Interesting set of circumstances. I'll try it, before I comment at
length. However, I will not recover to see if it really is a spin. I
suspect I'll see it become a spiral dive based on previous flight
testing in this regime. But experimentation will tell.

By the way, I do this often, though not in quite the order you state or
for the same reason. I enjoy pointing the nose up 60 degrees or so,
then letting it park. The stall and pitch through is typically well
past vertical. Great fun, and completely self recovering after the
stall break. And much, much more exciting than a wing over.



Chris Reed wrote:
I think it's misleading to say that modern aircraft "must be 'helped'
into the spin". There are some circumstances when a spin entry can be
made without any "odd" control inputs at all.

One of my favourite exercises for my annual checkouts as a UK Basic
Instructor is the spin off a simulated winch launch (only try this at
height with an appropriate instructor with you!). Simulate a winch
launch by diving to 90 kt and then pulling up at 45 degrees. As the
speed drops to about 60 kt cry "BANG - cable break", and push over into
the normal flying attitude. The moment normal attitude is reached, begin
a co-ordinated turn.

All will be fine for a second or so, as you are flying at reduced G.
However, once the G comes back on many gliders will roll smoothly (no
buffeting) into a spin so fast that there is little you can do about it
(though the purpose of the exercise is to show the spin entry and then a
recovery, so I've not tried reducing back pressure as the wing drops).
The Puchacz is excellent for this.

My understanding is that although everything looks fine, in fact you are
flying below 1G stall speed (possible because of the reduced G resulting
from the pushover, which is why BGA training requires you to push over
beyond the normal attitude after a cable break, monitor the airspeed and
not turn until a safe speed is regained). When 1G is restored the wings
stall, but because you're already in a turn the down wing stalls earlier
and autorotation ensues.

If you think about it, an aggressive pull up into a thermal coupled with
turning a little later than normal might produce similar effects.

I believe there are a number of other modes of spin entry without
unusual control movements, though you would need a far more experienced
pilot than me to explain them.

This is not to say that a glider in normal flight will depart into a
spin without abuse of the controls, but I think it important to
recognise that co-ordinated flight is not an *absolute* protection and
to understand when extra precautions are required (and what those
precautions are).

wrote:
Most important is recognition of prestall and initial departure. Since
the spin is a product of yaw moment at departure, you can prevent a
spin with coordinated controls alone. IE, modern aircraft must be
"helped" into the spin. (Put another way, the vertical stabilizer
creates enough yaw dampening to prevent autorotaion at stall so long no
pro spin control imputs are made. Since there are two yaw controls,
that would mean pro rudder or anti stick.) Thus, any prestall or
initial departure that is met with a release of back pressure and use
of coordinated controls to level the wings will produce the desired
effect before a spin or spiral dive can develop. Even if you choose not
to release back pressure, you shouldn't spin. Instead, you might find
yourself in a secondary stall. The longer it takes to apply these
simple actions, the less likely that it will produce an immediate
remedy, as the aircraft will continue into either a spin or spiral dive.