Spin -Cont. - P-330

T-34C CONTACT

CHAPTER SIX

aircraft, however, especially fighters and attack aircraft, are designed with maneuverability and

performance paramount. High performance planes have poor stall characteristics and can depart

from controlled flight readily and violently during high G and high AOA maneuvering. A

departure usually begins with a stall and can then involve a pitch-up, nose slice, pitch-roll

coupling, pitch-yaw coupling or some other type of post-stall gyration, resulting in a spin type

out-of-control situation. To successfully recover, the pilot has to immediately assess what is

going on in what may be an extremely disorienting situation. He then has to make a mechanical

series of flight control inputs and hope the plane will respond. If he is able to regain controlled

flight, he has to recover without exceeding aircraft limitations. If not, he has to be able to

recognize it quickly and make a very rapid decision to jettison the airplane and try his luck with

his parachute.

For these reasons, spin training is started early in a naval aviator's primary flight training. Spins

are confidence builders for a student. They build confidence in his or her own ability to maintain

orientation and reflexively apply proper recovery controls; and they build his or her confidence

in the ability of the airplane to respond to specific flight control inputs and regain normal flight.

Even in our relatively docile training plane, an incipient spin can develop with improper or

heavy-handed flight control inputs during stall training or aerobatic maneuvers. Students are

demonstrated a skidded turn stall, which is basically a spin type post-stall gyration. A snap roll,

such as you see in air shows, is simply a spin while flying horizontally performed by abruptly

pulling backstick to stall the wing and kicking rudder in the direction of the desired roll.

Instructors Under Training perform a progressive spin and control release spin to more fully

investigate the spin characteristics of the T-34C because they will be doing a lot of intentional

spins (and perhaps some unintentional ones!) during their tour in the training command. We

teach spins for all these reasons and more -- one additional reason being that they are fun!

Now that we have discussed spins in general, let us talk about how the T-34C performs in spins.

The following pertains to erect spins in clean configuration at idle power.

NOTE

Spins shall be practiced in the clean configuration. In the event of

an unintentional spin with gear and flaps down, they shall be

retracted immediately to effect recovery and to prevent possible

damage by exceeding their speed limitations.

Spin Entry. At the stall, positive pilot action is required to effect spin entry by

application of pro-spin controls. At the stall, smoothly apply full rudder in direction

of desired spin and full backstick with neutral aileron. The controls must be held

fully against the stops or the maneuver will not develop into a spin, but will be a

spiral with rapidly increasing airspeed. The steady state spin should be fully

developed after two turns.

Nose Attitude. During the spin the nose will be approximately 45 nose down.

During the first several turns, the nose attitude may pitch up and down slightly.

During spin tests at NAVAIRTESTCEN, test pilots found that aileron inputs mainly

affected these nose pitch

FLIGHT PROCEDURES 6-31