At 15:28 20 January 2013, Joyce Acheson wrote:
I am a believer in the value of having some regular training in
unusual attitudes in a glider. A basic aerobatic course including
recovery from inverted flight and recovery from a full spin are the
minimums.
I have been rolled inverted twice in a glider; once on tow thru rotor
and once by gusts running the White Mountains in California. Both
were very unsettling events and I am convinced that I would not have
survived the second event without having recieved training in basic
aerobatics.

We have had a basic aerobatic event at Williams Soaring three times.
The focus of the event is for every pilot to experience inverted
flight and to learn the basic "push and roll" recovery. It is very
impressive how many pilots are completely disoriented and cannot
respond in a rational manner. Typically they just freeze up and do
nothing untill the speeds and attitudes are unsafe or worse, they
initiate recovery by pulling thru a half loop which would assure an
overstress situation for both the aircraft and the pilot. Full spins,
not just incipient spins are a similar situation.

It is my opinion that current pilot training is so focused on keeping
the aircraft straight and level that pilots are very, very, very
uncomfortable in any previously unexperienced situation. When faced
with a highly unusual sight picture along with G forces that are new
the pilot is frozen with panic.

I have experienced it. I have observed it with many pilots. Recovery
from inverted flight and recovery from full spins should be standard
initial training and part of recurrency qualification.

Guy "DDS"



I would strongly support doing some basic aerobatic and cloud flying
instruction. The principle behind both being that if you ever find yourself
inadvertently in an unusual attitude or entering cloud, then you've already
been there before and sorted it out so it loses a lot of the fear factor
and vastly improves competance. It is also a hell of a lot of fun!

I wonder about this 'benign spiral' recovery. I had never heard of this
before (UK pilot) and was briefed on it when flying at Minden. After a
first rate wave flight I set up the aircraft for a benign spiral in clear
air to try it out. I was particularly interested as I was flying an LS4,
identical to my own in thw UK. I could not find a spiral which did not
start to speed up and roll in. What gives?

Jim