by congo » Wed Feb 26, 2003 4:52 am
I just had a nightmare. It was watching an inexperienced Cessna pilot toying with aerobatics, with deadly result after a piece of plane fell off in an over-zealous spin recovery.
I am a member of the Gliding Federation of Australia and a glider pilot.
In the GFA Pilot training program, spin training is mandatory. In fact, all pilots must demonstrate correct spin recovery at their annual checkflight.
Any GFA pilot may practice spinning at any time provided the aircraft is suitable and there are no specific Club Rules preventing aerobatics in a hired club plane.
There are pre-requisites to spin safety.
1. The aircraft must be certified for spinning.
2. the aircraft must be within weight and balance limitations for the spin. (which it usually is in certified types)
2. the Pilot is thoroughly briefed in the procedure, and an instructor current in spin training present.
3. A pre-aerobatic check is done before commencement of the spin.
An understanding of the difference between a spin and a spiral dive is essential, as is correct spin recovery procedure for the particular aircraft flown.
Both spins and spiral dives have steep nose down attitudes. (flat spins are beyond my experience sorry....)
A spiral dive is sometimes allowed to develop accidently, by the pilot believing he is in a spin and not recognising the build up in airspeed. The wings are unstalled in a spiral dive. A spiral dive is characterised by a rapidly increasing airspeed and slower rate of rotation than the spin.
If a spiral dive develops, it is imperative that recovery action is taken quickly, as destructive speeds are very quickly reached. The aircraft needs to be rolled level and the nose raised to decrease speed.
In a spin, the inner wing is stalled, and airspeed usually reaches a limit quickly. Rotation is usually quite rapid.
A spin occurs when one wing stalls before the other, usually in a turn at low airspeed, we call this early spin stage an "incipient spin". The outer wing remains unstalled in a spin, but it's aileron is useless against the forces of the spin.
A spin is rotation in all three axis,
Last edited by
congo on Wed Feb 26, 2003 3:39 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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