Spins

[Greg Bockelman]

I am rapidly getting used to my new to me Taylorcraft. I did slow flight and stalls today. Please please please forgive me for using te "C" word, but it stalls like I remember a Cessna 150 stalling. Very docile.

I want to do spins. Are they anything other than conventional it a T-craft? Anything I should know before I go out and make myselve dizzy?

After about 8 or 9 hours I am very comfortable with the airplane and I am expanding my personal envelope. Any input is appreciated.

[dedrekon]

Re: Spins

Opposite rudder to neutralize the turn, stick forward to break the stall, ease back....and you're done. Don't let too much speed build up on the recovery.

The TCraft is the best non-aerobatic spinner I've ever flown. Very docile and easy to recover, you can just let go and it will fly out of the spin by itself, but you will pick up a LOT of speed. When you get the hang of it, you can change the direction of spin and do the classic falling leaf manuever....very cool.

V

[Greg Bockelman]

Re: Spins

When you get the hang of it, you can change the direction of spin and do the classic falling leaf manuever....very cool.

V

LOL. How do you do that?

[dedrekon]

Re: Spins

Do the standard spin entry....a power off stall with full rudder as it breaks. Do the recovery I already outlined, but as you bring the wings back to level, apply full opposite rudder and full up elevator and it will spin in the other direction. You can just go back and forth as long as you'd like (leave PLENTY of room for recovery).
I would strongly urge you to get spin training from a qualified instructor. It's not difficult, but not one you want to screw up. The Taylorcraft doesn't eat up altitude like most planes in a spin (I've done as many as 10 in a row with it), but the ground is not very forgiving if you mis-under-estimate.

V

[Greg Bockelman]

Re: Spins

I would strongly urge you to get spin training from a qualified instructor. It's not difficult, but not one you want to screw up. The Taylorcraft doesn't eat up altitude like most planes in a spin (I've done as many as 10 in a row with it), but the ground is not very forgiving if you mis-under-estimate.

V

Well as a CFI, I have been through spin training. Just was wondering if there were any gotchas with the T.

[Tom G]

Re: Spins

spins are totally conventional with no surprises. I've spun mine lots of times in both directions. Maybe I'm wrong but it seems to me it rotates a bit faster than the 150.

I'll have to try that falling leaf sometime.

[Acroeric]

Re: Spins

To me the 150 does more of a spiral dive for the first few turns and is kind of a disappointment. The T will get going around faster and recover with less speed build up if done properly. I loose about 250-300 ft per turn in a fully developed spin. I tried feeding in opposite aileron and a little power the othe rday and it began to flatten out nicely- recovery was within a turn.

As for the CFI spin training you mention- been there done that but would not call mine much more than a familiarization excercise at best. I recommend someone like Bill Finnigan from Maryland. He is a Pitts dealer and really wrings you out. I have used him for a biannual before and found it much more useful than a 400 hour cessna instructor doing turns around a point.

[paulnuss]

Re: Spins

Just about any airplane that will spin can have some "gotchas" hiding somewhere. The Taylorcraft is quite docile, but remember she is a "she", and Hell hath no Furies like the woman scorned! Center of gravity, power-on gyroscopic forces, aileron displacement can all have their effects. Overspeed on a diving recovery, and overly high "G" forces, or a combination of these can be factors. Have a very high safety net under you for the first hundred spins. Get a "qualified" spin instructor; the FAA CFI-A "spin-training" requirement is very minimal and doesn't imply any expertise.

Whenever possible (aircraft limitations maybe precluding,), I used to give all my students spin instruction, and not just demonstration. I figured that if they saw one for the first time without adequate training they were unlikely to do the right things on their own. It can look scary to the uninitiated, and recovery inputs are not natural and instinctive.

[Forrest Barber]

Re: Spins

RE spins. EVERY airplane CAN spin different than another same make & model. So for the first time, try one left, one right, two left, two right. etc.. up to 4-5-6. Have plenty of altitude at first. The Taylorcraft is the most docile of any of them, I really have never found them very much different between airplanes unless the rig was really screwed up....
I did get caught short once by a Cessna 140 that lost about 1500 ft in a two turn and recovery , Lucky I was at 2000 when I started

[Greg Bockelman]

Re: Spins

As for the CFI spin training you mention- been there done that but would not call mine much more than a familiarization excercise at best.

That is a statement that I can agree with.

[dedrekon]

Re: Spins

Greg,
Reading your profile, I see you're an airline pilot and certainly have had a LOT of training. The TCraft is such a docile spinner, you'll probably need no additional instruction in it.
There IS this guy who just bought a hangar a few doors down from me, who retired from United a couple of years and recently bought his dream plane....a drop dead gorgeous T-34, who has been having a difficult time making the transition from heavy to light. Our 3200' paved runway looks like a postage stamp to him! So you never know where a pilot's comfort level is. I have no doubt that with his systematic and thorough approach he'll be flying the hell out of that Mentor in no time.
I do NOT recommend the way I learned to do spins.....I just read Duane Cole's book and went out and gave it a spin (punny, eh?).

Vincent

[Frank DeBartolo]

Re: Spins

How can one get a copy of Duane Cole's book? Also does any one know if there is a DVD or Video of Duane Cole doing aerobatics?

Frank D
N43684

[dedrekon]

Re: Spins

I'm sure you could find a copy on Ebay (or Amazon for twice the price).....the book is "Roll Around A Point". There's also his classic "Conquest of Lines and Symmetry".
I'm not aware of a video, but there's got to be a lot of footage of him out there.


V

[larrysmith1016]

Re: Spins

I spin the 46 BC12-D occasionally over a sod field with a crossroad nearby. Lining up on the crossroad to count the spins, I can get 4 complete clockwise spins out of about 1000 feet.

The Taylorcraft will wind up and spin like no other aircraft and come right out of it, just like it was made to do. I am envious of anyone who gets the same pleasure out of spins I do. Until you've spun a Taylorcraft, you just THINK you've had fun.