spin, stall & first solo scary?
 

Hey guys

This is abit of a weird post but im going to ask anyway. Im going to be
starting my PPL course very soon with Whitworth Aviation and my whole life Ive wanted to fly and become a pilot, if not that then something else in aviation. However now that Im so close to it, Ive started to get butterflys. The thought of me doing spins and stalls and flying by myself is really getting to me. I sit down and watch videos of others doing all that and i get really excited and cant wait to start doing that soon but when I sit down and start to think about it, i get butterflys. Now my question is: Is this normal? Did you guys feel like that before you started your course? What was your mentality/attitude as you started your course and did your first solo. Im not saying that im wussing out or that scared of flying. Thats why i dont know why i have these feelings, because im not scared of flying and have wanted this my whole life. Is this the wrong attitude to have when starting this course?

Thanks

Don't over-think it, just get in amongst it. You'll be fine.

Don't worry, getting butterflies is perfectly normal, its probably largely due to the fact that you don't know what to expect yet until you've actually flown a few times. You'll be taught to recognise the symptoms of an approaching stall and spin, so just try and enjoy it as much as you can! I actually enjoyed my lessons on stalls, quite fun actually.

Might see you at whitty's one day :ok:

Perfectly normal!! I'm still pretty fresh myself with only just over 450hrs, but i've decided that theres nothing wrong with some butterflies, infact its beneficial, and others with far more experience agree with me. Its those butterflies that will stop you getting complacent and/or sloppy and making silly mistakes.

The real trick is not to let those nerves overcome you, but let them work to your advantage by using them to keep you on your toes and vigilant for problems that may occur!

I did gliding with the AIRTC back when I was 15. Due to some logistics issues I was late to the course, so I missed some of the initial ground briefings and lessons. To catch up I did a few quick flights and progressed well, enjoying my time - I was actually comfortable taking off and being towed in the first few flights and had a handle on it, and was getting smug when one of my first landings was near pin point accurate. One instructor even did a few aerobatics for me which was fun. :ok:

Then I switched instructor. His first words were "we are doing spins, if you don't recover, we crash". Not knowing better this made me nervous. Having not done the ground training and rushed late to the course, I actually had little idea what I was supposed to do. Up we went, and for the first time I nearly had the tow plane drop the rope on me because I was all over the shop with nerves. That only increased the berating from the instructor. When it came to the spins I was sweating bullets and getting berated for being rough with the controls. In the end when I calmed down and had another go it was dead simple and I was wondering what the drama was about and actually enjoyed doing it.

Moral: be prepared and just focus on what you need to do. Also your instructor is just as interested in survival as you are (typically) so even if it takes a few goes you are unlikely to get into trouble.:ok:

Now that I have started my powered training I find its sort of like driving a car. The first few times you are nervous and have trouble just handling the controls. After a while the controls are second nature. As you progress it just becomes more natural and you find your capacity freed up to plan what you are doing rather than think about how you execute it.

I felt a bit sick with my first spin but in a full aerobatic aircraft it is actually fun, to the extent I wanted to hold the spin forever and see how many I can do before recovering ... :eek:

First solos are a blast. Freedom at last ! :ok:

I remember doing powered stalls in a 152. Wing dropped to such an extent that we we became nose down diving to the ground, never had so much fun in my life!
Aerobatics lessons are high priority for me now :ok:
I was more excited than scared, butterflies yes, but hey, if I was going to hit the ground in an aeroplane, I'd die happy :cool: (Not that that is advisable)

Don't worry - Bill will put you at ease :ok:

Hey Guys

Thanks for all the advice and sharing your own experiences with me. Im actually looking forward to the stall and spin training but still I needed to know if feeling like this was normal or I was just being a "wuss". I did a trial introductory flight with Basair a few months ago in a 152, there was quite a bit of crosswind that day and we did a few steep turns, all in all it was a bit of a bumpy ride but i didnt vomit. I hope i don't vomit during the spin training. Has it happened to any of you guys? I picked Whitworth A, because theres alot of good feedback about him on this forum and according to the school he has over 40000 hours.

@orangeboy, im doing the PPL course part time, but hopefully ill see you around there.

Take care everyone

i'm sure i'll see you around! whose your instructor there?

Hey orangeboy

I dont know who my instructor is yet as I havent started the course yet, I will be starting in 3-4weeks time, once my uni timetable is 100% fixed but I was talking with Mitchell Adams the other day and he seemed like a really nice guy and expercienced pilot/instructor so hopefully I might get him. Also, as you know they don't have an enrollment system, he told me whenever i was ready, to just call up n organise the first lesson.

Cya

Recognising and recovering from a stall is an essential part of pilot training, and is a skill you should never forget. The process then takes you further by giving you the same training with incipient spinning, along with fully developed spins - both upright and inverted if you're lucky enough. It's nothing to fear. A good instructor will lead you through the process, and should never put you in a position that you don't have the training to recover from.

Just my ten cents worth. And if you get the chance, do inverted spins - so much fun!!

Ah yes..the dreaded inverted spin. Nothing to fear? Tell that to the RAAF test pilot who was tasked how to recover from an inverted spin in the Macchi advanced jet trainer. Two aircraft had already crashed during attempted recovery from inverted spins although fortunately the crews ejected successfully. One of the instructors had one eye shoved into its socket during the ejection sequence. Nah! Nothing to fear ar all..

The test pilot recorded around 100 inverted spins with his description varying from absolutely horrifying to blood dangerous. Rates of descent up to 18,000 feet per minute if I recall my conversation with him correctly. Aircraft sometimes tumbling head over tail like those crazy aeros in Pitts Specials.

Inverted spinning with one tip tank empty and the opposite tip tank full. He was nearly forced to eject several times. His report was a masterpiece of understatement and his recommendation in the end was not to get into a inverted spin in the first place. Relax in retirement, Flight Lieutenant Max Loves - you should have been awarded an AFC for that work.

Normal spins should provoke little fear once you have done a few but take an umbrella with you and float down like Mary Poppins if you are foolish enough to play around with inverted spins on purpose.

@SPL
 

Getting butterflies is normal.. Dont worry man, you will feel ease when you have learnt to deal with it.

SPL, I was exactly where you are, I would get wound up about flying more than I liked. It came to a head when I did my Wing Drop Stalls lesson (my school doesn't teach fully developed spinning to PPLs). The best thing I did at the time was as we were lining up to depart and my instructor asked me if I am OK I told him I was very nervous about this lesson. I guess he already knew but he took it to heart. 1.1 hours later he had cured me of any apprehension and I was entering and recovering on my own and having a real blast to boot. I went out alone on the very next lesson and did them by myself. Fear of the unknown is perfectly normal, just trust in your instructors judgment and you'll start to relax and enjoy the lesson.

Be careful of spinning and be especially careful of people who say "it's easy", "Its fun!". Do not dick around with this manouvre.

1. Spin recovery is not part of the PPL syllabus. It is not part because too many people got killed practising. You will have a spin demonstrated to you so that you can recognise it. You read the book about how to recover. If you do it in a C150 Aerobat you will get quite a surprise.

2. The dynamics of spinning are complicated. It is possible for aircraft, even aerobatic aircraft, to get into unrecoverable spins if they are mishandled or loaded with the CG too far aft. There may also be certain loading conditions, for example, the Alpha 160 has a prohibition about doing aeros with more than a certain amount of fuel in its tank.

3. If you want to get used to the idea of recovering from a spin, get an aerobatic instructor to teach you "recovery from unusual attitudes".

4. Some but not all aircraft will recover themselves (pop out) from a spin if the controls are released, but this only has to be demonstrated after a Three turn spin, not a flat spin. Some aircraft will not recover at all from a spin, or only with difficulty - which is why it says "spinning prohibited" in the POH.

5. You will no doubt learn the straight stall in the clean condition, it is generally a non event provided you are not some over confident prick who decides to experiment a little. You should learn the stall in approach configuration, power on stall and stall off a turn, but I'm not sure these are part of the CASA syllabus. If necessary find that aeros instructor again.

6. The reason I said "find that aeros instructor again" is that the combination of a low level stall in a cross controlled aircraft, perhaps trying to salvage a bad approach in turning to final, is followed by a spin with no height for recovery, and these stall/spin accidents kill a lot of people.

Older and wiser heads can contradict me. I almost gave up flying the first time a spin was demonstrated to me, so I went and did some aerobatics to get used to the idea. It is not a manoeuvre you want to teach yourself or mess around with in anything but a fully aerobatic aircraft.

Hey Guys

Thanks for all the replies, it has really put my mind at ease. Like I said I am looking forward to the training, but I know there isnt any spin training in the PPL course but Ill probably be doing it once i start CPL training. Sunfish, I think I might take your advice and take up an aerobatic course before starting the CPL. Also, just for the record I dont think Ill be experimenting with any maneuvers up there. Anyways, thanks again for the advice.

Cya

my instructor is Mitch!

goodluck with your training! i'm sure i'll see u out there! i drive an orange car hence the name LOL :}

SgtBundy,
Assuming you flew at the Cadets at Bathurst I can guess which Instructor talked like that!:ugh: [The W^*$£%& with the Yak and flight suit etc?]

SPL-101,
As long as you have a good Instructor [most] then they will train you at the speed at which you can learn.:ok: [even if it seems like a lot of work at times]

Most of all - enjoy it!:)

Thanks Tankengine, like i said Im really looking forward to it, but can't help feel abit tense about the whole concept of flying a plane by myself anyways ill take your advice onboard and enjoy every minute of it.

take care