Why do you compete or not compete??

Total through 2004? That doesn't sound all that bad. I would say the risk in Decathlons is minimal based on those numbers. I would love to know how many of those nine were spin related? We had a seriously experienced guy pack it in during spin training - and that was a large part of his business.

I don't do multiple turn spins. The Sportsman sequence I flew had a 3/4 turn spin, and that was easy. If someone begs me for spin training, we just do entries and recoveries - more like a half turn.

My thoughts are this - it is possible to get an inadvertent spin when doing stall training. If one is ham-handed enough to inadvertently turn that into a three turn spin, how could we expect that he/she would ever have the skill or presence of mind to actually recover? Worse, how come we keep hearing about experienced, skilled aviators spinning into the ground?
 
Bob Turner said:
Total through 2004? That doesn't sound all that bad. I would say the risk in Decathlons is minimal based on those numbers. I would love to know how many of those nine were spin related? We had a seriously experienced guy pack it in during spin training - and that was a large part of his business.

I don't do multiple turn spins. The Sportsman sequence I flew had a 3/4 turn spin, and that was easy. If someone begs me for spin training, we just do entries and recoveries - more like a half turn.

My thoughts are this - it is possible to get an inadvertent spin when doing stall training. If one is ham-handed enough to inadvertently turn that into a three turn spin, how could we expect that he/she would ever have the skill or presence of mind to actually recover? Worse, how come we keep hearing about experienced, skilled aviators spinning into the ground?
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There are no Decathlon fatalities on record from failure to recover from an intentional upright spin at an appropriate altitude. None. Zilch. Nada.

There are numerous fatalities from inadvertent spins as a result of botched maneuvers at low altitude. But that is a different animal, IMO.

I have done hundreds of spins in a Decathlon, and have gone for at least 10 turns upright and 5 inverted. There is absolutely no reason to be reluctant to spin, or to limit turns. Climb high, wear a parachute, and let 'er rip.
 
Well, there is at least one fatali spin crash from altitude in a Citabria, and I had a friend spin in a J3 - he walked away, but just barely.

Once the thing tightens up, it can become possible to reverse rotation during a botched recovery.
 
“ There is absolutely no reason to be reluctant to spin, or to limit turns.”

Yeah, there is. 1. Possibility of airsickness. 2. Once established, takes no skill at all during rotation. 3. Takes gas and time to climb back up. And 4. While you are rotating you really aren’t learning anything. All opinion.

I did one inverted spin and one outside loop. In both cases I recovered right side up, and decided I had had enough.
 
Bob Turner said:
“ There is absolutely no reason to be reluctant to spin, or to limit turns.”

Yeah, there is. 1. Possibility of airsickness. 2. Once established, takes no skill at all during rotation. 3. Takes gas and time to climb back up. And 4. While you are rotating you really aren’t learning anything. All opinion.

I did one inverted spin and one outside loop. In both cases I recovered right side up, and decided I had had enough.
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Agreed. Those are all perfectly reasonable preferences.

I was pushing back against the implication that multi-turn spins in a Decathlon are dangerous. I do not believe that is the case, and it certainly was not what my instructors and mentors taught me. I would also suggest that experiencing at least one 3 turn spin is useful to observe the vertical oscillation of the nose while the spin develops.

I do not like inverted spins and outside loops either. But IMO getting at least a bit of dual on inverted spins is essential if you plan to compete at acro, even at sportsman level, because several basic maneuvers can be botched in such a way as to result in an inverted spin.
 
The Decathlon may be easier to get out of spins than a Citabria - they obviously both flew the same for me, even in the 3/4 turn spin. But the Citabria needs some respect. It has killed experienced aviators who could not recover from a tightened spin.

I forget which book, but one of the spin gurus discusses the problem of a simple, reliable aircraft getting into an unrecoverable spin. I will check my library.
 
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