Do student pilots study and practice spins?

Question

( for the PPL )

or are spins only for aspiring aerobatic pilots?

Answer 1

Depending on the instructor, in unrestricted airspace, you should practice controlled spins and stalls. and not specifically for aerobatics, but for general experience.

Answer 2

I'll agree with the old rough-tough lumberjacks on this one.  I believe every pilot should experience spins, though I agree with the CFIs who strictly order their students not to try it solo.

You should have at least 200-300 hours or a commercial ticket/CFI before you do them alone.  But I am sorry that at least demonstrated spins and recovery were removed from the Private Pilot Syllabus.  I soloed in a fabric covered tail dragger that was much easier to spin than the typical Piper or Cessna, and spins should certainly be part of the experience in airplanes like that.

You can practice spins in a Cessna 150 or 152 or a Cherokee 140, though few CFIs have done it in Cherokees.  You should do it at least once or twice, in some appropriate airplane.

I practice them regularly in my old Aeronca Chief.  My Doggie loves them, as long as I recover at a reasonable altitude.  The only thing that worries Doggie is crosswind landings.  She hunkers down in the seat and puts her paws over her eyes.

So the answer is student pilots should study spins, but you probably won't.  It is not required.

Answer 3

Spins should be done or at least experienced by every pilot.  Most of today's aircraft aren't built for it though.

Find somebody (competent) with a Stearman or Citabria and get them to show you.

Yes, it might be scary at first when you see nothing but green spinning around in front of you.  But they are not departures from controlled flight and spins are quite controllable.  This ancient J-3 Cub pilot friend of mine used the two turn spin as a pattern entry procedure.  A good pilot should be able to enter a spin and roll out with a predicted altitude loss within 10 degrees of the entry heading.

Answer 4

for the basic private pilot you just study them and learn how NOT to enter a spin.    There aren't alot of pilots who are comfortable doing them. If you are interested it is almost safer to find an aerobatic pilot or and older pilot who has done lots of them even if they are not a CFI.  

Answer 5

Depends a bit on the flight instructor really, but in regards to the rules the only time you really do spins as part of a course is before your MEI or CFI

Answer 6

In Canada spins and spin recovery are part of your training.

In the U.S. it is not

Answer 7

It really depends.

Spins are only required for a CFI, they were removed from the private pilot pts (practical test standards) years ago for safety reasons. Many people got themselves killed by practicing spins incorrectly. As a result of taking spins out of training, more people have later gotten themselves killed in inadvertent spins.

I think it comes down to several things. What kind of aircraft are you flying? If its not rated for spins (utility category or better), or can't climb to a safe altitude then it is absolutely dangerous. Is your instructor competent in spins and their recoveries? Is the instructor afraid of spins? That may sound like a dumb question, but there are many that are. I have met (and had one) instructors who are afraid of stalls. Those are not the people you want teaching you spins.

I personally think they are incredibly important to learn. Its not so much an important maneuver you need to learn to do, like slow flight, but its important that you know what a spin looks like, what it feels like, how to recover, and how quickly they can ruin your day. If you never know what it takes to get into a spin, how will you ever effectively avoid one?

Correct flying techniques will help you avoid any situation where a spin may occur, but as everyone knows, things do not always go exactly as planned. sometimes you have to make a tight traffic pattern (great place to kill yourself with a spin) or you may encounter sever wake turbulence. spins can happen.

If you have never seen a spin before the first instinct is to pull up, and roll the wings level. That will result in a greater nose down pitch, and depending on how much angel of attack you have, the ailerons can act in reverse. So just knowing what a spin looks like can help save your life.

Take a look at this video on Youtube, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=swk25weGy...  if it doesn't work search for  "skidded turn traffic pattern stall" I think this REALLY drives home the importance of learning about spins.

http://www.apstraining.com/article5_fci_...  that is a great article to read about spins and stalls.

Answer 8

You will study them, in the sense that you will learn how a plane gets into one and how to avoid and get out of one, but you won't actually practice it.  You can ask your instructor if he/she will show you one, but some flight schools don't like their instructors doing that.  Way back when, you had to demonstrate one, to get a PPL, but I think there were too many crashes.  Since then, the FAA has concentrated on Stall-spin awareness instead of actually practicing spins.  I think every student pilot should experience one (with a qualified instructor that is).

You practice them during your flight instructor training...or aerobatic training if you go for that sort of thing.

Answer 9

When I got my CFI long ago, training in spin entry and recovery was required only of CFI applicants. Logbook entry. I did them during CFI training (as required) and also as part of "instructor standardization" (with chief instructor on board) when I was hired at one of the flight school where I taught.