AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2011 - 26

PROFICIENTPILOT

BY BARRY SCHIFF

The no-spin zone

o one likes to admit failure, and I’m certainly not an exception to the rule. One misstep I dislike mentioning is when I failed the flight test for

attitude and into a conventional upright spin to the right. After spinning twice, Bell shouted for me to recover conventionally (opposite rudder to arrest rotation, forward stick to break the stall, and then back-pressure to recover from the ensuing dive). My heart was pounding. I had never been upsidedown in an airplane before even though it had only been for a split second. I practiced the over-the-top spin a few more times and soon found the maneuver to be easy to perform and lots of fun (as long as you know what to do and what to expect). my flight instructor certificate in 1956 when I was 18 years old. I was in the rear seat of the Aeronca In later years I learned that some airplanes will Barry Schiff has 7AC Champion and looking forward at the back of do almost the same thing when stalled inadverflown 325 types the examiner’s head as I completed the 720-degree tently during a full-power climb with flaps extended of aircraft and is steep turn. (as for takeoff ). Propeller P-factor has the same trying for 400. “Okay, Barry. Not bad. Now let’s see a two-turn effect as applying rudder. The Bonanza is one such spin to the right.” He had to yell because training airplane. This is one reason why Beech does not aircraft did not have intercoms in those days. It was an era when recommend using flaps for takeoff, not even during a short- or instructor applicants had to demonstrate spins during the flight soft-field takeoff. Bell then set me up for an under-the-bottom spin. test and not just present logbook evidence of having done them (as is the case today). Spinning from the rear seat of a “Champ” “Establish a right gliding turn,” he commanded. “As the turn could be dizzying, though. You felt as though you were looking progresses, slowly bring the stick back. Just as the airplane stalls, through a tunnel that seriously limited your view of the outside apply full right [bottom] rudder.” world. I had no problem with the maneuver and began to feel The result is far less dramatic than the over-the-top spin. that I had the checkride nailed. The nose simply yaws more into the turn and simultaneously The government inspector, L.N. Lightbody, then yelled, “That goes down as the spin begins to develop (the incipient phase was good. Now let’s see an over-the-top spin to the right.” of a spin). Recovery is the same. What? My confidence began to erode. I had never heard of When inadvertent, the under-the-bottom spin most often is such a thing. I leaned forward—we didn’t have shoulder har- the result of a low-altitude turn from base leg to final approach. nesses either—so that he could more easily hear me. “I don’t The pilot overshoots the extended runway centerline and is reluctant to steepen the bank when so close to the ground, know what that is,” I confessed. a phenomenon known as “ground shyness.” He instead and “OK, then. Let’s see an under-the-bottom spin to the left.” I admitted that I didn’t know what that was either. unwittingly adds bottom rudder to increase the turn rate. This A forefinger motioned toward the airport, and Lightbody said causes the nose to go down somewhat, so the pilot, again unwitsternly, “Let’s go home.” An hour later I wadded the pink slip tingly, attempts to keep the nose up by applying back-pressure into a hidden corner of my wallet. I was shattered. to the control wheel. He is setting himself up for a spin into My instructor, Paul Bell, later told me that he had never heard oblivion. of anyone being required to perform those kinds of spins durThe best way to cope with a centerline overshoot is to roll ing a flight test. He speculated that Lightbody wanted to nip out of the turn and go around. The over-the-top and under-the-bottom spins teach much my cockiness in the bud, take me down a notch, and teach me some humility. (I can’t say that I didn’t deserve it.) about the conditions during which an airplane can spin and “In any event,” he said. “Let’s schedule some time tomorrow, may be performed safely in any airplane for which spins are and I’ll show you how to do them.” approved. It doesn’t have to be an aerobatic airplane. One charThe next day found us over the steaming San Fernando Valley acteristic that both types of spin have in common is that when at 7,000 feet, a major feat unto itself, as anyone who has flown either occurs inadvertently and at low altitude, a timely recovery the 65-horsepower Aeronca can attest. is likely impossible. Avoidance obviously is the key to survival. *** Bell asked me to establish the aircraft in a full-throttle, climbing turn to the left while simultaneously and slowly pulling back The deadline for young people to submit a 500-word essay to on the control stick. “When the airplane stalls, hold the stick in enter my solo-scholarship contest is midnight, December 15. your lap, apply full right [top] rudder, and retard the throttle.” Details were announced in this column in October. Whoa! I was totally unprepared for what happened next. The Champ rolled rapidly from a left bank through the inverted Visit the author’s website (www.barryschiff.com). 26 • DECEMBER
2011

AOPA PILOT •

http://www.barryschiff.com

AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2011

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