Spinning an RV-10

[BobTurner]

BTW, my operating limitations specifically forbid intentional spins. DAR asked if I was okay with that, I said yes.

[terrykohler]

Dwight:
Sounds like you've taken the first step (Take a Deep Breath). Second step should be to get an A&P and have him access the A/C for structural damage- it wasn't designed to do what you put it thru, and most of us really aren't qualified to carry out such an assessment. Would you trust to put your family in it at this point? Third, get with a very competent instructor and pay him for an hours time to review your flight data as well as your explanation of the situation. Don't try to get away with "free" advice here - oft times it's worth what you pay for it. Then take a lesson in a factory plane and try to determine if you're comfortable taking on the role of test pilot and flying an aircraft to the edges of it's performance capabilities. That more pilots haven't caused harm to themselves and their new planes is a testament to Vans designs. I suspect that when you stalled, you had a fairly high power setting that was left unchanged thru the event. To lose the amount of altitude you did in a C172 would take about 5 full rotations. To load up enough G's to drive an appliance thru the cowl would take a very hard pull- you're fortunate you didn't enter a secondary stall. Brushing up on your flying skills is the right thing to do. You've survived a string of very bad decisions/responses. It may not be a bad idea to find a strong test pilot to complete the Flight Test Phase while you hone your skills to a level that satisfies you. Most importantly, when the dust settles, the question You need to ask yourself is "What have I REALLY learned from this"?
Terry,CFI
RV9A N323TP

[lostpilot28]

Hey Dwight, glad you're OK! Sounds hair-raising!

I would be VERY interested in what your flight data has to say about this event. Was it a spin, or a spiral. What caused it. What did you do to recover, and how long were the response times. This is one of those extremely rare situations that we can ALL learn from without the guess work of the NTSB!

JonJay, your story regarding stalls reminds me of my flight training at hour #4 as a student pilot. Power-On stalls, huge drop of the left wing with the instructor literally screaming "Right rudder! Right Rudder!" in my ear. Given that they were all aerobatic instructors, I don't understand why they didn't respond better. But, it took a ton of stalls and spins after that to get back some of my nerve...still working on getting it all back!

[BobTurner]

Don't you mean "Right rudder"? Or did the instructor intend for you to spin the plane?

[jrs14855]

I see no reference in this post or any of the replies about power setting. Where was the throttle?? If this was truly a spin and not a spiral it is very important, especially in a clean airplane, to get the throttle closed. IF you have plenty of altitude, this makes the recovery after the rotation much easier on both the pilot and the airplane. As long as you have altitude the pullout could be done with as little as 2 1/2 G.
Regarding the G load, the airplane has at least a 50% safety factor which is 5.7G. The safety factor is required for certified airplanes for events such as this. I would check all the exterior skins for any indication of damage, especially around the rivets. If you don't find any obvious damage I would resume testing. The engine movement is just what I would expect with a very close fit on the cowl and the soft, non aerobatic mounts.
This is the "low hanging fruit" that everyone is talking about regarding the NTSB statements. THERE IS ABSOLUTELY NO REASON FOR THESE LOSS OF CONTROL ACCIDENTS. It is all about poor instructors, pilots who are scared of stalls, etc. Get some spin training.

[N15JB]

Dwight,

Glad you are back on the ground in one piece. A lot of good advice in the posts above. Dagmar Kress, former German national aerobatic champ is in the hangar next to mine. In addition to all out aerobatic instruction in her Pitts S2S, she does unusual attitude/upset recovery/spin training in the Pitts and a Citabria. PM me if you want her contact info.

Jim Berry
RV-10

[TSwezey]

Where was your CG during this test?

[dmaib]

Originally Posted by BobTurner

The -10 has a powerful rudder and is, IMHO, nearly impossible to accidently spin (spin entry, yes, but not a 3000' altitude loss spin) unless the pilot has feet of clay or has not been conditioned to make the proper (and conventional) control responses.

This is a serious business. Please be honest with yourself about your capabilities and if they're lacking, get some help.

Bob

I agree with Bob, all the way here. I demonstrate accelerated stalls during transition training at banks of 40 to 45 degrees for those that want it. I have never done a spin in the -10, and don't intend to, but have a fair amount of spin experience in different aircraft. I question whether this was truly a spin.

[N427EF]

Dwight, hope we are not pushing you here but a little more info from the EFIS recordings would help provide better insight.
I too believe your experience was a developing spiral, starting with an accidental spin entry and improper recovery.
Glad you decided to share your experience.
David, I am not sure how you achieve an accelerated stall at a bank angle of 45
degrees, can you explain.

[BobTurner]

An accelerated stall is a stall that happens with a wing loading of more than 1 g. With a 45 degree bank you'll be pulling about 1.4 g, and the wing will stall at an indicated airspeed about 20% higher than its unaccelerated stall speed.