Topic: Spin entry/recovery

If anyone would like to experience a spin for real, and you can get to Gloucestershire Airport, you can share a flight with me in a Robin 2120A but I warn you that spinning is not for people who don’t like being thrown around in an aircraft.

I wouldn't mind one next time I'm in your neighbourhood Harry   

Did some loops, rolls and wingovers in a Texan last weekend, great fun, also managed to find a Stearman for some biplane time   

You're on Sverrir, just let me know when you are coming over.

Banners, do highly swept wings e.g. Sabre, Gnat, Lightning, have any special characteristics in a spin?

Mpx, it's predominately the B over A ratio that governs the characteristics.  The F104, although not swept, was a case in point.  You get the same inertial factors involved in roll/yaw coupling.

B/A being?  length/span?

Really interesting thread - thanks Wes for starting it...

I tried a spin for the very first time last week, and got the plane doing something, but not sure quite whether it could be classified as a B cert type spin.

The thing was spiralling down with one wing much lower and the axis of the spiral about at the wing tip of the lower wing. I had entered it by reducing power and then pushing both sticks bottom-left - from reading the B cert guide it is now clear that this is inappropriate. However, I'm interested to know whether the end result was much the same? Or should the wings be basically horizontal during the spin? The entry was kind-a the whole model rearing up and then going onto its side somehow - it happened so quickly it might even have gone onto its back for a moment... totally wild!

I can see that its going to require some pretty sharp timing to recover the spin close to the original heading unless I can control the speed of the spin and slow it down a bit.

BTW Wes, this was with a Kerfuffle - recovery was fine just centering sticks with a bit of power.

Hi,

You snapped into the spin....tsk tsk, not allowed.

For a flick/snap roll.....If you fly at 75 - 100% power in a straight line, and then pull full up and full right rudder the plane will flick/snap roll quicker than a quick thing, certainly faster than your ailerons.

My fav manouvre of the moment, is to go vertical, then go top right with the right stick, full down ele and full right aileron. This will do an offcentre tumble, then enter full left rudder and the plane will flick wildly, most possibly either entering a knife edge spin, or an inverted spin (blender?).
Centre controls, and if inverted pull full up elevator to roll out.
Make sure your well high for your first attempt.

Them Kefuffles are just great
......Contemplating transplanting an Irvine 53 in place of the current Leo 37

Wes

So far I've kept a low profile on this one.
In a previous life as a gliding instructor/tug pilot I taught spin recovery on a weekly basis. My log books tell me I flew 41 different types (Glider) and 15 Group 'A'
I think I must have spun most if not all of the Gliders, sometimes intentionally! But of the group 'A' types only the Chipmunk. This required the full spin recovery technique of:-
Full opposite (outspin) Rudder - pause - ease stick forward until rotation stops - centre rudder and recover from the dive. Depending on the c.g. this often meant the stick would be on or very near the front stop before rotation ceased.
The Americans realised years ago that they were killing more pilots doing spin training than were being killed in spin in accidents so they stopped all full spin training, realising that it is far more important to teach spin awareness ie stop the spin before it starts.
I'm not sure but I think they now teach people to push the stick forward as the first part of the spin recovery the reason being that this is sufficient to induce a recovery on most types. Using the old technique at low altitude you would probably hit the ground before you got the stick forward.

I'm sure there must be a few current pilots on this forum who will correct any errors in the above - it was all a long time ago!

afaik the ppl syllabus these days is to teach spin avoidance, not spin recovery.  I think that change came in around 10-15 years ago.  I wonder how the Americans were killing people doing spins in training - doing them too low?

Sverrir, I am about an hour and a half drive from Cosford, so if you are over here for the LMA show.........

Thanks Harry, I was there last year but not sure if I'll make it this year, but l'll be in the neighbourhood one of those days