Originally Posted by
djpil
but it can happen extremely quickly and you need to experience an unintentional spin entry from a turn to really understand why it is vital to understand and practice the approaching stall recognition and avoidance principles.
I couldn't agree more. But there are ALWAYS warning signs.
I remember vividly an occasion I was flying an old wooden glider really slowly in a gusty thermal at about 1000ft and within an instant the thing was banked hard over standing on it's wingtip and the nose dropping below the horizon. The reaction to ease the stick forward and apply opposite rudder was instantaneous and instinctive. I have often wondered whether, without the benefit of experience, my first instinct in this sudden unexpected situation would have been to try pulling the nose back up and correct the roll with aileron.
But the real point is that the warning signs were there long before the unintended manoeuver occurred. I was flying very slowly, in a turn, in gusty air. My brain had already registered that it was the perfect recipe for a spin so I was subconciously already expecting it to happen. I just can't see how I could have gained that instinctive behavior without experiencing it over and over again.