Spin Recovery
- Thread starter Dazzler
- Start date
PhilosopherPilot
Well-Known Member
I don't think there is any difference. It depends more on other aspects of the design of the aircraft, especially in respect to rudder size and effectiveness.
Cessna 152s are easy to recover, but not because they are high wing. Piper Cherokees are hard to get to spin, and correspondingly hard to recover, but not because they are low wing.
Some designs are easier to recover due to rudder arm length, rudder size, etc. The more stable an aircraft is, the harder it will be to get it to spin, and the harder it will be to recover should you succeed in getting it to spin.
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Cessna 152s are easy to recover, but not because they are high wing. Piper Cherokees are hard to get to spin, and correspondingly hard to recover, but not because they are low wing.
Some designs are easier to recover due to rudder arm length, rudder size, etc. The more stable an aircraft is, the harder it will be to get it to spin, and the harder it will be to recover should you succeed in getting it to spin.
G
B767Driver
New Member
I would agree. I don't think the placement of the wing, high or low, has much of an affect. I've read that high wing airplanes are slightly more stable than low wing airplanes...but the effect of placement is negligible compared to dihedral, sweep, thickness, CG, etc. I've spun the high wing C150...and it does not like to spin. I've spun the low wing DH-1 (Chipmunk) and it spins fantastically. Supposedly low wing Cherokees flat spin...and you are not supposed to go anywhere near a spin in it. Most competitive aerobatic airplanes are low wing.
I'm sure the aero engineers can give you more insight...but I would say the placement of the wing has a negligible effect...and the design characteristics of the wing have a large effect.
I'm sure the aero engineers can give you more insight...but I would say the placement of the wing has a negligible effect...and the design characteristics of the wing have a large effect.
seagull
Well-Known Member
I would agree, overall. There are some factors that relate to how the fuselage interacts with the airflow that can make a difference, but I have done both upright and inverted spins in both high and low wing aircraft, and am not sure that I could tell the difference in the same aircraft (of course, hanging by the straps might have interferred with my senses!).
As for a high wing being more stable than a low wing, well, that depends on other factors as well. If all else were equal, that would be true, though, that being both have the same di/an hedral, sweep, etc.
As for a high wing being more stable than a low wing, well, that depends on other factors as well. If all else were equal, that would be true, though, that being both have the same di/an hedral, sweep, etc.
Snow
'Not a new member'
"Supposedly low wing Cherokees flat spin..."
where did you hear this? All single engine (piston at least) aircraft must be able to enter a spin and recover within 3 turns as part of their certification. I know of some idiots who spun a cherokee on a regular basis, with 3 people inside no less and they're still around to talk about it.
where did you hear this? All single engine (piston at least) aircraft must be able to enter a spin and recover within 3 turns as part of their certification. I know of some idiots who spun a cherokee on a regular basis, with 3 people inside no less and they're still around to talk about it.
shooter13
New Member
you sure about that snow?
I thought you could avoid spin testing as part of certification if you made the aircraft extremely spin resistant. In fact, I remember reading in a magazine about the cirrus not being able to recover from a spin but that it was damned near impossible to get it there and you have the CAPS if you do. Maybe I am wrong.
I thought you could avoid spin testing as part of certification if you made the aircraft extremely spin resistant. In fact, I remember reading in a magazine about the cirrus not being able to recover from a spin but that it was damned near impossible to get it there and you have the CAPS if you do. Maybe I am wrong.
B767Driver
New Member
Snow said:
Piper issued a service bulletin in 1982, PSB 753, that detailed spin operations in PA28-140s. Actually, Piper requires that this SB be aboard the aircraft at all times. There might even be a placard reminding of its use.
The 140 has a reputation of being inconsistent in the spin recovery. There was a spate of spin accidents at one time in this airplane. PSB 753 prohibits intentional spins in the normal category...but will allow spins in the utility category below a certain weight limit and CG range.
I think there's a good possibility that having 3 passengers on board probably puts the airplane in the normal cat.
When I was a young CFI, the more experienced ones would relay troubled stories of spins in Cherokees...most of them first hand experiences. So I never spun that airplane...did all spin training in a C152...that airplane seemed to spin very predictably.