TwoTwoLeft
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Altitude is what makes stalls and spins safe. An airplane approved for intentional spins is second.
The airplane is not the problem. It's the pilot. I can take a Citabria and recover from a 1 turn spin in under 500 ft or I can use up more than 800ft to recover from that same 1 turn spin. The primary difference is how choose I enter it.
Spins have 3 phases they go through. Incipient, Developed and Recovery. The incipient phase is where the most altitude is lost because the rotation rate is the slowest. Descent rates are more than 6000fpm. Stall/spin accidents that occur in the pattern or during maneuvering flight below 1000 agl never get out of the incipient phase and the aircraft usually impacts nose first.
When we talk about "spins" we often think about the airplane spinning into the ground in the stabilized state. When you have an airplane that is "spin resistant" like a light GA trainer all that really means is that once the departure from normal flight occurs the spin will be reluctant to develop and stabilize. What you're left with is a spiral dive. The good news is you're not spinning, the bad news is you've still lost over 1000ft.
There is a HUGE difference in the departure of intentionally spinning an airplane to inadvertent entry. Because of the relatively low energy state of an inadvertent entry and ineffectiveness of the control surfaces the airplane could lose a few hundred feet before an auto rotation even begins. At that point, a pilot not familiar will not recognize what is happening. The delay once the pilot does figure out what is happening needs to be taken into account as well. Assuming the spin is not aggravated with aileron, power or an aft CG and the pilot does manage to fumble through the recovery you're still looking at 1000 ft gone.
I'm just talking about light trainers where spins are approved in the Utility category. There is even vary noticeable differences in spin characteristics between a C150/152, C172, C177, PA28-140, DA20, & 7ECA. All light "docile" GA training airplanes can still kill you just fine at 1000 agl.
