What is a Spin - and how do I recover from one?

Spin recovery is an often under-trained technique, however with so many aviation accidents occurring from stall-spin development, it’s time to break down the spin:

What exactly IS it, and how do we recover?

In technical terms, a spin is defined as an aggravated stall that leads to auto-rotation on the spin axis where the aircraft follows a corkscrew path.

Both wings will be stalled in a spin, but one wing will be more deeply stalled than the other.

The wing that is most stalled (the ‘low wing’) will be on the inside of the spin, flying at a higher angle of attack.

The high wing, however, is generating more lift than the low wing, and this rolls the aircraft into the spin.

To compound the issue, the low wing flying at the higher angle of attack, also generates more drag – and this causes the aircraft to yaw into the spin.

It is the combination of these things that sees the aircraft in a fully developed spin.

Spin Recovery Technique – PARE 

If you ever find yourself in a situation where your aircraft has entered a spin, whether intentional or unintentional, one thing is for sure – you must know how to recover the aircraft.

PARE is a well-known acronym used for spin recovery, and once committed to memory, is a simple and effective way to recover in most situations.

NOTE: This technique, although widely accepted, cannot be guaranteed in all situations. Above all, it is vital that you are aware of the spin characteristics of the aircraft you are flying, and use the accepted method for that particular aircraft.  

Recovering Using the PARE Manoeuvre

To recover an aircraft from a spin, we need to un-stall the wings., and that’s where the PARE maneuver comes in.

As soon as the wings are un-stalled, the aircraft is flying again, and we can regain proper control and continue stable flight.

PARE stands for Power, Aileron, Rudder, and Elevator, and here’s how to break yourself out of a spin using it:

P: Power – It may seem counterintuitive, but you must reduce your throttle to idle when you are stalled in a spin. Adding more power when in a spin will actually make it more difficult to recover!

When you are at higher power setting, the airflow will strike your horizontal stabiliser, generate a tail downforce, and cause our nose to pitch UP.

Anything that creates a nose-up pitching moment is going to increase the angle of attack – and since our wings are already stalled in the spin, this will only deepen that stall.

You want to be able to easily pitch the nose down to un-stall the wings and get them flying again, and reducing the power is a simple way to accomplish that.

A: Ailerons– Setting your ailerons to neutral can help both wings reach the same angle of attack, to reduce the rolling and yawing of the aircraft in the spin.

Why can’t we just raise the inner wing using aileron?

Well, just like in a wing drop stall when we try to raise the wing using aileron, we end up increasing the angle of attack on the down-going wing – deepening the stall further.

What if we roll our ailerons IN to the spin?

This won’t work either, because as we start to recover from the spin, the outside wing increases its angle of attack, and we run the risk of developing a spin in the opposite direction.

R: Rudder – The next step you’ll take is considered one of the most important steps to take to stop the spin, and it involves adding rudder opposite the spin direction. If you spin left, you will want to add the right rudder, and if you are spinning right, you will want to add the left rudder. This stops the rolling and yawing moment of the spin. 

Once the rotation has stopped, neutralise the rudder to prevent any risk of entering a spin in the opposite direction.

E: Elevator – Now that you’ve stopped the rolling and yawing of the spin using Power, Aileron, and Rudder, you will need to un-stall the wings by positively applying forward elevator to your aircraft through neutral to reduce the angle of attack, and ultimately ending the stall.

This likely won’t feel natural, however it is a vital step in breaking the stall and regaining control.

Finishing your Spin Recovery

After you’ve followed those steps and the aircraft is now flying out of the spin, it is time to regain level flight by neutralising the rudder, bringing the nose back to level and adding power while you do so.

As discussed earlier, spin recovery technique can vary, and some aircraft may take a little more manoeuvring to help you get out of the spin.

It is important to familiarise yourself with your aircraft, and memorise and chair fly your spin recovery technique frequently - because there is no time to consult your checklist if/when you enter one.

TEAM Aviation is a flying school based in SEQ specialising in private aviation using modern, safe and advanced Cirrus Aircraft. If you are interested in learning to fly, contact TEAM Aviation to learn more today.