Spinning Aircraft Survival Life & Death Pilot Skills
A Guide is For Flight Simulator Pilots Only!
Real world applications please see your QFI.
Spinning aircraft is one of the many skills pilots learn in training. Preventing the spin is more important than recovery as a spinning aircraft often occurs in the most dangerous phases of flight. The take off and landing phases are crucial with low altitude and generally low speeds making a spin often unrecoverable. The prevention of a spin is the answer for general flying and I advise you keep a sterile cockpit during these phases not allowing passengers to speak to you during these phases of flight.
What Causes Aircraft to Spin.
The most often reasons for a stall and spin are often due to distraction of the pilot during take off and landing. When a pilot gets distracted during the initial climb that can often pull back on the controls increasing angle of attack and lowering airspeed causing a stall. Any rudder inputs at this point exacerbate the event giving rotation to the stall making the event more dynamic and dangerous.
Stalls are generally accidental and can often be recovered quickly if recognized early in the event. Where it becomes more dangerous is when the stall becomes fully established and the aircraft has no airspeed there needs to be a lot more altitude for the nose to drop and airspeed to be regained for normal flight.
The Dreaded Rudder input.
The even more fatal component is a rotation which can be caused initially by one wing dropping or the pilot stepping on the rudder on one side which often rotates the aircraft on its axis. The recovery time now becomes much larger as you must stop the rotation with opposite rudder which takes time then get airspeed back.
Prevent Aircraft Spinning with Good Procedures.
Prevention is better than cure I am sure we would all agree. In crucial phases of flight you want to maintain your concentration, not get distracted by children, animals or the better half if possible because you will turn left to comply or answer and your aircraft will also likely turn left and you will find yourself crashing mid conversion no doubt.
In general sterile cockpit should be maintained in the real and simulator world: Don’t discuss the weekend football while your in the take off phase and climbing out. Below 1000 ft just be quiet and concentrate. Watch your speed and your angle of climb.
How to Cause a Spin.
Spins are very easy to induce in many aircraft. Some aircraft wont spin and others spin at the drop of a rudder pedal. To cause an aircraft spin is not as hard as you may think. It requires you to stall an aircraft and hold in back stick on the controls and this can be enough to spin. To induce a desired spin rudder the required direction of spin. Push left rudder to go left and yes push right to go right.
The dangers are the amount of height or altitude lost in a spin. Generally you will loose about 500 ft in a single rotation. Yes the aircraft drops like a leaf but lands like a tone of cement so do it at altitude in your flight simulator.
CASA – Spinning Aircraft Report and Guidelines.
CASA Civil Aviation Safety Authority publish a great guide to Aircraft Spin Avoidance and Spin Recovery. As flight simulators where best to learn good airmanship than from the real world authorities.
I would highly recommend giving this report a good read and implement the recommendations. If your interested in specific guidance and statistics the CASA Report (Click here to view) or Download it Here!
Aircraft Spinning – Safety First.
Aircraft Spinning in any aircraft must first be done at a safe altitude for example 3000Ft AGL as a minimal I would recommend. Check there are no property or people below you that you can damage even in your flight simulator. X Plane 11 is realistic as it gets and there are aircraft and times where you may not recover. Have a parachute ready and know how to use it and well as exit the aircraft procedures.
Lets Get Spinning.
Spinning is easy to do and easy to accidentally get into so be aware and avoid the conditions close to the ground. Spinning occurs when the aircraft stalls and yaw control is not maintained. Yes you have to keep the ball centered to prevent the stall escalating into a spin. The three pictured instruments show you the options. Maintaining rudder control is the main cause of aircraft spins. Maintaining the centre will prevent it but add a boot full of rudder will have you spinning fast
Control Inputs to Spin – X Plane 11
- Getting into the spin reduce power to idle.
- Hole the aircraft level and in balance with the rudder. Maintain the ball in the center.
- Pull the controls straight back toward you till the aircraft is fully stalled. The stall warning buzzer will be screaming at you at this point.
- Rush the rudder full right or left to induce the yaw motion and the aircraft already falling in the stalled condition will rotate on its axis. It may also oscillate up and down a little or a lot.
- Hold the control in their positions till you wish to recover,
Spin Recovery Procedure – X Plane 11
Aircraft Spin Recovery is a simple procedure but is not guaranteed. Let me tell you from person experience that even in X Plane 11 there are situations you can’ t recover from a spin.
I have flown the Ziln 142 quite a bit and have put the aircraft into a spin that I did not recover from. The honest reason to why I didn’t recover is still a mystery so be warned!
DO NOT try to spin an aircraft in the real world without proper training from a qualified flying instructor QFI and an aircraft rated for spins. Here ends the disclaimer.
Recovery – Step by Step.
Aircraft Spin recovery is normally a simple but exciting ride. The steps are few but effective providing done correctly. I recommend you practice these in your X Plane 11, Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020, Prepar3d or DCS to be proficient in your sim flying.
- Ensure power is at idle
- release or place stick in neutral position. I’d recommend just let the stick go!
- Push the rudders in the opposite direction to the aircraft rotation.
- Once rotation stops neutralize rudders to center.
- Push forward to get nose down and regain airspeed.
- Airspeed sufficient pull back gently on the controls and pull out of the dive.
YOU MUST BE GENTLE – when pulling out of the dive so as not to cause structural damage to your aircraft. Speed will increase quickly as you dive. Once level add power and start a climb to clear any terrain or obstacles.
Aircraft Spinning Video -Ziln 142 X Plane 11
Aircraft Spinning in X Plane is always realistic and here is one example of a standard spin in the Ziln-z 142 Freeware aircraft.
This is an amazing piece of video with a QFI and a student. This flight the instructor has plenty of altitude being at around 8000 ft. They stall and introduce rudder to create the spin and the aircraft plummets 4000 ft in 20 rotations of the aircraft. The students comments I think say it all! (Caution Language!)
Check out the full Aircraft Spinning Video on LetsFlyVFR YouTube Channel with Gunnie
The Author.
rendon McAliece is a multi lingual-expat who brings over three decades of flight simulator/PC building experience as well as over two decades of real world jet fighter experience as a weapons/egress technician. He holds a sport pilot certificate giving him real world flying experience. Hi travels have taken him from Europe to the Middle East, Asia and his home of Australia. He has a passion for travel, languages, flight simulation as well as guitaring and coffee. You can read more in his blogs below.
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