Anatomy of the spin Error
 

Aquired Anatomy of the spin by John Lowery. ( mainly for flat spin bits ).

Not a bad little book until you read the back cover where they have kindly printed the spin recovery actions.

They are wrong !!!!

It says,

1) Power idle
2) Elevator full forward
3) Rudder full opposite

and then states how important it is to apply it all in the correct sequence !!!!!!!!

If you apply elevator before rudder, in many aircraft you have just blanked the rudder. In the firefly for example you will die. Indeed any good instructor will teach; Full rudder then pause (to take effect) then elevator.

Has anyone informed these guys ?

I am no spinatitian and as such only know what the CAA want us to know. But for the CAA exams the need for stick forward is to unstall the wings prior to attempt recovery. But it seems like anything in flying, neé life, that the correct way to do something just plain old depends...

I'm no expert either, but the book technique is the same as the one I was taught and have used.

Certain aircraft won't recover at all unless you have the stick fully forwards.

2D

It varies depending on the a/c. It will say in the POH for each type how to recover. I was taught rudder first then SOME not full elevator.

Surely the big thing in any recovery is to first make sure the plane's wing is flying - then sort out the mess. That may mean forward elevator if the wing is stalled, but if it isn't, then leave elevator neutral - the next thing to sort would be the spin itself - i.e. with rudder. Once that's sorted, the next thing to sort is the fast approaching hard stuff with the elevator!
In an open cockpit plane I think this tends to be instinctive - but with enclosed cockpits it's not always easy to tell what's going on with the fluid stuff when you're doing something extreme - so the POH specifies a proven technique that will get you out of trouble, and not further into it...... so IMHO best go with the POH....

Check height
Check throttle fully closed
Check direction of turn (turn needle)
Full opposite rudder
Stick centrally forward until spin stops
Recover from descent.

n.b. first action is with relevance to an aircraft with an abandon option.

Having come via the ranks of Gliding, I also was taught the Rudder, Pause, Stick method. The Pause was to give the rudder time to take effect on the Yaw of the aircraft, and in most machines the spin stopped as soon as the rudder did its thing.
The trick was to avoid another stall/potential spin scenario following the pull up to avoid the lumpy bits.
A quick 'Google' on 'Spin Recovery' brings forth a multitude of pages, the majority (Including one from a NASA programme) also plumps for Rudder followed by Elevator.

I am tempted to post a long diatribe here, but I shall restrict myself to a short one.

Do a search on other threads with "spin" or "spinning" in the title, particularly read posts by myself, Beagle and (above all others) John Farley.

G

Check the POH for any particular aeroplane. However, I was taught (and use) the method ShyTorque advocates:

1) Throttle closed
2) Ailerons central
3) Full opposite rudder (check turn needle if in doubt as to direction)
4) Stick forward until spin stops
5) Centralise controls
6) Ease out of the dive.

Certainly works in Yak 52, Chipmunk, Cub, Super Cub, Citabria, and many others - at least in my experience, and for deliberate spins. The one unintentional spin I have been in was in the '52, and merely relaxing back pressure restored order (I'd flicked in the last quarter of a loop - pulling hard while out of balance :uhoh: ). A session with Genna later demonstrated to me the error of my ways, and how the '52 has a reliable tendency to do this with no warning if so mistreated.

The Chipmunk in particular might require full forward stick if the spin is prolonged, and it might also require a hard forward push past a 'false forward stop' caused by air loads on the elevator. But in a one or two turn spin, it comes out with no such drama.

SSD

Reading all the posts here illustrates the need to:
[list=1][*]Regularly practice spin recovery for the aircraft type you are flying.[*]Follow what it says in the Flight Manual or Pilots handbook.[*]Practice more...and remember, an accidental spin never happens when you expect it, and is normally at low level![/list=1]

hoey5o

Indeed, not a bad little book! I read it a couple of years ago and noticed exactly the same thing on the back cover :-) Strange really, as you say, as the order is different inside the book.

I put it down to one of those strange typos that crop up from time to time and considered dropping a line to the author at the time, but never got around to it. So, in my case, no!

Why everyone else, most of whom have probably not read the book, should deliberately not answer your question and post all sorts of stuff relating to spinning is anyone's guess. But that is par for the course on here .... 'I know nothing about your question but here is my pennysworth!'

I guess they will change the error on the next edition.

Gerund

If I may take a guess, could it be because the original poster made a statement:
and others wished to add their very valid experience to the debate.

I personally feel that this is a little more interesting than:

High Wing Drifter - No
2Donkeys - No
Flik Roll - No
etc.

and a great deal more useful.

Only a thought.

No point in using forward stick if you are in an inverted spin.

SF

J.A.F.O.

Very fair comment:O I had just been caught at the end of wasting 20 minutes ploughing through some other posts elsewhere that it seemed had nothing to do with anything apart from self agrandisement.

Sorry.

Oh, and to everyone else.... if you get the chance to read John Lowery's book, do... a cracking little tome.

Gerund, Thanks very much, you hit the nail right on the head.

I too will try and have a word with the publisher if I ever get around to it.

H

JAFO,

I don't understand your point.