Spin Training
 

Just got done reading the article in AOPA about spin training.. or should I say lack there of....

I guess I am a bit old school in that regard as when I got my PPL back in the late 70's ....spin training was a must accomplish item... then later when I went to UPT in 1985/86 we spun the ever loving crap out of the T-37 Tweet. Personally I think it builds confidence in ones abilities. And well lets be honest...in the tweet at least... it was just damn fine FUN!!!

Thoughts......

I loved doing the spin training for my CFI certificate. Some of the most fun I have ever had in an airplane. I think more people should do spin training, it really helps develop a better understanding of a stall/spin situation.

I think any spin training is good, but for CFI's, I know some are being done a great disservice.

The place where I got my CFI gave us the option of doing spin training with them or doing it somewhere else. Their spin training consisted of going up in a C152 and doing 2 or 3 spins in each direction, and that's about it. In a C152. I don't know about you guys, but for me it always required a little bit of work to keep that plane in a spin.

I did my spin training for my CFI at an aerobatics school. Total cost of the lesson was maybe $50 more than what it would have cost at my school, but it was done with a competition aerobatics pilot in a Great Lakes. In addition to the plain ol' spin, we did some flat spins and accelerated spins. He showed me how different control inputs affected how flat or how fast the spin occurred and basically allowed me to "play" with each maneuver. In my opinion, much better training than what my "academy" offered.

Once we got to the point where I was teaching him the maneuvers for all three spins, he gave me the added bonus of some basic aerobatics - loops, rolls, hammerheads, etc.

I recommend spin training for everyone, but for CFIs, I think the training I got was the minimum standard for a spin endorsement.

The patch for the FITU (Fixed Wing Instructor Training Unit), T-34C's at Whiting, has a T-34 in a spin with the OCF procedures around it. It is certainly an appropriate patch. As an IP or IP under training, we do spin after spin. With students in their FAM/contact stage, we do spin after spin. I've never done so many and I agree, a great way to build confidence for the student and for the IP. I've probably got close to 100 (studet spins included) in the last 8 months or so. I do more FAM and aerobatics than anything so spins, loops, barrel rolls, etc are on the menu daily.

I love spins, and I think all student pilots should be exposed to the situation, and an actual spin. You won't see that cross-controlled base-to-final turn ever again!

most cfi schools do not even do an actual spin since it is not required. You just have to get into the onset of a spin, recognize it and input the proper recovery techniques. So you can basically just get a 1/4 turn spin and call it a day, a huge disservice.

I was very fortunate to have a good cfi for tailwheel with whom I did multiple spin lessons with and then was fortunate to become an aerobatic and unusual attitude instructor logging hundreds if not near a thousand spins, it enhances anyones SA in many ways. We often taught not only spins to cfi applicants but 4 different varieties to ensure they were prepared. We taught an entry from standard base to final, taught an entry from a slipping steep turn, taught the standard 1g straight ahead spin and last but not least a spin from the top of the loop to teach that just because you were inverted at the onset of the spin it does not mean it is an inverted spin and the recovery mirrors that of the others. I felt it armed a new cfi applicant with a much better awareness of spins. Proud to say I have had the honor of flying with some extremely talented cfi's who showed me the ropes.