Chock to chock
by Dale Nielsen
Low level stalls with yaw will result in a spin, followed by a crash, and possibly the burn and die. This will never happen to me, you say. Let's hope not. The keys to avoiding this scenario are the recognition of the situations where a spin may occur and the recognition of the symptoms of an approaching power-on aggravated stall.
For many years, the flight training industry in Canada has provided students with spin training with the intention of teaching the recognition of the onset of a spin, and spin recovery. The problem is, we have been giving spin training in an artificial, unrealistic setting. We have been forcing the aircraft into a spin with full rudder and full up elevator and with the power off and the flaps up. In real life, when is this likely to occur?
The result of this unrealistic training is several generations of pilots who may not recognize the onset of a spin and will probably skip the first two spin recovery actions - power off and flaps up. Aircraft flight manuals list these steps in the spin recovery procedure but unless we have practiced them, we will not likely do them when we have to react instantly without time to think.
To make matters worse, most flight instructors have concentrated their stall training on power-off stalls. Many pilots therefore, have not had the opportunity to see what the approach and on-set of full power departure type stalls or full power, full flap stalls look like. Power-on stalls usually occur with some uncorrected yaw. The yaw results in a wing drop, which if uncorrected, will result in rotation and develop into a spin. It is full power (or at least high power) stalls, with and without flap, that teach us to recognize the symptoms of an approaching spin in realistic situations.
The Americans recognize this in their flight training and spend more time teaching all types of stalls in realistic situations. The idea being to recognize the situations where spins could occur and avoid them.
Last fall, Transport Canada changed the private pilot training syllabus to include what they call advanced stall training, in effect power-on stalls. To ensure it was going to be done, they revised the private pilot flight test to include a power-off stall and an advanced stall. They dropped from the flight test the requirement to test spins. They did not drop spin training from the private pilot course.
Transport Canada decided on this change after many years of discussion, a review of our flight training, a review of the flight training programs in the U.S. and Europe and a review of statistics which showed that most spins occurred close to the ground and were unrecoverable.
The most usual situations for accidental spins are just after take-off, during balked approaches, during attempts to save bad landings, a result of abrupt maneuvering on final approach and during low level sightseeing. Spins are most likely to occur with the aircraft operating under power, possibly full power and with at least some flap.
Operating with power at very slow airspeeds requires a lot of rudder use to control the yaw caused by slip stream effect, torque and P factor. If the yaw is not controlled, a stall will quickly become a spin. As a spin develops, the power must be reduced to idle immediately. Power left on in a spin will increase the rate of rotation of the spin. It will therefore take longer for the rudder to stop the spin rotation. The increased rate of rotation in a spin with the power left on may also be disorienting, resulting in inappropriate spin recovery actions.
As a spin develops, flaps must be retracted immediately. Extended flaps result in a flatter spin, requiring a lower nose attitude to initiate a recovery. The drag caused by the flaps results in a slower increase in airspeed. Both effects delay spin recovery.
Spin training actually begins with realistic stall training simulating the high risk situations described above, with power off and on. Emphasis should be placed on controlling the yaw during the entry and recovery of the various stalls.
Some of the stalls however, should be entered without yaw control to demonstrate the result of poor yaw control. We must learn to react to a wing drop and to learn the appropriate recovery action - immediate opposite rudder to stop rotation from beginning followed by the standard stall recovery actions.
Once all types of stalls have been mastered, spin entries should be practiced as an entry into a power-on stall without yaw control. The wing drop at the stall should be allowed to just begin rotation. This is the beginning of an incipient spin and the recovery should be a spin recovery - starting with reducing the power to idle and raising the flaps.
Some aircraft flight manuals state that spins are not to be practiced with the flaps down to make us more aware of high risk situations and the need to maintain situational awareness at all times.
If you are one of those who did not receive advanced stall training or realistic spin training, you may want to consider asking for some the next time you have the opportunity to fly with a flight instructor. Like most of the training we take, we should look at this not as just an added expense but as life insurance.
Good, realistic training makes good pilots. Fly safe and have fun.
Dale Nielsen is an ex-Armed Forces pilot, charter pilot and air service operator. He freelances as a corporate pilot and Class 1 flying instructor from his home in Winlaw, B.C.
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