Spin Recovery Training Before First Solo?

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.

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

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 didn't quite get the general connection between slow flight and
unusual attitudes here. Obviously learning to fly on the back side of
the power curve is important to understanding stalls and spin entries
but I thought unusual attitudes can be on either side of the power
curve. No doubt high power slow flight with a pronounced nose high
situation is an unusual attitude scenario but I thought it was one of
many. In general I associate unusual attitudes with things like how to
recover from a situation where the airplane has flipped over in
turbulence for example. In general I have never been taught to
consider that only high angle of attack scenarios can be unusual
attitude scenarios.


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 :-))

I agree, I think the Killing Zone book makes this point too. Probably
one of the reasons why the killing zone only begins at 70 hrs or so,
when people start to feel complacent about their abilities.

wrote:
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 didn't quite get the general connection between slow flight and
unusual attitudes here. Obviously learning to fly on the back side of
the power curve is important to understanding stalls and spin entries
but I thought unusual attitudes can be on either side of the power
curve.

Flight on or near the left side of the envelope as used by a good
unusual attitudes instructor is simply an exercise to make you more
familiar and more competent and confident than ever before whiule
operating in this delicate area. Unusual attitude entered from the left
side of the envelope is by no means the only entry area for an unusual
attitude.
The aircraft you choose for your training and the experience of the
instructor giving you the training will determine the depth and extent
of the unusual attitude entries and recoveries attempted.
For this reason I suggest this training be received from a qualified
aerobatic instructor and in an aircraft certificated for aerobatic use.
The "training" you get in unusual attitude recovery for your PPL is
extremely basic in nature and usually (hopefully anyway :-) performed
within normal or utility category parameters.
Flying an airplane certified for acro allows you a much deeper envelope
from which to operate when dealing with unusual attitude recovery.
Also, it is possible to delve much deeper into the spin scenario with a
proper aircraft for that job.
To answer your question; unusual attitudes can be entered from any
flight attitude and a wide airspeed range.




No doubt high power slow flight with a pronounced nose high
situation is an unusual attitude scenario but I thought it was one of
many.

You are correct. It is one of many, however, it is teaching you to fly
in this area well beyond the proficiency required for your PPL that will
allow you to obtain a confidence level well beyond the average PPL
certificated pilot, and that is one of the goals we seek in teaching
unusual attitudes. Being able to recover from unusual attitudes is only
part of the training goal. Building your confidence to a much higher
level than you had before the training is also a prime goal.


In general I associate unusual attitudes with things like how to
recover from a situation where the airplane has flipped over in
turbulence for example. In general I have never been taught to
consider that only high angle of attack scenarios can be unusual
attitude scenarios.

See above please.


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 :-))

I agree, I think the Killing Zone book makes this point too. Probably
one of the reasons why the killing zone only begins at 70 hrs or so,
when people start to feel complacent about their abilities.



Complacency and over confidence can kill you in an airplane. On the
other side of this equation, lack of confidence can ALSO kill you in an
airplane. Good pilots know EXACTLY where this line is drawn, and NEVER
allow themselves to cross it.......NEVER!!!



--
Dudley Henriques