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Old 20th Jun 2019, 11:36
  #63 (permalink)  
FullOppositeRudder
 
Join Date: May 2009
Location: Down Under somewhere not all that far from YPAD
Age: 79
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Spins, (incipient and fully developed) - and of course the recovery therefrom - are mandatory parts of the gliding training syllabus in Australia and probably elsewhere, and AFAIK all pilots down here are required to demonstrate effective recovery from spins as a part of their annual checks . Gliders can spend a lot of their flight regime circling in thermals - not all that much above the stall speed, often at high angles of bank and in varying turbulence. Additionally the correct and constant use of the rudder is essential for efficient turning, so it all has to be closely co-ordinated. While pilots are trained to recognise and correct at the incipient stage until this becomes an automatic and instinctive reaction to the telltale symptoms, it's clearly far better to fly with sufficient accuracy and awareness such that the issue never arises. Happily most / all gliders require very similar control inputs for spin recovery. Spins were fun. I used to do one or two occasionally as part of the rare and privileged 'hangar flight' in the early days when I was young and adventurous, and gliders were much less "slippery" than they are today.

Last edited by FullOppositeRudder; 20th Jun 2019 at 12:21.
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