Marc:

I had an unintentional spin from a thermalling turn in a Baby Lark.
There was no warning (at least that I noticed), the entry was over the
top and the glider ended up spinning oposite the direction I had been
thermalling. Once I realized that it was spinning, it recovered
normally but I lost a lot of altitude before I figured it out. At
12,000 feet where it happened, it was a non-event. At 1,000 feet it
most likely would have killed me.

In turning stalls, this particular Baby Lark ALWAYS dropped a wing,
but this was quite different. In a turning stall, my own ship just
mushes until the nose drops. It will spin, but it has to be put there.

The Lark was, BTW, a rental ship and I don't remember any special
emphasis on its spin characteristics during my checkout. I continued
to fly it afterwards until it was destroyed by someone who tried to
land it perpendicular to a road. I never let it get slow near the
ground or unintentionally again, though.

Ray Warshaw

Marc Ramsey wrote in message om...