Here’s an absolutely spectacular video showing a Cathay Pacific Airbus A330 performing its “slow flight” capabilities. Part of any pilot’s flight training requires mastery of this maneuver – the point at which an aircraft remains ever so slightly above stall speed and is still able to fly. It’s normally done at very high altitudes to allow a student pilot to get the exact feel of how the manipulation of aircraft controls allows such a flight situation.

I trained on Cessna 172s and loved doing this maneuver. Well… not the first few times when I failed and upchucked breakfast when I stalled the aircraft and spun towards the ground. (Side personal note: I’ve never been able to eat cantaloupe since.) One time, wind conditions were strong enough where I was able to slow the aircraft, pitch the nose and fly backwards when looking at the ground. Pretty cool.

Anyway, here’s the video… the weather conditions in the video appear “safe” enough to attempt what they did so close to the ground, but if I were the PIC – pilot in command – I would never have approved such an attempt.

Special thanks to my BFF Eric for sending me this video.