A_F_2015_01_02_

was to go against all instinct and push

the stick forward rather than pull back.

He is again prepared to bet his

life on an idea. You can’t get much

braver than that.

This time it worked.

So every time you recover from a

spin, or even an incipient, say a quiet

word of thanks to Harry Hawker –

the man who was brave enough to

save your life.

Training today

We are back in 2015, and aeroplanes

still spin into the ground. What’s to

be done about it? Basically, there are

three trains of thought:

1

Teach pilots to do full spins and

recoveries.

2

Teach pilots to recognize the

early part of a spin, and recover

this incipient stage before it develops

into a full spin.

3

Teach pilots to recognize and

avoid the conditions that could

lead to a spin.

Now let me tell you that I am

biased. I have only once accidentally

entered a life-threatening full spin.

I’ll tell you about it later. I was able

to recover solely because I have

spun so often that I am completely

comfortable with spins. In fact I enjoy

them. I have deliberately entered

thousands of spins, and not one has

caused a problem – even the ones that

went flat, or were inverted, or were on

instruments – limited panel, because

you have to cage the AH and DI.

In my book, folks who have been

taught only the approach to a spin,

or an incipient spin, are not fully

competent pilots.

Now, before your bleating

becomes a roar of abuse, let me tell

you that I am wrong.

Methods 2 and 3, above, have

saved far more lives than the ability to

handle spins with confidence. It is not

my opinion – these are hard statistics

supplied by the Aircraft Owners and

Pilots Association (AOPA).

By far the majority of fatal spins

are started below circuit height. This

means that knowing how to recover

from full spins would not save you in

something like 70% of all spins.

Up until 1949 nearly half of all

fatal accidents in the USA were

the result of spinning. That’s a

seriously scary figure. In 1949 the

FAA took full spins off the menu

for PPL training. They were no

longer compulsory, and there was a

the massive drop in these accidents.

Today the figure is around 8%.

Where to draw

the line

OK, I got sidetracked, again. We were

deciding how to handle spinning,

and I was saying that statistically spin

training shortens your life-expectancy.

It still breaks my heart that this is the

case – but the figures prove me wrong.

Anyhow let’s look at the next option:

incipient spins.

Perhaps these were an intelligent

option in Australia a quarter of a

century ago when instructors were

mostly happy to spin, but now we

have a huge number of instructors

that are shirt-scared of spinning.

You really don’t want to be doing

incipients with someone like that.

Here’s what AOPA says about it:

In reviewing 44 fatal stall/spin

accidents from 1991–2000 classified as

instructional, AOPA Safety Foundation

found that a shocking 91% (40) of them

occurred during dual instruction, with

only 9% (4) during solo training flights.

So this leaves us with Option 3:

teach people to recognize and avoid the

conditions that could lead to a spin.

I agree that if you keep away from

anything that could cause a spin

then you will never spin. But we are

talking about deliberate actions in

keeping clear of stalls and spins.

So what do we do about accidental

stall/spin conditions, perhaps while

practicing steep turns or sideslipping

or stretching the glide or turning to

Master class

folks who have been taught only

the approach to a spin, or an incipient

spin, are not fully competent pilots.

56 australianflying.com.au

AUSTRALIAN FLYING January - February 2015

JOHN ABSOLON

An Interstate Cadet spins.

Note the full rudder deflection

and the full up elevator.

RIGHT: An FAA diagram

which neatly shows the

corkscrew path of a spin.

FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION