I wrote: > In a Coupe, if you keep that thing centered, you can't
> fall out into a spin. Bill asked: > My understanding was that a Coupe was "Characteristically > Incapable of Spinning" Is that not the case? I should have worded it this way: In a Coupe, you can't get into a spin. But it's important to keep good control and keep a straight line to avoid a high speed spiral dive. I've heard it said you can just keep the plane straight using the magnetic compass to avoid the spiral dive (or spin in a conventional plane). That may be. It'd be worthwhile to practice that skill under the hood with a safety pilot. A turn coordinator or turn and bank indicator, being gyro based, can be more sensitive and make it easier to keep that straight line with gentle, small corrections. I'm NOT an expert of any kind on this. My total time in clouds is only about 20 seconds and I'm NOT going to repeat that without an instrument rating. I was doing the stupid "just look and see if I can get through" trick. Dumb, dumb, dumb. But it sure encourages you to think about what you could/should do if you ever get caught in a cloud. Wayne wrote: > Personally, I like having the "standard six" instruments in my > plane because if I ever screw up and fly into the clouds (easy > to do at night - been there, done that), or just can't see the > horizon (real easy to do at night - been there too), having the > gyros and knowing how to fly on them makes that event a minor > embarrassment instead of a life threatening situation. I love night flight, but since I'm a VFR only pilot with only PP hood training and I don't want to die, I've set this rule for my night flying: I don't fly at night if there's a cloud in the state. This limits night cross country flight. I've only had conditions letting me do that once. But I think it's good for my safety. In later years, I added the rule that there needs to be enough moonlight that I can choose what I'd be landing on in an emergency. I have flown on hazy days with legal visibility but no horizon. In those conditions, a cloud can eat you without your seeing it coming. It's good to have a plan and have practiced it under the hood. It might be good, if you fly regularly with a buddy, to keep the hood handy and have your buddy suddenly tell you to put on the hood and do a 180 to escape - surprising you as much as possible and maybe even trying to distract you while you're making that 180 degree turn. In an emergency, you do what you've practiced. JMHO Ed.
