– Why does aircraft always seem to pitch forwards into freefall after encountering a stall? Wouldn’t the horizontal/vertical stabilizers add more weight to the back?

Question

– Why does aircraft always seem to pitch forwards into freefall after encountering a stall? Wouldn’t the horizontal/vertical stabilizers add more weight to the back?

In: 2

Answer 1

1) The center of gravity is generally located a little in front of the center of lift. This will cause the nose to fall naturally.

2) Just because the plane is stalling doesn’t mean that it isn’t going forward. The tail section presents greater air resistance than the nose of the plane. Think of a dart.

3) The pilot will nose down to reduce the angle of attack to arrest the stall.