| Should You Do Any Spin Training? read this story of | | | | dawned on me what had happened, and I asked him. |
| mine and you decide for yourself: | | | | Sure enough, I had hit the nail on the head. |
| Back in 1992, after I had been instructing for a few | | | | The spin my student got himself into was one of the |
| years, I was in the local FBO's office where I worked. I | | | | worst cases you could imagine. He was practicing |
| was waiting for one of my students to come back | | | | power-off stalls, so the normal recovery procedure is |
| from a solo flight. When my student came in, he looked | | | | to lower the nose, add full power, and start retracting |
| as though he had just seen a ghost. He was shaking | | | | flaps ten degrees at a time. |
| and sweating I asked him what happened. The | | | | Little did my student know that the plane had started |
| answer that I got was one that most flight instructors | | | | to enter the spin when he added full power. The result |
| would not want to hear: "I was practicing stalls in the | | | | was a torque roll that placed the plane upside down at |
| practice area, and all of a sudden I was upside down, | | | | first, then continued to spin with the help of the |
| and then just spinning toward the ground I didn't know | | | | full-power setting. I didn't think that a 152 was capable |
| what to do, but I heard your voice tell me to pull the | | | | of that, but sure enough, it was. So he pulled the |
| power back and just let go of the control column, and | | | | power and let go of it, recovering about 400 feet |
| the plane will stabilize." | | | | above the ground. |
| If you know anything about small Cessnas, they tend | | | | I think every pilot out there should do some type of |
| to have a forward CG and will recover if you just let | | | | spin training. Now that I don't have an aerobatic |
| go of the controls for a second-that is, if you are not in | | | | airplane, I do a flight that shows students how to enter |
| a fully developed spin. So that is what the student did. | | | | and recover from the spin. This is not a full spin lesson, |
| Even more upsetting was when he stated the fact | | | | but it shows the student what to expect. If the student |
| that, once the plane stopped spinning and the nose | | | | does get himself in trouble, I will let them go as long as I |
| started to come up, the altimeter was reading about | | | | can. |
| 1,800-1,900 feet. | | | | When I had a Cessna 152 Aerobat, I would do spins |
| If you fly in the Phoenix area, you know that the | | | | and basic aerobatics with every student who wouldn't |
| ground elevation is approximately 1,500 feet MSL. So | | | | put the plane over weight. Most students would be a |
| my student recovered about 300 to 400 feet about | | | | little scared, but after the first of two flights, they |
| the ground. This is far below normal traffic patterns. | | | | couldn't wait to do the second one. |
| Would you like this to happen to you? Because it can | | | | If you can get up and do this before you solo, I |
| happen to you. Or would you rather have an instructor | | | | suggest not doing it in an extra 300. Yes, it will be a fun |
| go over spin entries and recoveries with you? | | | | time, but you won't get the feel of the plane you are |
| I was taking aerobatic flight lessons at the time and | | | | normally flying. If you can't do it in an Aerobat, try to |
| had practiced plenty of 3- to 4-turn spins, so I got the | | | | get in a Citabria or Super Decathlon. Use a plane that |
| parachutes on, and up we went. I started | | | | will be a little sluggish to simulate the plane you are |
| demonstrating spins and spin entries, and he just kept | | | | training in. |
| saying, "Nope, that is not what happened." It finally | | | | |