cOCKPIT CLASSROOMSince the series of stall/spin articles

in recent issues of SPORT AVIATION,letters, phone calls and personal com-ments have been made regarding thesearticles. One important point made by aNASA official was that each differentairplane required a unique spin recov-ery technique. The Beggs/Muellermethod of recovery by removing thehand off the stick and going for the anti-spin rudder works well on some aero-batic type aircraft such as the Pitts andDecathlon; however, this techniquecould not be recommended for conven-tional spinable airplanes such as theCessna 152 and 172 type aircraft andother spinable airplanes. The T-34C,according to one report, will recoverafter one and one-half turns using thetraditional techniques of power off, op-posite rudder, positive forward-elevatormovement to break the stall and neut-ralizing rudder as spinning stops, fol-lowed by a return to level flight. How-ever, using the Beggs/Muellertechnique of letting go of the stick andapplying anti-spin rudder resulted infour turns before recovery could be in-itiated. Another important finding byNASA, and a misleading thing to pilots,is the flat spin. Flat spins in any type ofaircraft can be extremely dangerous. Inspin recoveries by NASA test pilots,they found that, in all cases, normal re-covery controls provided the quickestrecovery from moderately flat spins,whereas, neutralizing controls pro-duced the slowest recoveries.

An interesting letter was receivedfrom James Struthers who stated that"probably each aircraft has its own spincharacter." Mr. Struthers relates his1943 experience as an Army aviationcadet, while flying the Vultee BT-13,which had a bad reputation for spins.Struthers had flown the BT-13 to 13,000feet after which he put it in a spin todetermine if it would recover hands off.The spin accelerated at about 8,000feet and at 5,000 feet he took over thecontrols and made a normal recovery.He had no idea how many turns theplane made while spinning.

He continues to state that spins gottheir reputation in the early history offlight, when planes were designed diffe-rently. When Struthers learned to fly in1941, precision spins were requiredtraining and pilots were expected to re-cover "on the button".

Captain Dave DeRamus (EAA149216) of People Express Airlinesmentions that he has enjoyed readingthe spin series. DeRamus submits atechnique called the "zero-G" preven-tion technique which can be used in

By Harold HolmesFEEDBACK ON SPINS

aerobatic airplanes such as the Pitts.He is convinced that the technique willwork well even in biplanes with wingsflying at somewhat different angles ofattack. Furthermore, he states that "intoo many airplanes, if you don't manageto prevent that spin, you have boughtthe farm." DeRamus feels that all spinsare preventable if the pilot unloads tozero-G anytime the airplane does any-thing funny, or at the first recognition ofa high angle of attack situation.

Captain DeRamus enclosed an arti-cle which he had written for Air Prog-ress in May 1980. The article is excel-lently written and clearly describes hiszero-G technique.

An EAA member from Michigan whowants his name deleted is appreciativeof the articles on stalls and spins. Hefelt the articles were so beneficial thathe gave photocopies of them to hisformer flight instructor. The letter writermentions a series of spins he experi-enced early in his flying career. He re-lated that he used the normal uprightrecovery techniques. The major pointmade by the Michigan EAAer is thatstalls and spins should have more em-phasis in private pilot training . . . "if notpart of the check ride, we should at leasthave a log endorsement for recoveringfrom a spin." He also would like to learnmore about aircraft which are placardedagainst spins.

Tony LeVier, who heads up Safe Ac-tion In Flight Emergency, Inc.,(SAFE, INC.), mailed a report preparedby the Subcommittee on Investigationsand Oversight of the Committee on Sci-ence and Technology 96th U. S. Houseof Representatives, Congress, SecondSession, July 1980.

This Subcommittee print included wit-ness testimony from a number ofsources on the question: Would spintraining as a requirement for a privatepilot license result in a net saving oflives? Is it beneficial to the aviationcommunity? Would we instill greaterconfidence (in pilots)? Would we comeup with a better (safer) product, namely,the private pilot in today's aviationworld?

It is interesting to note that only FAAremained adamant in their defense ofthe no-spin training policy. All other wit-nesses, to varying degrees, expressedthe need for spin and spin recoverytraining as a common sense safety re-quirement, even occasionally, in con-tradiction to their assessment of thestatistical picture.

"It could be concluded withoutequivocation that the experienced av-iators overwhelmingly demand that as-piring pilots be trained to protect them-selves and be able to recover from poststall gyrations, incipient spins andspins. There is no evidence of com-promise in this concensus by the avia-tion professionals."

The subcommittee recommends thatsome form of spin recovery training be-come a requirement for a private pilotlicense.

Tony LeVier sent several spin trainingdocuments advocating improved flighttraining through his organization, in-cluding spins.

We were honored to receive a letterfrom Senator Barry Goldwater who saidthat the spin article which appeared inthe February issue was a real achieve-ment. Senator Goldwater, in his letter,relates a piece of spin history in WorldWar II. When he was instructing, spinswere not allowed in the AT-6 becauserumor had it the spins in the AT-6 wereunrecoverable. Senator Goldwater con-tinues to say that . . . "some crazy cadettried a spin and had no trouble at all ingetting out and then it became a stan-dard procedure." He says that after fifty-six years as a pilot, he doesn't believeanybody should fly an airplane whohasn't purposely spun an aircraft, pro-viding that aircraft will spin, but at leastputting it into the attitude and goingthrough all of it that you can with therecovery. Senator Goldwater feels thatthe spin is a very, very important partof flying.

Robert H. Thalman, Chief Pilot,Swearingen Aircraft Corporation, men-tions that the "History of Spins" articlein the February issue is an interestingpiece of history. The article bravely ad-dresses an important issue, however,

SPORT AVIATION 29

FEEDBACK ON SPINS

the article made Mr. Thalman suffi-ciently nervous to prompt his letter. Hefeels that the SPORT AVIATION audi-ence has been presented with someover-simplified corrective actions re-garding spin recovery. This and othertreatment of the subject of spins by EAAunder headings such as "Cockpit Class-room" are likely to become Bibles forsome people on recovery techniques.Thalman finds this disturbing becausenone of these techniques is optimumfor all airplanes. (Author's note: This isa very important observation and theauthor agrees that the techniques advo-cated by Mueller, Beggs and otherscould be the cause of a fatal accidentin a T-34C, Cessna 172, 152 and otherspinable lightplanes.) Thalman pointsout that the principal understandingshould be, he thinks, that, as airplanesare designed and loaded differently,they spin differently and, likewise, theywill recover differently. Furthermore, hestates that full opposite rudder (the turnneedle is the most reliable indicatorhere) is an almost universal first step tospin recovery. Pro-spin, anti-spin orneutral aileron may be required. For-30 JUNE 1985

ward stick, neutral or aft stick may benecessary. Change of configuration ofcontrollable high lift devices may behelpful. Engine control (if possible) maybe needed and bail out might be ulti-mately required.

Manufacturers recommendationsshould be studied carefully. For home-builders, in an unproven airplane, inten-tional spins should be approached withgreat caution. After considerable study,plus all of the altitude possible, a planfor an alternate descent method shouldbe devised if actual practice provestheory to be incorrect. Mr. Thalman'svery constructive suggestions and criti-cisms are important considerationsfrom a safety standpoint. Throughoutthe spin series we have stressed theimportance of using spin recoverytechniques appropriate to the airplanebeing spun. It must be emphasized that,in no case, should anti-spin rudder beused alone in a conventional,nonaerobatic airplane that is spin-worthy. No more than 1-1/2 turnsshould be performed prior to initiatingspin recovery, some aircraft should notbe allowed to go beyond one turn.

Ben Prince (EAA 149893) from Rich-land, WA mentioned that he has en-joyed the articles on spins and he pre-sents two interesting questions. "First,the December article states that theneedle of the turn coordinator estimatesdirection of spin rotation — not the ball.I was also taught to 'step off the ball"to arrest the rolling and yawing rota-tion." (Author's note: Rudder causes theairplane to spin and rudder is the pri-mary control to recover from a spin. Atthe stall, since both wings are close tothe critical angle of attack, the downgoing wing generates less lift becauseof the increased angle of attack. Usingopposite rudder — rudder in the direc-tion opposite to that of the roll — is re-quired to recover from this stalled, roll-ing motion because the use of aileronor elevator only reinforce the yawing/rolling motion. The ball in a spin is de-flected well away from the center in adirection opposite to that of the "turn"and it indicates a skid. It should not beused to estimate the direction of rota-tion.)

The second question regarded flapsin a spin and when flaps should be re-

moved. (Author's note: The spin mustbe arrested first and then retract flaps.Do not exceed the flap operating rangeduring recovery.)

Numerous other letters were re-ceived from EAA members askingabout spin characteristics of particularaircraft such as Mooneys, Bonanzas,Pipers, etc. It is highly recommendedthat the manufacturer of each type ofaircraft be contacted for spin recoverytechniques. The Cessna Corporationhas published an excellent manual onspinning Cessna type airplanes. TheCessna manual indicates differences inrecovery techniques for all of their spin-able aircraft.

Others requested information onwhere they could obtain a completespin course. IAC has a directory of aer-obatic schools, but not all of these givea complete spin course so check themout carefully. (Note: Contact IAC at EAAHeadquarters, Wittman Airfield, Osh-kosh, Wl 54903-2591.)

Obviously there still remains a sub-stantial degree of disagreement aboutspins and spin recovery techniques.There are many theorists advising vari-ous procedures; however, I believe ourconfidence has to go with those whohave actually performed the spin tests.Jim Rattan of NASA is probably themost knowledgeable person in generalaviation type airplanes while Eric Muel-

ler and Gene Beggs are the most know-ledgeable in high performance aero-batic type aircraft. There appears to bemany voices crying out to learn all aboutspins from those who have had the ac-tual experience. It is our hope thatNASA as well as motivated private indi-viduals and other research agenciescontinue to research spins and wing de-signs which will prevent stall/spin acci-dents making flying safer for all of us.

Since the series of stall/spin articlesin recent issues of SPORT AVIATION,we have received phone calls and manypersonal comments from the readers.We wish to thank those who took timeto write. James M. Patton, Jr., Head ofAircraft Operations Branch of NASA,and who is probably the foremost au-thority on spins in the world, wrote avery significant letter to Jack Cox,SPORT AVIATION'S Editor-in-Chief,which was published on page 58 of theApril issue. In his letter Jim Patton re-lates his experiences and wholeheartedendorsement of the spin recoverytechnique advocated by Gene Beggs.Mr. Patton states that, although thisspin recovery procedure works consis-tently and well in all aerobatic categoryairplanes tested, there are exceptions.This is true and in some cases whereapplication of stick as well as full rudderis necessary for quick recovery. Hementions that the NASA T-34C, for in-

stance, requires several additionalturns for recovery from a developedspin when using rudder only.

In view of NASA's experience and re-search as well as the author's evalua-tion of spinning numerous lightairplanes, most recently the Cessna150, C-152 and the 172, the anti-spinrecovery technique should not be re-commended for conventional spinableairplanes. These light spinable aircraftshould not be spun more than 1-1/2turns before recovery. Even though flatspins are not recommended in any air-craft, NASA test pilots have determinedthat, in all cases, normal recovery con-trols provided the quickest recoveryfrom moderately flat spins and neut-ralizing the controls produced theslowest recoveries.

Woody Woods and I wish to thankthe readers of the spin articles for themany excellent comments and ques-tions regarding the articles. If you, thereaders, have any further questions,please forward them to me at the ad-dress listed below.

If you wish to contact the authorfor additional information, pleasewrite Harold Holmes, Department ofSafety Studies Injury Research Lab-oratory University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, Whitewater, Wl 53190.

GENTLEMEN OF BOOK REVIEW

E1ISTK.GA1AUTHOR OF

THE HIGH AND THE MIGHTY

THE EPIC AVIATION SAGA OF TWO MEN A WOMANAND THEIR PLANES ."TENSE. WVET1NG. WELL-TOLD

—NEW VORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW

"GENTLEMEN OF ADVENTURE" byErnest K. Gann. Signet Books. $3.95soft cover.

It was an eye-catching title and coverwhich first drew my attention in the air-port bookstore. Surrounded by bookswith blood-dripping daggers, passion-torn clothing and sci-fi space monsters,"Gentlemen of Adventure", depicting in-stead a saga of barnstorming, militarymissions and other aerial exploits,called out for a closer look.

Gann, of course, is one of the premieraviation writers of our time. Knowingthat, however, had raised expectationswhich I felt were not entirely met by hislatest work, "The Aviator". So I lingereda moment before paying my $4.00,tucking it under my arm and heading forthe gate to my flight.

I was not disappointed. "Gentlemenof Adventure" is an epic story of twoyoung men who leave the cornfields ofNebraska in 1915 for the dangerous butglorious lure of aviation. They are soonjoined by a daring woman who be-comes both the bond as well as the fric-tion in the relationship. The book con-cludes half a century later, after twoWorld Wars, overseas episodes inChina and Spain, stateside barnstorm-ing, test flying and the evolution of com-mercial airlines. A lot to pack into 462pages, but Gann sweeps the readeralong as his characters touch the livesof historic figures like CharlesLindbergh, Amelia Earhart, Billy Mitch-ell and Howard Hughes.

The Author's prefatory note con-cedes dramatic demands of a multigen-erational novel such as this one, but forthe most part his personal familiaritywith these "greats" draws the readerinto a convincing and comfortable re-

lationship with them. Indeed, someonelike "Slim" Lindbergh becomes knowa-ble as a mere mortal like you and I,rather than conjured images from head-lines or history books.

It's all here, five decades of aviationthat irreversibly changed human civili-zation. Gann relates history as if from afireside easy chair, educational and en-grossing at the same time. While an-thologies may tell greater detail andshow through pictures a technician'seye view, it is Gann's characters — thegentlemen and their lady — whosedreams and guts and passions bringour heritage to life. The interplay ofthese characters, their loves, ambitionsand fears make a good historical ac-count superbly readable with the bestof fiction. In fact, it is stirring stuff.

If you've ever wondered what it waslike to crash land a Bleriot trainer in aFrench rainstorm, transfer a wingwalker mid-air from a DH-4 to a Jenny,try to pass Speed Holman on the py-lons, fly the mail planes, trimotor trans-ports, warbirds of WWII . . . then this isthe book for you.

And it's there on the bookshelves.You just have to look for it.

— Greg Anderson

SPORT AVIATION 31