of the practical test.
CA.VII.B.S8	Recover at the first indication of a stall or after a full stall has occurred, as specified by the evaluator.	Describe the procedure, interpretation, or decision process that can be discussed during an oral. Physical aircraft performance remains part of the practical test.
CA.VII.B.S9	Configure the airplane as recommended by the manufacturer, and accelerate to best angle of climb speed (VX) or best rate of climb speed (VY).	Describe the procedure, interpretation, or decision process that can be discussed during an oral. Physical aircraft performance remains part of the practical test.
CA.VII.B.S10	Return to the altitude, heading, and airspeed specified by the evaluator.	Describe the procedure, interpretation, or decision process that can be discussed during an oral. Physical aircraft performance remains part of the practical test.

Difficulty data

Difficulty calibration is ongoing for this Task. A difficulty estimate is published only with a sufficiently large, privacy-preserving first directly recorded assessment sample. Any observed difficulty comes from Checkride AI mock-oral practice assessments and is a practice-data proxy, not an FAA practical-test pass or fail rate.

Difficulty calibration remains ongoing until an item clears the private reporting threshold. Percentages, when available, describe the share who needed review on their first directly recorded assessment. Underlying sample sizes are never published, and historical final states are not backfilled into this measure.

Official task notes

See Appendix 2: Safety of Flight and Appendix 3: Aircraft, Equipment, and Operational Requirements & Limitations for information related to this Task.

How to use this in a mock oral

A mock examiner can ask you to explain the published elements, apply them to the configured aircraft and airport scenario, identify risks, and defend a decision. The prompts are practice scenarios; they are not claimed to be actual FAA examiner scripts or a prediction of the questions you will receive.

Practice in a mock oral

Related ACS tasks

All Commercial Pilot Airplane ACS tasks
60 task-level resources from FAA-S-ACS-7B.
CA.VII.A — Maneuvering During Slow Flight
Area of Operation VII. Slow Flight and Stalls
CA.VII.C — Power-On Stalls
Area of Operation VII. Slow Flight and Stalls
CA.VII.D — Accelerated Stalls
Area of Operation VII. Slow Flight and Stalls
CA.VII.E — Spin Awareness
Area of Operation VII. Slow Flight and Stalls