PRIVATE PILOT

LICENSE – BRIEFING
Spinning and Spin Avoidance
Exercise 11
By- Shifatur Rahman / 027 500 2988
 Spinning/10B
DEFINITION
A spin is a condition of flight where the aircraft is in
autorotation which causes yawing, rolling and pitching
moments and results in the aircraft following a spiral path
at a steady rate of descent.
WHY IT IS BEING TAUGHT
i. Safety factor – if the controls are mishandled during
aerobatics or any other phase of flight, a spin is in the
worst situation that may result, other than major
structural failure due to overstressing the aircraft.
ii. It improves your confidence and co-ordination.
HOW THE EXERCISE APPLIES TO FLYING
During aerobatics or when flying close to the stall during
any phase of flight, the aircraft may not always
be handled carefully. A stall may result, which could be
followed by a spin.
What is a Spin and how does it
develop?
A spin is a condition of stalled flight, so the first
prerequisite is that the wings be at a high angle of
attack.
A wing drop is essential to enter a spin and this may
occur by itself or more likely be induced by the pilot
yawing the a/c with rudder or misusing the ailerons just
prior to the a/c stalling.
AutoRotation will commence through the dropping
wing becoming further stalled, with a consequent
decrease in lift and increase in drag. The a/c will roll, and
sideslip will develop. It will be an unsteady manoeuvre
with the a/c appearing to be very nose down. The rate of
rotation may increase quite quickly and the pilot will
experience a change of g-loading.
Another way to look at the same theory – If, at the critical
AOA, lift is lost on one wing compared to the other, the
wing would stall.
IF RAF is inclined upwards, then it is further increasing
AOA. As the a/c rolls, the upgoing wing has a reduced
angle of attack and remains less stalled than the down-
going wing. The asymmetry of lift increases as the a/c
yaws towards the low wing, accelerating outside and
decelerating inside. The a/c is now said to be in a self
sustaining auto rotation. As with any stall, the nose will
drop and as inertial forces take effect, the spin usually
stabilizes at steady rate of rotation and descent.
It is important to recover as soon as Spin is recognized.
How does a Spin Develop?
Stage 1 – Incipient Spin
Incipient Spin means the beginning or onset of a
spin. It is, if you like, a recovery from a spin before
the spin actually occurs – with a minimum loss of
height.
While Spinning is not permitted in many training aeroplanes, the
incipient spin is. Recovery should be made before the wings go
through a bank angle exceeding 90*.
Flying the Manoeuvre – An incipient spin can be
induced from almost any flight conditions by:
- Flying slowly, continually bringing the control
column back and then, when almost at the
stall, applying rudder to generate yaw in the
desired spin direction , or,
- Entering a shallow climbing or level turn ( 10-
15 ) with a little power to the point of the stall,
which will frequently ensure an incipient spin in
the opposite direction of the turn.
Stage 2 – Fully Developed Spin
A spin is a condition of stalled flight in which the In a developed Spin, the aircraft is also acting as a
aeroplane is in a spiral descent. gyroscope.
As well as the aeroplane in a stalled condition, one wing Wings will not produce much lift in a spin, since they are
is producing more lift than the other ( caused by a roll at stalled. The a/c will accelerate downwards until it reaches
low speed ). Greater drag from the stalled lower wing a vertical rate of descent where the greatly increased
results in further yaw, further roll etc etc Pitching of the drag balances the weight. The height loss will be rapid as
nose may also occur. the a/c spins downwards about the vertical spin axis.
The aeroplane is in motion in all 3 axes. In other words,
lots of things are happening!
In a Spin, the a/c is :
- Stalled
- Rolling
- Yawing
- Pitching
- Sideslipping
- Rapidly Losing Height
Stage 3 – Spin Recovery

The essential part of Spin recovery are stopping

the rotation and un-stalling the wings with
minimum height loss.

The recovery from a spin, initiated by the pilot

who:
- Opposes the rotation with rudder.
- Un-stalls the wings with forward control column
- Centralizing all controls when the spin stops
- Eases out of the ensuing dive.
 Effect of Power and CG
Effect of Power Effect of CG

At the incipient ( early ) stage of the stall, having power - A rearward CG will encourage a flatter spin and it
on may cause a greater tendency for the wing to drop, will be more difficult to lower the nose in the
which could lead to a spin. recovery. This is one ( very important ) reason for
ensuring that you never fly an a/c loaded outside its
Once the a/c is in a spin, power may destabilize it as approved weight and balance limits.
the slip-stream will tend to flow across the outer wing,
increasing its lift and consequently increasing the rate - Conversely, a forward CG normally results in a
of roll. steeper spin with a higher rate of descent and a
higher rate of rotation. It may make recovery easier
It is essential, therefore, to remove power by closing and in fact, may even prevent a spin occurring.
the throttle either before or during the spin recovery.
And Lastly…….
Airmanship Common Errors
AIRMANSHIP i. Many students forget to throttle back after
i. Pre-stall checks: HASELL. entering a spin flight condition in which power is
ii. Orientation problem – Verify direction of spin being used.
before commencing action.
iii. Correct us of controls, therefore, know the ii. The student often attempts to identify the
Recovery actions by heart. behaviour of the aircraft from the position of the
v. Climb away after recovery – after take-off controls.
checks.
BUT MOST IMPORTANTLY, ENSURE YOUR
AIRCRAFT IS CERTIFIED FOR SPIN TRAINING.
Thanks for participating. This concludes
our briefing 10B on “Spinning.”