Overusing trim, especially around the airport, can lead to controllability problems when sudden power changes are made.

By Pat Veillette

Primary training forms the foundation for a career of flying, but some of those early lessons instill habits that just won’t work on other kinds of airplanes. Perhaps nowhere is this as evident as the habits developed by student pilots with respect to stalls. In the training environment, students learn the nose pitches down at the stall.

This misconception is primary bait that leads pilots into the stall/mush trap. In a stall/mush, aircraft performance is severely compromised by the stalled wing. However, the tail is not stalled so the nose doesn’t pitch over in the classic stall warning sign that was taught during initial training. …