The steep spiral
A gliding descent of at least three full turns around a point, engine at idle, radius and airspeed held constant.
12 min read · The commercial maneuvers
After this lesson you can
- Explain why the steep spiral exists as a maneuver and what real-world situation it rehearses.
- State why bank angle must vary continuously through each turn to hold a constant radius in wind.
- List the engine-management steps needed during a prolonged idle-power descent.
- State the ACS altitude, bank, and airspeed limits for the maneuver.
Of every maneuver in this module, the steep spiral is the one most directly tied to a real emergency. The Airplane Flying Handbook describes its objective plainly: rapidly dissipating substantial amounts of altitude while remaining over a selected spot, useful during an emergency landing. It is the maneuver a pilot flies over a chosen field after an engine failure, when there is more altitude available than distance, and the goal is to lose height without losing sight of the landing spot.
It combines two separate skills that the maneuver deliberately keeps distinct: holding a constant airspeed through a descent at idle power, and correcting for wind drift by varying bank angle continuously through each turn. The second is what separates a smooth steep spiral from one that drifts steadily away from the chosen point.
The rest of this lesson
- 1.Definition and the 60-degree limit
- 2.Why bank angle has to keep changing
- 3.Engine management during a prolonged idle descent
- 4.Airspeed control and rollout
- 5.ACS standards and common errors
- 6.The risks the ACS attaches to the steep spiral
These 6 sections, their figures, the checks along the way and the end-of-lesson quiz come with the CPL track. Paid once, yours for good.
Key terms
Try to recall each definition before turning the card.