Originally Posted by
Mark1234
I find that quite interesting - I was taught (gliding) to always keep the field in sight, and never ever turn away. It takes more height than you think to do a 360, especially in any breeze, you loose height *AND* distance to the field. Would also question that there's less risk of a spin.
You've obviously benefited from quality instruction :-)
Going back to the original post, if you've been taught properly and your skills are considered by the instructor who signs you off as suitable for solo then there's no reason why an S-turn should increase the risk of spinning compared to a 360-turn. Admittedly it does require up to three manouvres (e.g. roll left, roll right, roll straight) that may need good co-ordination but that's not much different than, say roll left, maintain turn, roll straight. If you can't fly co-ordinated then I'm not sure if you should be solo.....
In gliding, as Mark1234 mentions, s-turns are preferred because you're able to keep the landing area in sight. As we don't have an engine this can be quite important when judging the circuit. Additionally 360-turns in the circuit significantly increase the risk of collision (do you really want to turn back to face opposite direction traffic?).