wrote:
Even after about 150 hrs, I do not have the nerve to do spins on my
own because I do not understand them well enough. I am comfortable
with stalls and unusual attitude recoveries of the kind that are
tested on the PPL test but have never done spins with an instructor.
If you are "comfortable" with stalls and unusual attitudes and don't
understand spins, I would suggest that you get some spin training or at

I am comfortable with stalls and slow flight in any configuration for
the cessna 150 and comfortable with the unusual attitudes my
instructor taught me for the check-ride. Basically they were just two
kinds taught - one where we end up in a steep dive and another one
where we end up "on top" close to a stall. I was tested on both on the
checkride. Besides these I am sure there is a lot of other stuff I
have no idea about which is why I mentioned that I am "comfortable
with unusual attitude recoveries tested on the PPL test". Maybe these
aren't even considered unusual attitudes, I don't know. It wasn't
meant to mean that I feel comfortable if the airplane suddenly flipped
over for e.g. What kind of unusual attitude recoveries are usually
taught beyond the PPL?

least a better understanding of spins immediately.
Feeling "comfortable" with unusual attitudes without a corresponding
knowledge of spins can be an extremely dangerous combination.
I would suggest strongly that you immediately begin feeling less
"comfortable" with unusual attitudes, or get some basic spin recovery
training as soon as possible. These two items are inseparable.

I do understand what causes a spin and how we enter one but not the
general aerodynamics behind it and I have not done one with an
instructor yet, I plan to some time. With the general level of comfort
I have with stalls and slow flight, I don't have that much fear of
stalling inadvertently and spinning. Of course I could be naive in
thinking that but that's what I feel.

Just two things;
By all means seek out and find some basic training in spin recovery at a
competent source for that training. An hour or so should bring you up to
speed and at the same time give you a lot more confidence in your own
abilities in and around the left side of the flight envelope.
The second thing is simply my message using your post as a segue to all
student pilots reading these threads. It is not aimed directly at you
but rather as a general comment based on the general comfort mindset
concerning unusual attitudes
Discussing unusual attitude recovery, it's not the best approach to
think of this realm of flight in specifics such as feeling comfortable
with this attitude or that attitude as they relate to the PPL flight
test. Being comfortable around unusual attitudes involves a much deeper
understanding than this.
Generally speaking, when you can fly consistently close to the left edge
of the envelope and both anticipate what the airplane will be doing 3
seconds from "now", then either stop or allow whatever that is from
happening as the mood suits you, and recover whatever you allow to
happen with the airplane under your complete control throughout this
procedure, you are THEN allowed to feel you have BEGUN to understand
unusual attitude to the extent where you may BEGIN the process of
feeling "comfortable" while in this area of flight.
I hope I have made this point clear enough.
Remember the Henriques basic rule of flying 101 :-)
The moment you begin to feel "comfortable" while flying an airplane,
note what you are doing at that instant and practice it for awhile :-))

--
Dudley Henriques