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Solo Cross-Country
A student-pilot cross-country flight conducted as the sole occupant of the aircraft after receiving the required instructor endorsements under 14 CFR 61.93. Solo cross-country flights must meet distance and landing requirements that count toward private pilot certificate experience.
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- Solo FlightA flight in which the student pilot is the sole occupant of the aircraft. Before the first solo, the student must receive endorsements from their flight instructor certifying competence in the specific aircraft type and at the specific airport.
- Special Use Airspace (SUA)Airspace of defined dimensions where activities must be confined or where limitations are imposed on aircraft not participating in those activities. Types include prohibited, restricted, warning, military operations (MOA), alert, and controlled firing areas; status is often verified via NOTAMs and charts.
- Spiraling SlipstreamThe corkscrewing propwash that wraps around the fuselage and strikes the left side of the vertical stabilizer and rudder. That force pushes the tail right and the nose left, growing stronger with more power and lower airspeed, exactly the takeoff and climb conditions where instructors call for more right rudder.
- StallAn aerodynamic condition where the wing exceeds its critical angle of attack and can no longer produce sufficient lift to sustain flight. A stall can occur at any airspeed, in any attitude, and at any power setting — it is always caused by exceeding the critical angle of attack.