"Tom S." wrote in message ...

Okay...tell me the recommended spin recovery for Cirrus.

Tell me the low altitude recovery procedure.

Gentlemen:

In a perhaps futile attempt to inject some facts into a heated
discussion, I would like to direct your attention to 14 CFR Part 23:
http://tinyurl.com/v1bs or
http://www.airweb.faa.gov/Regulatory...8?OpenDocument
for those of you who don't like shorter links.

I believe there are three terms being used interchangeably with
some resulting confusion. Those are spin entry, incipient or
initial phase of spin, and spin (which means fully developed spin
ie more than 1 turn).

Spin entry means all the ingredients for a spin are there -- stall
and yaw -- but the plane hasn't actually begun to spin. A spin
entry must be recoverable in all certified aircraft within certified
CG loadings. A spin entry is not a spin, but rather a
stall where conditions are right to produce a spin (ie yaw) if prompt
corrective action isn't taken.

A spin entry should be recoverable in a few hundred feet in all
aircraft.

Prior to Cirrus, the FAA requires all planes certified in the normal
category to be able to recover from the initial phase of a spin
(incipient
spin) -- the first turn or 3 seconds, whichever is *longer* -- using
normal
control inputs, within one additional turn. The only exception is if
they are certified as spin *resistant*.

An incipient or initial spin takes considerably more altitude to
recover
than a stall. In some current aircraft certified in the normal
category,
it can take *over 1000 feet* with a sharp, proficient test pilot at
the
controls. Therefore it could be problematic for *any* aircraft,
including
those certified with a recovery procedure using normal controls, to
recover
from even an incipient spin in the traffic pattern.

Bruce Lansburg wrote an article for AOPA regarding alternate
certification
adopted for Cirrus and Columbia:
http://www.aopa.org/asf/asfarticles/2003/sp0302.html

Basically, the rationale was to make the Cirrus more spin resistant
(although it is not certified as spin resistant) and then to install
the ballistic chute, which is supposed to take about 1000 ft.

This is not *less* than most normal-category aircraft would take to
recover from an incipient spin; it is comparable. A few, docile
spinning aircraft with proficient pilots at the controls, could
recover in less altitude. Maybe a few hundred feet, but that's not
typical of normal-category aircraft which aren't certified for spins.
It's more typical of utility or aerobatic aircraft with *good* spin
characteristics (and note that even aircraft which are certified for
spins may have lousy recovery characteristics outside the utility
CG envelope).

Hope this helps,
Sydney