On Thu, 17 Jan 2008 06:09:12 +0000 (UTC), Bertie the Bunyip
wrote:

Ron Wanttaja wrote in
:

On Thu, 17 Jan 2008 03:54:53 +0000 (UTC), Bertie the Bunyip
wrote:

wrote in news:6d564a7c-8f92-45c2-baae-
:

Does anyone know why the FAA ****e-canned the spin recovery
demonstration requirement in the PTS? Was it fear of litigation
(since a spin might lead to a crash, after all)?

No, it was because the figured they were losing more in spin training
than they were in accidental spins.

IIRC, Canada still requires spin training, but the US and Canadian
accident rate due to spins is about the same. They might have fewer
accidental spins, but the accidents during training make up for it,
like Bertie says.

Nowadays, though, you almost never hear of someone getting into an
accidental spin at 3,000 feet and spinning all the way to the ground.
Most spin accidents occur in the traffic pattern, especially the
base-to-final turn. Often, recovery isn't possible. Hence, the FAA
emphasizes how to AVOID spins, instead of recovering from them.

I got into an accidental spin the first time I carried a passenger
after I got my Private. I had had an hours' worth of spin/acrobatic
training months earlier. But what still impresses me today, nearly
forty years later, is how quickly that Citabria *bit* when it was
mishandled. The spins I had performed during training were all
pull-the-power-off, nose up, gradually slow, kick the rudder when it
stalls, and watch the nose majestically drop down and start rotating.

This spin entry was different. There I was, about a seventy-degree
left bank, pulling hard on the stick to impress my buddy in the back
seat, and WHAM. Ol' N1660G snapped to the right, went inverted, and
tucked into a whirling dervish of an upright spin.

Stick forward, opposite rudder, haul back on the stick, feel my back
soak instantly with sweat, and hear my buddy ask in a shaky voice if I
really, TRULY knew what I was doing....

The really scary thing? I routinely had been performing that same
manuever...IN THE TRAFFIC PATTERN. The difference was a further-aft
CG and perhaps a slightly more-enthusiastic pull.

I quit doing that....


Good idea!

I do remember the Citabria spinning relatively easily, but nothing
untoward. It was entirely predictable once you knew what made it tick.
They have an unhealthy spin accident history compared to modern
airplanes, of course. An awful lot of realtively easily spinnable
airplanes do end up spinning in accidentally. No good reason for it
except the pilots simply cnnot be proficient in them.
One thing worth mentioning regarding spins is that an awful lot occur
during engine failures and the pilot forgets rule number one. Aviate.
They start messing around looking for cab heat or fuel selectos and
don't pay enough attention to the attitude. Better to fly into a barn
than to allow the airplane to spin in.

Bertie


Bertie

Don't they say "fly it all the way to the crash site"?

Big John