Defensive Positioning

T-34C OUT-OF-CONTROL FLIGHT

CHAPTER TWO

209. DEFENSIVE POSITIONING

It is essential to teach unusual attitudes and OCF in order to more adequately prepare fleet

aviators for the rigorous flight regimes with which they will constantly be dealing with as

primary flight instructors. Additionally, it is as equally important to teach instructors the

preventative measures concept of "defensive positioning".

The following is a discussion of maneuvers Student Aviator's commonly perform and sometimes

perform incorrectly. This section is an amplification of common student errors found in P-330

(Contact FTI) and is intended to provide the new instructor with some knowledge gained by

others through experience.

Spin Defensive Positioning

The spin is a terrific confidence builder for a new aviator and is a relatively simple maneuver to

perform, but if not entered correctly or if the student is slow to put in the proper inputs, you as

the instructor may end up in a flight regime you did not intend to enter. Some of the defensive

techniques are:

As the student rolls out after completing the clearing turn, look at his head to see if he

is looking out the opposite direction of the last 90 of the clearing turn. This may be

an early indication they are going to spin the wrong way. You could either confirm

the direction verbally or wait to see they are leading the rudder in the correct

direction. If they are leading with the wrong rudder, confirm verbally. Look for the

early signs.

As the instructor, you must constantly be vigilant of other traffic; try to look and

make sure it is clear around your aircraft in both directions. If at the stall the student

puts in the wrong full rudder, either let him continue if you have cleared the area and

debrief it after you have recovered, or recover immediately by taking the controls and

performing OCF Procedures. You do not want confusion in the cockpit at the stall

and subsequent cycling of the rudder pedals.

As the nose of the aircraft comes up, you, as the instructor, should be done looking

outside. You should be shadowing the controls and beginning your scan looking for

stalled AOA (altitude, AOA, airspeed, and turn needle). If you do not see the correct

control inputs going in, go ahead, put them in, and debrief it later. This does not

mean you are flying the maneuver, but you are going to make sure it is executed

correctly. Silence the horn.

The spin entry should be very methodical and deliberate; it should not be a slow

"milked" entry with not enough back stick to stall the AOA. If you see the proper

control inputs are not put in, apply them in a timely manner to avoid a spiral or just

entering an unusual attitude.

2-10 UNUSUAL ATTITUDES AND OUT-OF-CONTROL FLIGHT