"Ol Shy & Bashful" wrote in message
ups.com...
There is little doubt in my mind that the ability to do slow flight at
the very edge of stall speed will do more to prevent accidents than
1000 hours of cruise speed flight. Is there anyone here who is
proficient that lands their aircraft more than 10kts above stall
speed?
...
If you think about it, how many accidents occur in the low speed
spectrum? Either from a stall, or from a high sink rate on approach,
or poor control use during an emergency or off airport landing, or
something similar?

I am having a bit of trouble "connecting the dots" between the two above
paragraphs. Glider pilots spend a lot of time at the nibbling edge of a stall,
especially circling at high bank angles right at the edge of a stall. I don't
think any of my students ever left being uncomfortable in slow flight. That
said, I don't want any of my students to be "comfortable" in the pattern (except
for very short final) whilst anywhere near a stall.

In my opinion, the pilot who is comfortable throughout the entire
speed range of their aircraft is a properly trained pilot and one who
will not get into an inadvertant stall, or spin.
What are your thoughts?

I think that there is a time and a place for everything, and I there are
times when I would want my students to feel distinctly uncomfortable if they
were to find themselves slow.

Vaughn