Originally Posted by
punkalouver
The don't go there mindset as a solution doesn't help someone who is in that position(as given by an actual example that I posted earlier). The reality is also that significantly poor decision making is a common fact of general aviation life. In fact, we are on an accident thread with just such an example in which the spin option was a possible outcome if the pilot had decided to not test his instrument expertise(which was marginal in its likelihood to ever work)
The spin recovery idea is a rare scenario involving a double failure but what is someone going to do if they have an instrument failure issue while flying VFR on top(which is legal in many countries) and the weather is worse than forecast? What about a fuel leak scenario. Wish they hadn't got there and that's it? They could consider the situation(aircraft type, known ceiling, spin experience, instrument capability for self and aircraft). The stars may align on rare occasion. it is not a mainstream solution, just a desperation - Out of Othe Options scenario to consider.
As for restricting my rare case scenario to aerobatic experts only, the same might be applied to attempting instrument flight, an action that has literally killed thousands over the years with a full working panel of instruments. Not sure I would do it in a Bonanza but what if you are in a CAP 10.
The Don't Be There mindset is a great mindset, but is based on wishful thinking instead of reality for the general population. The same mindset was applicable to not flying VFR into IMC if not trained to do so. But thousands died trying anyways, so it was decided that the Don't Be There theory was not sufficient and mandatory instrument training became a requirement in many countries for VFR only pilot licenses because it was known that this would continue to happen. My recommendation just one more idea to have in mind that could work in certain rare cases.
A good post. Getting caught out on top can happen to anyone. Geography depending, the chances vary of course. Why do we make make mistakes? Because we are human!! Humans screw up from time to time, this is all part of the continuous learning process. In many types of operation man is becoming the weak link. Most auto pilots and or computers can do mundane tasks far better than any human, for example. It's the interface between humans and computers, that can cause problems. I am very wary of people who "dont make mistakes", When it does happen the mistake can be very big.
Stability. Yes of course some aircraft are far more stable than others. The more manuverable the aircraft the less stable. Some aircraft are so unstable it takes a computer too control the damned things.
Swept wing aircraft were mentioned previously. The wings are swept for lateral stability. However Dutch Roll becomes an issue if the yaw damper quits. The book says it must be rectified/recovered with aileron/spoilers. Hard work. However if you know what you are doing, Dutch roll can be recovered with yaw inputs (as the yaw damper does) at the right time, by the right amount. However I digress.
"Aviation is a highly devolped science. Don't pioneer."