{"id":1883,"date":"2013-06-06T17:56:53","date_gmt":"2013-06-07T00:56:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/tailwheelersjournal.mechadigital.net\/?p=1883"},"modified":"2021-08-26T20:37:58","modified_gmt":"2021-08-26T20:37:58","slug":"66-to-spin-or-not-to-spin","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tailwheelersjournal.com\/66-to-spin-or-not-to-spin\/","title":{"rendered":"#66 To Spin Or Not To Spin!"},"content":{"rendered":"

I\u2019ve been noodling about my policy regarding spin training.\u00a0 As many who\u2019ve flown with me know, I divide spin training into two parts.\u00a0 Intentional spins with a recovery on a heading are taught as a proficiency maneuver, but at no time is it ever offered as a method for recognizing the onset of an unintentional spin.\u00a0 For that, we have a procedure where we re-create the elements that commonly lead up to such a spin and help the student to learn recognition of it before it bites him.\"Spin<\/a><\/p>\n

I\u2019ve always allowed the student to decide if he wants to spin.\u00a0 I\u2019ve never required it.\u00a0 I haven\u2019t changed my policy, but I am thinking about it.\u00a0 My \u201cGoofys\u201d are arguing about it as well.\u00a0 You don\u2019t know about my Goofys? They are imaginary cartoon-characters who help me make almost all difficult decisions.\u00a0 The somewhat hardnosed, no-nonsense Goofy who normally perches on my left shoulder says, \u201cHey, if they\u2019re scared to do a spin while you\u2019re sittin\u2019 right there to protect them, tuh Hell with \u2018em.\u00a0 Let \u2018em find another flight instructor; preferably a Pansy!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cLeft Shoulder Goofy\u201d continues to splutter with his angry rant as I clap my hand over his muzzle and turn to my other shoulder.<\/p>\n

The Goofy who perches on my right shoulder is far more sensitive and understanding.\u00a0 \u201cPeople have to proceed at their own rate,\u201d he says, soothingly.\u00a0 \u201cIf they feel uncomfortable undergoing spin training, they should be allowed to avoid it in the interest of continuing to improve their proficiency.\u00a0 Maybe they\u2019ll come back to it\u201d.<\/p>\n

Without realizing it, the Goofy on my right shoulder may have inadvertently nailed it with his use of the word \u201cuncomfortable\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n

Years ago, I became familiar with a philosophy that was essential to the outdoor training offered by \u201cOutward Bound\u201d.\u00a0 That organization maintained that it was necessary to get out of your \u201ccomfort zone\u201d in order to learn certain skills and, indeed, to learn more about yourself.\u00a0 Time and again, I have seen that philosophy proven to be correct.\u00a0 It certainly applies to spin training.<\/p>\n

The practice of spins can lead to wooziness, regardless of your level of desire to learn about this maneuver.\u00a0 That\u2019s why it\u2019s best to introduce the spins at the very tail end of a flight.\u00a0 I normally do spins within a mile or so of the home airport.\u00a0 I keep a close eye on the student and we swoop into a landing right after a couple of rotations.<\/p>\n

If we were to follow this routine at the end of every lesson, we\u2019d have a pretty well-trained pilot at the end of a six hour Tailwheel Endorsement course.<\/p>\n

So I guess I have some deciding to do:\u00a0 Should I listen to \u201cLeft Shoulder Goofy\u201d and insist on spin training as a part of my course?\u00a0 Or should I adopt the philosophy of \u201cRight Shoulder Goofy\u201d and opt to give all my students the benefit of what I believe is good training without withholding that opportunity from those who don\u2019t want to spin?<\/p>\n

As is often the case, simply writing about the subject has helped me to form opinions about it. \u00a0I\u2019ll continue to offer spins as an option for some time.\u00a0 But the fact that I\u2019ve dithered about it on these pages should indicate how important I believe spin training to be.\u00a0 I\u2019ll allow \u201cLeft Shoulder Goofy\u201d to have the last word on the subject.<\/p>\n

\u201cGet outta yore comfort zone!\u00a0 Cowboy up and ask Brian to run you through a little spin training.\u00a0 It might scare ya a little at first, but remember what Ol\u2019 Bill used to say:\u00a0 \u2018No guts, no air medal!\u2019 \u201c.<\/p>\n

Happy Swooping (and spinning),<\/p>\n

Brian<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The somewhat hardnosed, no-nonsense Goofy who normally perches on my left shoulder says, \u201cHey, if they\u2019re scared to do a spin while you\u2019re sittin\u2019 right there to protect them, tuh Hell with \u2018em. Let \u2018em find another flight instructor; preferably a Pansy!\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":1886,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tailwheelersjournal.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1883"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tailwheelersjournal.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tailwheelersjournal.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tailwheelersjournal.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tailwheelersjournal.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1883"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/tailwheelersjournal.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1883\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tailwheelersjournal.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1886"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tailwheelersjournal.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1883"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tailwheelersjournal.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1883"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tailwheelersjournal.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1883"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}