ASW-20 spins

"The ASW 20 killed a number of pilots by spinning inverted out of a steep banked turn with positive flaps in thermals. They would go full stick forward and rudder against the apparent rotation in an effort to recover which simply held them in the spin. "

I watched one of those early ASW 20 fatal spins. It was from slow straight and level flight, not thermaling. The wing dropped sharply and the glider entered a conventional, nose-down spin. The recovery began almost immediately (approx. 1/4 turn) but unfortunately there was not sufficient altitude (this began at approx. 300 ft AGL) and the pilot was killed when the glider impacted the ground slightly nose down (i.e., the recovery was almost complete) but still sinking. Undocumented tail ballast was probably a factor, as with UH's situation. Pilot incapacitation due to dehydration may also have been a factor. The final blow, so to speak, was the lack of a headrest in this very early '20 and a battery pack behind the head that came loose. The pilot was an experienced, high-time competition pilot and instructor. All of the contributing factors were avoidable.

Chip Bearden
ASW 24 "JB"
U.S.A.