I would thoroughly concur. I did an =93unusual attitudes=94 course in
St
Augustine in an extra 300 and would thoroughly recommend it. great fun
and
huge confidence builder.
From: owner-europa-list-server@matronics.com
[mailto:owner-europa-list-server@matronics.com] On Behalf Of
TELEDYNMCS@aol.com
Sent: Tuesday, August 05, 2008 07:46
Subject: Europa-List: Re: Spins
In a message dated 8/5/2008 3:01:53 A.M. Eastern Daylight Time,
europa-list@matronics.com writes:
Secondly - Stall and spin accidents on approach. Low down and in the
pattern, these are often fatal.
Hi John and All,
Adding to John's excellent commentary, over the years while I was
operating
a glider tow club I took dozens and dozens of folks for glider rides.
Many
of these folks were power only pilots and had never been in a glider
before.
Personally, I like doing spins in gliders. Spins are a great way to get
down
at the end of the day in a glider. Very often when doing rides I would
spin
down if I had another pilot on board. Of course, I always ask if they
want
to do a spin before I "show them their toes."
One of the things I've noticed when I've done spins with power only
pilots,
and it's been almost universal, is power only pilots, unless they have
military training, seem to genuinely fear spins. I can see this fear
from
the back seat when the pilot/passenger tightly grips hand holds in the
cockpit, or if they get really quiet just as you enter the spin. This is
not
a good thing because if you fear something it usually means that you
don't
understand it.
I believe the root of this fear is because spins, generally speaking,
are
not taught in power planes and most pilots rarely, if ever, practice
spins.
Student pilots are told what a spin is, how to recover, then are usually
told to avoid them. Stall/spin recovery is taught in gliders, though.
Spin
training is also available in power planes.
I would suggest that anyone who is uncertain of, or anyone who has
genuine
fear of spins, go take spin training and rid yourself of that fear. Most
glider schools offer spin training and most aerobatic flight instructors
also offer spin training. There are many bad habits pilots have in
regard to
spins, particularly in terms of spin recovery. These bad habits, like
trying
to stop the spin by applying opposite aileron, will make a bad situation
much worse when close to the ground. Pilots can avoid these bad habits
with
the proper spin training. Everyone should learn the correct spin entry
and
recovery techniques so well that they become second nature. It's just an
added arrow in your quiver of piloting skills and a skill that might one
day
save your life.
Much like aerobatics, spins shouldn't be feared, unless, of course, you
are
too close to the ground to recover. Like aerobatics and unusual attitude
recovery training, proper spin training will assist you in not ever
putting
yourself into a position where a spin will kill you.
That's my 2 cents.
Regards,
John Lawton
Whitwell, TN (TN89)
N245E - Flying
Checked by AVG.
04-Aug-08
19:23
|