I send this along in my response to my questions on your feeling’s about spins. (The same article I sent Jack Lewis a while back) I totally agree that most trainers of today should not be spun and that the majority of CFI’s teach right. I guess I’am from the old school and remember outside the Ercoupe the plane I trained in ( J-3 Piper Cub) , at that time 40-50’s, spins were required. Today if one wanted to know what actual spins felt like and or wanted to do aerobatics they should go to a aerobatic instructor that has a Citrabria or Decathalon (nearest to the coupe in size) and some take training. You would also get tailwheel time. I believe after you did that you would agree with my Dad in in the last paragraph of this article. By the way, Dad flew his Ercoupe until he was 85 in 1992. His fist Ercoupe he bought new in June of 1946 (NC99136)
This is a article Dad sent to Plane&Pilot and they published it in Oct.
1973 issue.
FLIGHT I’LL NEVER FORGET
CAUGHT IN
A SPIN
By Ervin W. Phelps
This all happened on a nice sunny cool day, Jan, 18, 1956. I was about
ready to take my instructor’s test. This was my last day of practice. I
wanted to beef up on the high work, like chandelles, lazy eights and
spins, especially precision spins.
Very carefully I checked over the little yellow and orange AC7 Aeronca
N83878 and filled her up with gas. Now it was plainly printed on the
instrument panel, “Solo from front seat only.” I cranked her up and
crawled in the back seat. As you well know the Flight Examiner always
sits in the front seat and you have to do your work from the back seat.
This day I ran her through the mill, S turns, around pylon, pylon eights
, on pylon, lazy eights. Chandelles, 720 tight turns, stalls and so on.
Normally I do my spins at 2,500 feet above ground, but this day doing so
many chandelles, which is a maneuver that gains altitude, I found myself
a 4,400 feet above the ground doing my spins, first one, than two, two
and a half. Everything working beautifully, coming right out on the
money.
I noticed my gas was getting low, so I said to myself I’ll go back up to
4,400 feet do a three-turn spin and call it a day. Ah we are there,
clearing turns, carburetor heat on, cut power, pull her back. There now
full right rudder…relax on stick…feed in left rudder three, three and a
half…Oops! She wants more forward stick, full ahead , four, five. What
is the matter… six, seven…oh boy I panic. Back comes the stick – pull
that nose up , up not down and around, eight, first one rudder, than the
other, nine. That was the last count I made. Than a funny thing
happened, the plane stopped spinning, but right over the nose the earth
below went around and around.
I shook my head. Let’s be calm. My airspeed was less than 40. The big
hand on the sensitive altimeter was unwinding , already lost over 2,000
feet. No my life did not pass before my eyes, but I did think, this is
it.
Now let’s go through it again, stick back, right rudder, now relax on
the stick, now full left rudder, hold it there. Boy, oh boy nothing
happened. Than the good Lord got the wheels in my head to moving again.
I said if only some air would push on that left rudder and stop that
spinning. Ah a blast from the prop would do that very thing. Yes, that
faithful little Continental 65 was still purring. My hand was holding
the throttle hard back. I know, I know, feed throttle in slowly. I
jambed it full on, but the little engine responded smoothly, the
movement slowed down and we came out beautifully. I looked at the
altimeter, we still had a good 900 feet.
Now I don’t know how long it takes an Aeronca to lose 1,000 feet in a
flat spin. My guess would be not over 10 seconds.
One should always remember, besides the aileron, elevator and rudder, he
also has a throttle.
I came down from that ride, taxied up to the gas pump, shut her off and
sat there a while thanking the Lord for coming to my rescue again. Oh
yes! There were other times—like when I was a kid and the train came
around the curve bearing down on me with my foot caught in the cattle
guard,--but that is another story.
I got out of the plane and you have heard of people’s knees knocking
together. Mine did not knock but my knee caps were uncontrollably
shaking up and down.
By now I had figured out my trouble; it was weight and balance. I also
knew if I didn’t go right back up and do a spin, I might never have
again.
So I got a gunny sack, put in about 100 pounds of dirt, set in the front
seat and fastened the belt. Again I crawled in the back seat and up we
went. Now other times it takes forever to get up to 2,500 feet, but this
day all too soon we were there. Boy that is to close to the ground, so
up we go another 1,000 feet. It is now or never. So clearing turns, carb
heat on, cut power, back, back on stick, now full rudder up and over
into the spin.
WOW! That was the shortest spin ever made since man began to fly. I made
another and another. Yes, I guess my instructor had correctly taught me
how to recover from a spin, relax on stick and give opposite rudder –
that is if the weight and balance is right.
Yes I passed my precision spins test with flying colors.
Now we (my son Jim, my grandson Dennis and I) fly the sweetest flying
ship that was ever built, a 1946 Ercoupe N2749H and printed on the
instrument panel,”This airplane is characteristically incapable of
spinning.” Ah you can see why I love her so. THE END
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Jim Phelps N2749H
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