Freaky 26 turn spin

Amazing spin and the story behind it.

http://nl.youtube.com/watch?v=bvbS-oHi9ro&eurl=http://www.atcbox.com/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&p=232660

The spin was supposed to be a normal erect spin to the right, but for various unintentional reasons the spin went flat, up until that point I had never flat spun an aircraft. I eventualy mananged to get the aircraft into a normal erect spin from which I was able to recover. This aircraft is not fitted with an electric starter motor, so I was unable to restart the engine. During the "flare" to land the main undercarriage caught the top wires of a barbed wire fence that was invisible to me. After coming to rest inverted I waited 20mins for the rescue services to come and right the aircraft so I was able to exit via the outward opening canopy. The aircraft rotated 26 times total, I was extremely dissorientated after the recovery to straight and level flight, and was unable to read the instruments. From the video I estimate I recovered at about 700ft from an entry altitude of 3500ft. If you listen carefully you will hear me say:"I think this is it". At that stage I did not think I would be able to recover. However I continued to try various control inputs based on the aircraft attitude and rotational rate, which eventually effected a recovery.
My thanks go to the emergency services that found me and allowed my escape.

 

That was insane, I did a 14 turn inverted spin but man was that thing really whipping around the spin axis fast!
Spins are an absolute blast when things go right and some of the scariest things when they go wrong. That guy was lucky!

 

Its all in the training. The pilot stayed calm and flew the plane. Way to go.

 

When I was doing air shows 42 years ago a fellow performer and friend opened his act with a 13 turn inverted spin in a Smith Mini-bipe. His name was Dean Engleheart and he looked like a lost Boy Scout but he did things with his airplane. When asked about how it was to do that , he said that he had to squint a lot to keep his eyeballs in. That was the year that another fellow performer, Chuck Lyford, did a dead stick routine with loops, rolls, and low pass in front of the crowd in the Bardahl P-38. Bob Hoover took note of that and next year presented his Aero Commander. Both are incredible pilots.

 

I bet this looked wild from the ground, shame theres no video from below

 

Hoover did a video from inside of the Aero Commander and had some footage from a camera mounted on the vertical tail. It was very interesting to hear the whistles and rushes from the P-38 as it came by without any engines running. Not much to indicate serious drag. I listen to many screeches and hums from Airbuses coming over our house on base to Sea. More when they lower the gear.

 

Wow, The first thing that comes to mind is thank goodness you had altitude! When you goose the throttle, was that part of your recovery attempt? How many turns did you initially plan to do? I am glad you made it out ok, and I am sure your video will help pilots understand the risks of a spin. It sure has me thinking. Thanks for posting.
dave

 

I have never considered spins as a risk and I am a strong proponent of aggressive spin training. Since I was trained in spins from the very first flight, they hold no mystery for me. I spun every airplane that I flew except those that were placarded against it. It is invaluable to know what a spin is and how to get out of one. Three times in my flying history I was put into a spin as a consequence of an unprogrammed or unannounced event and I got out of them without a thought. On my private license ride I had to do a precision 2 1/2 turn spin to the right and a 2 turn spin to the left and in each I had to come out on a pre assigned point. Spins are fun in a Stearman from a level flight stall or a snap roll entry. The worst spin that I ever encountered was in a PT-19 when I let it go too long and it took a lot of altitude and 4 or 5 turns to get it stopped. We were moving right along when we pulled out. It's good to learn spin recovery.

 

I totally agree!

 

"Bob Hoover took note of that and next year presented his Aero Commander. Both are incredible pilots"
I saw Hoover do this at the Reno air races for many years...and miss Art Scholl,, who was great pilot also with his dog!

 

No question spin training is vital! This video, however, undeniably shows that there is an inherent risk in intentionally spinning an aircraft. I believe spin certified Normal and Utility category aircraft are only tested to one turn and Aerobatic aircraft are tested to 6 turns. I personally have not encountered an airplane that did not recover from a spin within a half turn, even after really winding up. So, I am curious to know more details about what happened in this case. Particularly, how quickly did the spin go flat?

dave

 

If you're referring to the PT-19 thing, I'm not sure if it went flat. It got wound up tighter than a tick and I could feel that it had entered a slot of some kind or had entered a much faster rotation. It took full forward stick and opposite rudder for a long time and a blast on the throttle to stop the rotation. I was 19 at the time and not much of an analyst. The PT-19 is a heavy , clean, and fast airplane when the nose is down. In the Stearman , Cub, or UPF-7 all you have to do is to let go of the controls and they will recover on their own.

 

The PT-19 and the PT-22 are spinners that will continue far beyond 1/2 turn if they aren't forced out of the spin. I know of two fatalities from spins that would not recover and I know of a near fatality when a friend and experienced designer could not get his homebuilt design to recover from a spin and he had to bail out...at age 82. After his chute opened he heard a ticking noise behind him and he turned to see his airplane spinning along beside him. He watched it until it hit the ground.
I had the privilege of seeing a kid recover from a spin only to yank the stick back too fast and went into a second spin that he recovered from but was too low to complete it.

 

You're right. I sometimes fly with (new) co-pilots who don't even know how to recover a really nose high attitude. If you ask them they just say push.................. Real scary, nowbody ever told them just to roll the a/c. Training is not what it used to be, it is more focussed on multi-pilot operations I think and less on the real skills and airmanship.

 

Hi Rob, you're right. I think you missed my "really" in my post. So yes, really high nose attitude!

 

Exactly what I was wondering. Perhaps if the pilot in the video had hung in there with rudder and elevator it would have recovered in less that 26 turns. However, at some point you have got to be thinking about trying something else (possibly making it worse). I enjoy spins but I will stick to tried and true aircraft like the Citabria etc. I have never heard of a Tipsy Nipper so I looked it up. Is this the airplane he was flying? If so I don't think I'll be doing any multi turn spins in that.
dave
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