JJ's point is very well taken. Anytime an instructor and a student die
in a sailplane accident of no other apparent cause than following the
training syllabus, you should start asking all kinds of questions.
About the aircraft, the instructor, the student, the training...

My understanding is that the Puchaz became popular only for its spin
characteristics. It's easy to put into a spin throughout its cg range.
I recall lively exchanges among those purchasing the glider for spin
training and those suggesting that having a club ship with a
disposition to autorotate was a liability for all but the most
experienced pilots. Our club spent a few weeks discussing this prior
to purchasing a Grob.

As we teach spins now, even among the most ardent advocates of hands
on training, the only people who are proficient are those who give the
training or do spins as a regular aerobatic exercise. Having seen and
done one is comforting (or not), but if it has been more than a season
between spins, then you probably aren't as capable as you may think.

As JJ points out, recognition of an imminent stall and prompt recovery
is much more important to your well being than spin recognition and
recovery. Stable aircraft do not spin without significant coaxing.
Misuse of the controls is best addressed through instruction. And
while we want to know how to recover from any spin we might enter
despite the best efforts of our instructors to keep us out of them,
the emphasis should be before the stall rather than after.

I suspect that spin training has become a rite of passage, which makes
objective analysis of its risks and benefits more difficult. But if a
low time pilot spins in, it's not a result of poor spin training,
rather it was the failure of the instructor to accurately judge the
pilot's ability to recognize the signs of an impending stall and to
react to them promptly and correctly.

Spin training will save your soft pink bottom between the altitudes of
1500 and 500 agl. Above, and you'll have time to sort things out.
Below, and the pooch awaits with love in her eyes, regardless of your
training. And since you had better keep things well sorted below 500
feet, why not extend that philosophy all the way up to cloudbase?

I'm not saying spin training has no value... but it is not a lack of
spin training that kills pilots. It's failing to recognize the
oncoming stall and displaced yaw string in the first place.

(To review the importance of coordination in spin avoidance, follow
this link: http://groups.google.com/groups?q=tu...gle.com&rnum=1.)