Don,

What height I am prepared to deliberate spin from when instructing very
much depends on the type of glider I am flying. K13s as low as 800ft,
Puchaczs (is the plural Puchi?) Grob 103s and DG1000s probably not below
2000ft.

I don't see why spinning exercises are only 'addressing the needs of the
instructor'. I would personally prefer not to be tumbling out of the sky,
but pupils have to be taught that such things can happen, and how to
recover from them. After every spin entry situation, I also demonstrate or
talk them through how to avoid these situations, as do most other
instructors trained or retrained in the last twenty years, so I don't
agree with your premise that spin avoidance is not taught.

Low level spins are easily avoidable by flying a bit faster and flying
accurately, even in a Puch. If you spin off a final turn, it's game over,
and just a case of whether you get killed or just seriously injured! You
might just save yourself if you recognise the incipient stage in time and
get the stick forward.

Derek Copeland


At 14:45 03 July 2009, Don Johnstone wrote:


snip
There is no debate, more people are killed in deliberately induced spins
than in accidental ones and yet people still deliberately spin at
ridiculously low altitudes, and by that I mean below 2500ft.

This despite the fact that knowing the spin recovery procedure would be
unlikely to help in the most common spin, that off the final turn. The
only thing that would help there is spotting the impending spin before
it
happened but little or no emphasis is placed on this in current
training.
We have the situation where the most life threatening situation is not
addressed by proper training and an aspect, which gives an instructor
the
opportunity to scare his pupil witless, is very well covered.
Current spin training is more about addressing the needs of the
instructors than about addressing the need of their pupils. I would
suggest that not commencing spin recovery procedure in a low spin, as
off
the final turn, would be more likely to save your life than getting part
way through the recovery.

More emphasis is needed on recognition of the lead up and prevention, if
that was done properly then we might improve things. By all means teach
it
but rather than checking recovery every year check the ability to
recognise
and prevent. Less risk and the potential of greater benefit, it would
also
reduce the need for clubs to own the potentially lethal Putchaz as the
recognition and prevention could be done in any two seater.