IN A TAILSPIN

It is better with an instructor the first time.

© 1997 Clayton Davis

An unfortunate word from aviation crept into general conversation -- tailspin. Nothing good is meant when you hear that a company is in a tailspin. When a romance is in a tailspin, you know everything bad is about to happen.

Tailspin was a word used to describe an airplane coming almost straight down, while spinning like a top. Round and round it went, its tail sticking straight up.

Well, how does this happen?

We can learn from this lesson I gave to a young pilot, a lesson all pilots were once given. Today you might not find out about tailspins until well after you have finished training and have been flying on your own a good many months.

We hope your first tailspin is not a surprise.

We were flying a Cessna 172 and the lesson had been going just fine, until I demonstrated a stall and spin. No problem. We came out of it fine, by first unstalling the wing.

An airplane in a tailspin is easy to explain. One wing has stopped creating lift. The other one is still trying to carry the load. It is like stepping off the curb with your left foot unexpectedly. That suddenly causes you to tumble to the left. Likewise in an airplane. If the left wing stalled first, down and around goes the airplane to the left.

To get out of this predicament, the controls go forward. That unstalls the wing. And, if you are turning left, the right rudder pedal is pushed all the way in and held there. As the airplane stops turning, you push in the left rudder pedal until it is even with the right pedal. That streamlines your rudder with the airflow. Recover from the dive and breath easier.

I had my student, Bill, reduce engine power completely and slow the airplane. He held back on the controls until the nose was determined to fall forward. Then I requested he push the left rudder pedal all the way to the floor and hold it there with the controls all the way back. Over went the airplane to the left. Round and round we sent, in a tailspin to the left.

To stop the tailspin, forward went the controls, all the way. In went the right rudder pedal, all the way. The airplane stopped turning and began gaining speed, in a dive. We recovered from the dive, pushed the throttle back up to cruise power and were flying straight and level.

"How did we un-stall it?" Bill asked, slightly out of breath.

I told him, "By pushing the controls all the way forward."

"How about stopping the turn?"

"Imagine the airplane's fuselage is a fish. Water is flowing equally, everywhere along the fish. If it bends its tail, even just a little, the fish will turn in that direction."

"I see. But there was no pressure on the controls."

I reassured him, "Air was still moving over the airplane. You didn't feel it. The airplane felt it."

Bill wanted to do another tailspin. We made clearing turns in both directions and stalled the airplane.

The student went through the routine he had been taught. He applied carburetor heat and slowly reduced power to idle, doing a fair job of holding heading and altitude.

"Bill," I said, "just as the nose dips, when it is fully stalled, I want you to pull the control column as far back as you can. At the same time, push the left rudder pedal all the way to the floor and hold it there. I'll be on the controls with you."

Over the airplane went again, spinning to the left.

I started talking him out of the spin. "Push the control column all the way forward and give it full right rudder. There. It's stopped spinning."

"Uh," was all Bill said.

"Now. I want you to put both your rudder pedals together. We want the rudder to be neutral. Pull the control column back to the mid-position. You should begin to feel air over the elevator, just as you did during the takeoff roll."

"I do. I do." Bill was breathing a little faster.

"Begin to put back pressure on the control column. Not too fast. Feel it? Bring the nose up. Up. Up to the horizon."

"Uh. Uh huh." Bill sounded a little more satisfied.

"Throttle in. To cruise power." I kept instructing in the same tone of voice. "I do believe we are flying once more."

"A nice tailspin," He still wasn't breathing normally.

"The book calls it a spin." I answered. "Some old-timers call it a full stall. It has been called an abnormal attitude. Sort of fell in a hurry, didn't it?"

"I surely do not plan to practice that in the traffic pattern." Bill sounded persuaded.

"In a spin," I explained, "one wing is fully stalled, while the other wing is creating lift. The nose is pointing down, because that's where it goes after the airplane stalls."

"Oh, I see. To recover from a spin, first I unstall the wing. Then stop the turning motion. By using full rudder in the opposite direction."

"That's right," I said. "Then, as you push the rudder pedal in the opposite direction, you feel no resistance on the rudder because we did not have enough airspeed to create lift."

"Say. That's right." Bill remembered. "Why is that?"

"During takeoff, think about it. You feel the propeller blowing lots of air over the rudder. Just the same with the elevator."

"No air resistance to the controls in a spin?"

"Correct. They just flop about. Like when you check the controls before takeoff."

"Hey. That's right."

I reviewed the steps, "Coming out of the spin. When you place the controls fully forward. You feel no resistance over the elevator."

"Just put the column forward? All the way forward?" He asked.

"All the way forward. The airplane feels it. Simply stated, you unstalled the wing and stopped the turning motion by putting the rudder all the way in the direction opposite the spin. After that, it did not take very long for our unstalled airplane to gain flying speed."

"How can you tell which way it is spinning? Like, if it got that way accidentally."

"Easy. Looking through the windshield, you see the earth moving. Say the ground appears to be moving from left to right."

"Use your right foot. Step on the right rudder. Hold it all the way in. Because you are spinning to the left?"

"Correct. Put the right rudder pedal all the way to the floor."

"And hold it there?"

"You got it. Hold it there."

"Can I do one now?"

"Be my guest." I released the controls to him.

Over the airplane went, the same as before. Bill did everything just the way I had taught him. He knew air was still moving over the fuselage and rudder, like water is always in contact with a fish. When it moves its tail ever so slightly, it turns in that direction.

"I'm a fish!" Bill yelled.

As the airplane came gently back to straight-and-level, I complimented him, "You really do good tailspins."

Students are well able to pass an oral exam on the question of spin recovery. Every airplane owner can read it in the Aircraft Operating Handbook.

It is a sad fact, however, without some practice with an instructor, the chances are excellent that an unexpected spin will cause a dramatic increase in the pilot's respiration rate. And it may induce other involuntary bodily functions, such as dampness on the airplane's seat. It might be tears or something else slightly salty.

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