Pilot Training - Spin Recovery Signoff

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gordsh
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Pilot Training - Spin Recovery Signoff

Post by gordsh »

Yesterday I completed the spin recovery portion of my Canadian PPL training. We had to do it in a C-152 as the DA40 is not rated for spins. My task was to simply recover from the spin after my instructor initiated the spin. First go, instructor initiated and recovered then it was up to me. Wow, never felt so many Gs in an aircraft before and after the first 2 recoveries I was feeling comfortable. We did a total of 5 and I had enough. I wanted to say though, that after we landed I realized how lucky I was to be able to train in a D40 compared to a C-152. Yes, I know the long standing debate about how great the 152's are and I totally agree....but I will take my DA40 for training all day long over a C-152. Also going back to a Yolk felt so unnatural, and those push pull power, mixture levers also felt strange.
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Tom Davis
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Re: Pilot Training - Spin Recovery Signoff

Post by Tom Davis »

I did my training for my private license durng the summer and fall of 1975 in Chapel Hill, NC. We used C-150s. My instructor saved my stall and spin lessons for days he thought I had a hangover. Suffice it to say that after the first couple of times of that, I did not drink anything but water on the night before I was going to have a lesson, even if my lesson was not until 4:00 PM.
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Lou
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Re: Pilot Training - Spin Recovery Signoff

Post by Lou »

Gord, that's interesting: spin recovery is not part of the Canadian PPL anymore. It is demonstration only. Spin recovery is part of the CPL. Nice that your instructor gave you something to work on though.
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BAA
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Re: Pilot Training - Spin Recovery Signoff

Post by BAA »

Sooo much fun to do spins...and spins...and more spins! To the right, to the left, to the right again! I have both a DA40 and a trusty 1977 Cessna Aerobat and fly both about the same number of hours per year. I’ve never flown anything as docile as a DA40 though, I love everything about it, always lightly loaded wings and with a generous and forgiving flight envelope...but the “kill-proofing” happens in the 150 Aerobat. Knowing how to spin, the elements that get you there, the quick reflexes that prevent an impending spin, and the legwork that stops a spin instantly are soooooo important to know because a spin is the final outcome that kills so many great folks who are private pilots (Maneuvering flight is the #1 cause of death in flying planes like ours). Fortunately, the DA40 is so honest that it shouts at you “...HEY, not having so much fun right now...how about adding some POWER, or maybe ease the stick a little...”
That’s what makes our plane soooo great, easily the safest airframe ever. Other planes (that have better performance and more payload), you know who they are...the heavier, faster ones, just tend to whisper that things are not so good...then abruptly stall to the inside, burrying a wing with little warning when you are out of practice or having a bad day, you’re upside-down in a fraction of a second at 800 feet, and that is the end. You don’t even know what hit you...sound familiar (like every issue of Aviation Safety you’ve ever read)
So eat a good breakfast, grab a chute and an instructor, and get out there and have some fun spinning until you actually are having fun doing it!! It just may save your life. Encourage your friends that own those “other” planes to do it too...they need upset training for sure.
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Rich
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Re: Pilot Training - Spin Recovery Signoff

Post by Rich »

It is my opinion as a former (though in my day, reasonably experienced) flight instructor that we teach stall and spin entries all wrong. Mostly we slowly pull the nose up above the horizon, may be with some power, but usually at idle, and usually clean (flaps/gear up)until we induce a stall and/or spin. I can tell you that we wind up leaving pilots with the impression (articulated or not) that if the nose is not above the horizon the plane won't stall. This is from first-hand observation and hangar-flying sessions I've been involved in.

The incident that kills you on approach is radically different. Turning base to final the nose is down, the gear is down, flaps are partially or maybe fully down, and you're still carrying some power. And it's usually a left turn, and you might skid that turn because you're a bit late on the turn. So if you spin it's to the left (into the lower wing), exacerbated by carrying some power.

More realistic scenarios like this are what we need to be including in flight training. Not at pattern altitudes, of course :shock:

For an exciting experience, if you ever check out in a short-body v-tail Bonanza you need to drop the gear and full flaps, run the power full up and stall it like that. You're welcome.
2002 DA40-180: MT, PowerFlow, 530W/430W, KAP140, ext. baggage, 1090 ES out, 2646 MTOW, 40gal., Surefly, Flightstream 210, Orion 600 LED, XeVision, Aspen E5
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rwtucker
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Re: Pilot Training - Spin Recovery Signoff

Post by rwtucker »

Really good point about the more typical attitude just before death Rich. A life saver.
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