Spinning the 14 with Rich Stowell

[Jake14]

I enjoy doing simple aerobatics and always wanted to take upset recovery training so I could try new maneuvers with more confidence, but never got around to it. The go-to source was CP Aviation in Santa Paula where Rich Stowell had developed a syllabus for upset and emergency maneuver training. RICH'S BIO . I was pleasantly surprised to find that Rich is now local to my home in the Boise area and asked him to do some upset/aerobatic training in my 14A.

We went through basic spiral recoveries and stalls in different attitudes, over-the-top, in a loop, etc. and then a lot of spins in both directions. An RV-14 spin is a bit different than a Cessna's, and I'd recommend you don't do it the first time without an instructor. My 14 steepens and winds up fairly quickly, especially going to the right, but the recovery is always quick and positive. The emphasis is to recognize incipient or potential spins and react appropriately. Including my solo practice, I did well over 100 spins and got to like them so I now do them as part of my 'recreational aerobatics'.

In other sessions we did a series of loops and rolls with progressively slower entry speeds to get a feel for the edges of the envelope, and then moved to hammerheads and snaps (keeping the snap entries around 70 KIAS to keep the stress on the airframe low), slow rolls (with minimum time at negative g), humptys, 'impossible turn' turnbacks, stall/upset recovery on instruments, stalls from a slip and pretty much anything else which I used to be apprehensive about.

All in all, some very useful training which gives you the confidence that you can recover from any botched maneuver or upset attitude (given enough altitude, of course

Also appreciate Rich's teaching style, he never touches the controls himself, just talks you through the maneuver.

And the bonus is doing it in your own airplane...

 

[Mel]

In other sessions we did a series of loops and rolls with progressively slower entry speeds to get a feel for the edges of the envelope, and then moved to hammerheads and snaps (keeping the snap entries around 70 KIAS to keep the stress on the airframe low), slow rolls (with minimum time at negative g), humptys, 'impossible turn' turnbacks, stall/upset recovery on instruments, stalls from a slip and pretty much anything else which I used to be apprehensive about.

For the benefit of those not familiar with RV aerobatics; Snap rolls and tail slides are specifically NOT recommended in any RV! This is from the designer, Mr. Vangrunsven.

 

[RV8JD]

In general, the aerobatic RVs are not specifically designed for snap rolls, and certainly not for tail slides. But note that there are several very experienced and qualified pilots who snap roll their RVs successfully, including Van himself, and in competitions. But they are very careful and know what they are doing.

See the article "An Aerobatic Epistle", by Van himself:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/16-IX93N223Ts65R4ipYa4JquZ1P6uuH8/view?usp=sharing​

Another article by Van himself on competition aerobatics, "IAC Aerobatics in RVs", with a good addendum on preparing your RV for aerobatics by Ron Schreck. Van again addresses snap rolls and tail slides in the article:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1AGrMUdKpkOoN4ksVCOrVjxLIjVp4dTvX/view?usp=sharing​

​

Here is a snippet from the RV-8 Construction Manual with caveats on snap rolls (not sure what the -14 manual says):

​

 

[Jake14]

yep, we kept the snap entries below 70 KIAS knowing what Van has said about snaps over 100mph resulting in higher g's. Not my favorite maneuver and not something I'd do daily. Tail slide recoveries were discussed but obviously not flown.

 

[Mel]

My point was that there are many readers that see post like this and think that it's OK to do things they shouldn't be doing.

 

[RV8JD]

My point was that there are many readers that see post like this and think that it's OK to do things they shouldn't be doing.

I agree. That’s why I posted those articles by Van himself, so folks can read his words regarding his concerns, warnings and techniques.