Questions tagged [spins]
Questions related to aerodynamic spins (intentional or otherwise), including spin entry and recovery techniques.
52 questions
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Why can’t flying wings enter a flat spin?
In this answer, it states:
Naturally stable flying wings never enter a flat spin; their spin modes are all fairly steep due to the lack of a strong inertial moment from the lengthwise distribution of ...
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Confusion about angle of attack difference between wings in a slip
CFI applicant here. I am experiencing some confusion regarding angle of attack difference between wings in a sideslip. When discussing stability, the PHAK says that that the lowered wing will have a ...
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Is it possible to recover from a graveyard spiral?
The Graveyard spiral is an extremely dangerous situation and is the leading cause of a controlled flight into terrain accident. It is caused by the erroneous feedback from the vestibular system that ...
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Can a B-707 recover from a spin? [duplicate]
There was an incident in 1959 involving a Boeing 707 on a training flight near Paris, France where a badly executed MCA demo reportedly resulted in the plane entering a spin, had an engine torn off ...
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Why does the wing drop prior to a spin?
In the process of understanding the aerodynamics of spins, I'm having a hard time understanding why one wing drops.
I understand that the for spins to occur, a stall + a yaw must occur. I also ...
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What is meant by a Gimbal Lock and what are the limits of a Heading Indicator and Attitude Indicator? [duplicate]
When we perform a spin in a Cessna 172, I have seen that the Attitude Indicator gets messed up and locks itself into a disoriented reading for sometime. I have read that this usually happens when ...
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What is that inertia that makes the nose rise in a spin?
The Flight Training manual mentions
For Ex. 13- spin, that the nose drops due to the loss of lift, and rises due to inertia forces.
Can someone explain to me that inertia force making the nose rise, ...
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Could you use the flaps to recover from a flat spin
If the plane is in a flat spin, what would happen if you put the flaps down to cause the backward turning wing to be pushed down, and the forward turning wing up, to tip it out of the spin.
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How is a stall different from a spin?
Is a spin a by-product of a stall? So if a airplane stalls is a spin guaranted sooner or later?
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What differentiates the entry procedures for spins and snap rolls?
Both a spin and a snap roll are aerobatic manoeuvres involving stalling one of an airplane's wings earlier and more deeply than the other. Both are entered by pitching up sharply to stall the ...
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Low visibility spins and spirals: difficult-to-understand explanation of false perception
I'm not a pilot.
In the following excellent explanatory video I understand everything except for a single point.
The presenter says that in cloud, if the instruments tell the pilot to level the wings ...
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What is the difference between a spin and an uncontrolled roll in an high speed dive?
A comment I had on another (now deleted) question states that China Airlines 006 didn't spin. For me it was a spin (unwanted roll due to asymmetrical stall). The comment states it was "it was a ...
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Should I use rudder to recover from power-on stalls?
I was executing a power-on stall, and upon stalling the nose dropped and the plane rolled hard right. I promptly applied left rudder and released yoke backpressure to recover, and the plane recovered ...
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What is the largest aircraft ever put in a spin?
What is the largest aircraft, by weight, ever deliberately put into a spin?
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Where can a 300lb person get a spin endorsement in Miami? [duplicate]
I'm in Miami Working on my CFI, I'm at the level of trying to get my spin endorsement. The problem is I'm 6'2" and 300lb, so I need your help.
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Why does spin recovery involve cutting the throttle?
When recovering from a spin, the first step is generally to cut the throttle:
... Otherwise, to recover from an upright spin, the following generic procedure may be used: Power is first reduced to ...
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Why don't multiengine aircraft have to demonstrate spin recoverability?
(Building off this earlier question about spin-testing airliners.)
For normal-category aircraft1 in the U.S. (at least), only single-engine (or, in the case of some gliders, no-engine) airplanes need ...
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Does a left spin differ from a right spin for a single-engine propeller aircraft, in terms of spin characteristics & ease of recovery?
Given a single-engine propeller aircraft with its nose-mounted propeller rotating on the right-hand side when viewed from the cockpit, and given the typical effects like P-factor, prop-wash and ...
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Did large winglets contribute to the spin behavior of the SB 13 tailless glider?
The SB-13 swept wing tailless beauty was developed in the early 1990s as a small recreational glider with relatively large upright winglets. The design proved very spin prone.
It occurred to me ...
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Can you please explain aircraft spin in simple non-mathematical terms?
Can you please explain aircraft spin in simple non-mathematical terms?
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Does a skinless fuselage add to the likeliness of an unrecoverable spin?
While at Air Venture this week, I happened to hear a pilot of a small experimental airplane say that he liked the skinless (Naked) look his airframe had at one point during the build, but that he ...
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Are student pilots required to have spin entry and recovery training?
Do trainee pilots learn to enter into spins and recover from them in any basic trainer aircraft? Does any regulation mandate this?
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How does the advancing wing in a flat spin create nose thrust?
Peter's answer to this question leads me to another question.
How does the advancing wing in a flat spin create nose thrust?
I imagine this like some object spinning in a liquid. I would think ...
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In a spin, are both wings stalled?
I missed a test question which asked that if an airplane was spinning to the left which wing was stalled. The supposed correct answer was that both wings are stalled (I had answered that the left ...
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Why aren't airliners spin-tested?
According to Wikipedia, only single-engine aircraft with an MTOW no greater than 12500 pounds are required to demonstrate the ability to recover from a spin, and not large or multi-engine aircraft. ...
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Are there any truly 'unrecoverable' situations? [duplicate]
I'm starting my quest to obtain a PPL this weekend. So I guess this question is contextualised around light aircraft like the Piper Tomahawk / Cessna, although it certainly would be interesting to get ...
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How to best recover from an excessive descent?
Suppose I found myself in a rapid, steep descent, perhaps right after breaking a spin. E.g. a 60 degree nose down with 100kt and accelerating rapidly, on a Cessna 172.
What might be an ideal ...
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During spin recovery, can you just release the yoke/stick to neutralize the ailerons?
I have been watching spin recovery videos on YouTube for the last few days. Scary stuff and I haven't even started flying yet :o haha
Anyway, the recovery seems to be commonly described as PARE:
...
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What is the procedure to enter, maintain and recover from a flat spin?
Looking for a play-by-play from the pilot's seat of a Pitts biplane. What thoughts, considerations and control inputs are required to enter & maintain a flat "pretty" spin and a calculated exit ...
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Why does the P-51 Mustang take so much altitude to recover from a spin?
From this answer, it appears that the P-51 Mustang takes a lot of altitude to recover from a spin. The average is a 3000 to 6000 foot loss, with a loss of up to 7500 feet in one instance.
The recovery ...
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Does it really take 9000 feet to recover from a spin in a P-51 Mustang?
I was a bit surprised to hear from this P-51 pilot (9:33 into the video) that the Mustang requires 9000 feet to recover from a spin. This seems high to me. The Mustang POH does not confirm this, but ...
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Is it dangerous to do a skidding turn to lose altitude without increasing airspeed?
I was taking some lessons in a light sport aircraft in South Africa a few years back, my instructor taught me something which I had never seen or heard of before or since. We went through an emergency ...
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Is it possible to get into a spin situation while coordinated?
Is there any possibility of spinning while coordinated? Of course, any CFI would tell you no, but I wonder if the the following situation could result in a spin while coordinated:
Slow level flight ...
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What is a good spin aircraft for someone that is heavy?
I've been trying to get a spin endorsement for my CFI, but I've been having a problem trying to find an airplane that I can do it in.
I'm 280 built like a linebacker. I'm not that "fat" just heavy....
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Is there anything extra required to spin a Cessna 172 in the Utility category?
I'm trying to find a suitable aircraft to get my spin endorsement for my CFI rating but am running into trouble with most aerobatic aircraft due to my height (too tall).
My last thought is that I ...
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How can a flying wing style airplane recover from a spin without a vertical stabilizer? [duplicate]
I fly a Cessna C-172, and if I have any bank when stalling, I have to use rudder to level the airplane. If I use aileron, the bank angle will increase and bring the airplane into a spin.
My question ...
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How does a nose down stall occur?
Imagine I am in a straight down dive, at terrific speed, and if I wanted upward sharp turn and got the stick back far enough, would I stall (or spin)?
Does normal laws apply when the aircraft nose is ...
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Is it possible to perform a spin recovery in IMC?
In other words, after some training, is it possible to recovery a spin solely by relying on instruments?
If using a vacuum-pump traditional attitude indicator, I assume the answer is no, since there ...
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Can a helicopter really fly with rotors going this slow?
I was watching this youtube video and I noticed that at 3:17 seconds they show a coast guard helicopter rescuing a man from a ship. Whats shocking about this is that the main rotor of the helicopter ...
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How to enter an inverted spin?
Spins cannot occur without stalls. To enter a spin, a pilot would hold the elevator up and let speed bleeds off. This is how you'd approach a stall. Just as the stall starts to develop, apply full ...
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How do the Tiger Moth's anti-spin strakes work?
As originally designed, the DH.82 Tiger Moth had unpredictable spin characteristics. Many aircraft were lost because spin recovery took too long (i.e. too much loss of height). Many examples of the ...
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Flare: low, slow, and uncoordinated? [duplicate]
I'd like to rephrase the question:
Often I forward-slip on final right right rudder. During this time, I use the ailerons to keep the aircraft headed down the center-line; the aircraft's bank varies ...
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How to Recover from a Spin in Cessna 172?
How to recover from a spin in a Cessna 172 ? What are the different maneuvers that a pilot would have to use to to do so?
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If a commercial airliner enters into a spin at high altitude, is it possible to recover?
Often flying I have this fear, that something will snap, and the plane will start plunging to the ground in a spin.
My question is, once a passenger aircraft (e.g. an A320) goes into a spin, can the ...
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What is the Beggs/Mueller emergency spin recovery technique?
I've always used PARE for spin recovery:
Power to idle
Ailerons neutral
Rudder opposite the spin until rotation stops
Elevator forward to break the stall
What is Beggs/Mueller emergency ...
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Is it possible to build a paper airplane that will enter a fully developed spin?
Some students learn best when they can see aerodynamic principles in action. I'd really like to be able to show a student how a spin occurs.
Is there a way to make a paper airplane that will enter a ...
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Why is the altimeter unwinding unevenely during a spin?
Spencer Suderman recently did a world record 81-turn inverted flat spin, and dropped over 21 thousand feet while doing so. The entire thing is documented on youtube. The spin starts at 3 minutes into ...
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Is it possible to recover from a flat spin?
In Top Gun, Maverick's F-14 enters a flat spin after flying through another F-14's jetwash, forcing him to eject and causing the death of Goose.
Is this scenario possible or was it only created for ...
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How long is spin training good for in the USA?
Written tests are only good for 24 calendar months before they must be applied to a certificate (or lost). Spin training is a requirement of the flight instructor certificate. Does the required spin ...
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What happens in a stall during a slip?
In flight training we're warned against skidding turns since they have a higher potential for a stall/spin (the classic example being the stall/spin on the base to final turn).
However, how does the ...
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