Cirrus... is it time for certification review?

On Tue, 31 Oct 2006 05:13:40 GMT, Jose wrote:

The fact is that the pilot of a parachute-equipped aircraft has one option more
than the pilot of one that doesn't have a chute.

All things being equal, this is the case. But in the Cirrus, all things
aren't equal. You lose the option of standard spin recovery in exchange
for the chute.

Nope. Just not a spin recovery capability proven in certification. For all any
of us know, a standard recovery will work, especially if initiated early. If it
*doesn't* though, the pilot does have another option.

After all, nothing guarantees that a Cessna 182 will recover from a spin,
either. Yes, it's certified to do so *under particular conditions*. Depart
from those conditions... with a CG aft of the limits, with the airfoils coated
with ice...and there's a good probability that the Cessna won't recover.

The argument about spin certification assumes that Bonanzas, 182, Mooneys, etc.
regularly ENTER and RECOVER from undesired spins. Not just stalls, but *spins*.
I haven't heard that that is the case. Though a lot of those certified-spinning
airplanes are lost in stall/spin accidents.

Heck, I've done it...accidentally spun an airplane. Carrying my first passenger
after getting my Private, no less. But this was a Citabria, not a Centurion.

Ron Wanttaja