On Fri, 24 Sep 2004 00:11:04 -0700, "C J Campbell"
wrote:


"Justin H" wrote in message
...
Why dont people make airplanes that will spin anymore?

Even the Cirrus will spin -- you just pull the CAPS handle to make it stop.
:-) Spin certification is an additional expense and the planes are expensive
enough as it is. Still, there are plenty of airplanes certified for spin
training, not least the ubiquitous Cessna 172.

The Cessna 172 is not certified under the same regulations as the Cirrus.
Unlike cars, once an airplane has received its type certificate, it does
not have to be redesigned whenever the regulations are updated.

The 172 came out in the '50s, and there's a good chance that the actual
type certificate is that of the Cessna 170, which came out in the '40s.
The 172 was certified under CAA regs, not under the modern Part 23 that the
Cirrus had to meet. Take a 1954 Ford and a 2004 Ford, and compare the
complexity, and the degree of Government standards that had to be met.

With that said, I am reminded of an article I read several years ago, about
the development of the Aviat Husky. While looking much like an older
design, it was a brand-new aircraft that was certified under the modern
Part 23. The article quoted the company president saying that the
certification process was not especially onerous or time/money consuming.

It'll be interesting to see how the Sport Pilot consensus standard comes
out, for the certification of Light Sport Aircraft. I can't see the
standard requiring in-depth flight testing...but maybe it will, and allow
the manufacturers to install a ballistic chute if they don't want to go
through the design/test effort.

Ron Wanttaja