San Diego Spin Training Course by Glenn Daly When I was learning to fly back in the mid-70's, I was petrified of spins. It didn't help that I was learning in Grumman trainers which were placarded against spins. Those airplanes were the direct descendants of the Grumman Yankee, which had a notorious reputation as a spin accident waiting to happen. It also didn't help that the flight instructors who taught in these Grummans did little to dispel their own fears of spins in the later trainers. Thus, as many of you know, if your instructor is afraid of a maneuver, you will be petrified of it. It wasn't until my mandatory CFI spin training that I learned to slay the beast that had haunted my flying hours. You see, once you've spun an airplane, and recovered, you realize that it's just a normal, if somewhat exciting, flight maneuver. Unfortunately, the FAA removed spin training from the private pilot curriculum years ago, so we've bred an entire generation of spin-scared pilots. It doesn't have to be that way. As most of you know, a spin can only be entered when the airplane wing is stalled and, then, only when some kind of yawing moment has been induced. The classic stall-spin entry occurs on the base to final turn. Perhaps there's a wind from the left and you rolled into your turn to final a tad late. You realize that you've flown through the runway centerline, but you also remember your instructor's admonition: "No steep turns within 500 feet of the ground." What do you do? You kick the airplane through the turn with left (bottom) rudder. But when you do that, your nose begins to drop, so you apply some back pressure to keep the nose up. Then, because the left rudder is causing the airplane to bank more, you apply opposite aileron to shallow the bank. This causes the nose to drop more, so you apply more back pressure. Since, by this time, you're more focused on what you're doing than what the airplane's doing, you don't pay attention to the mushy controls and the shuddering elevator. Your airspeed drops off, the airplane stalls, and the left rudder induces a yawing moment. The airplane spins into the ground. The result is usually unpleasant. Why not learn more about spins. Since 1998 I've offered all of my students a spin-recovery session. Almost all of them have accepted. And, aside from one who didn't like the sensation at all, all of them loved and, more importantly, learned from the experience. Spin training is an E-ticket ride. From nose way, way up just prior to stall, to nose way, way down, corkscrewing toward the terrain below, it's a dramatic and exciting maneuver. The recovery is simple - but it's counter-intuitive, and different from any training you've had until that point. To recover from a spin, you first neutralize controls, retard the throttle (if it isn't already at idle), then apply full rudder opposite the direction of the spin. Once you stop the spin, you recover smoothly from the dive. It's fun, it's exciting, and, once you've done it a few times, it's easy. You just need to do it a few times. That's where I come in. One spin training session, in a beautiful Decathlon based at San Diego's Montgomery Field (KMYF), will change your flying life. No longer will you fear spins - once you've learned how to recover, you'll never again fear them. You'll recognize the potential situations that can lead to spins, and you'll be able to avoid them. The airplane comes equipped with parachutes (just in case) and I provide all the instruction you'll need. One hour in the airplane, plus one hour of ground instruction that includes a basic parachute introduction (just in case). Total cost $225.00. If you're a private pilot and you've never spun an airplane, you owe it to yourself to learn how to recover from a spin. If you're a CFI candidate and your instructor doesn't like spin training, I'm your man. No matter what your level of skill or experience, you need to learn to recover from spins. I'd be happy to teach you how. Start today. Drop me an e-mail, or give me a call: 619 890-2FLY Return to SoCal Skies