Spin Recovery in a 152

[minitour]

Are we sure a 150/2 is legal to spin? I thoughtthat the were all (except A's) supposed to be placarded against spins.
I know it can be done, we used to spin them for hours in the 70s when it was legal....

Well, I haven't been in a 150, but the 152 is certified in the UtilityCategory and actually there's a placard for spin recovery in theairplane...so, while I don't enjoy spins, you can do them...andpractice them we do, for some reason...*grumbling* I thought it wasjust a d*mn endorsement...*grumble, grumble, grumble*

-mini

 

[Vector4fun]

Are we sure a 150/2 is legal to spin? I thought that the were all (except A's) supposed to be placarded against spins.
I know it can be done, we used to spin them for hours in the 70s when it was legal.

Actually, I can't recall ever seeing a C150/152 that wasn't legal for spins. Even my C172 is certified for spins. But you won't find me spinnin' it because I'm the guy that's going to be buying the gyros and flap roller kits.

I agree with you about the other though. Rent a Citabria or similar with 'chutes and instructor and knock yourself out. Between the tailwheel and the spins, folks would learn what those pedals on the floor do...

 

[DaveJ]

I used to spin my 150 back in the 70s. I'd unhook the vacuum line fromthe gyros first, though. Wound up pretty good after about 4turns.

A spin does not impart a lot of stress on an airframe. A botchedrecovery, however, could induce a lot of stress if you let get toofast. Stay proficient.

 

[DC9stick]

Are we sure a 150/2 is legal to spin? I thought that the were all (except A's) supposed to be placarded against spins.
I know it can be done, we used to spin them for hours in the 70s when it was legal.

I kind of think we shouldn't regardless, because of the age some ofthem are getting (sorry). Its not that a spin is hard on theairframe but .... and this gets to your question ... asloppy spin, and expecially a poorly executed recovery may damage theairframe. A lot of people allow too much speed to build up duringthe recovery and if you have 30d of flap out -ouch.. We never extendedflap for intentional spins. And approach stalls were guardedagainst incipient spins (the beginnings of a spin) carefully.

Get a Decathlon or something that is meant for spins... have you readthe FAAs older airplane inspection & maintenance guidelines? (forget actual title) That and seeing those T34s and thefirefighting airplanes break up in past years makes me think all that60s and 70s aluminum is crystallizing and getting brittle!

The only spin restriction I know of is for the 150 HP conversions, As I remember the 152 and later 172 have 30 degrees of flaps for go-around performance.
The 40 degree flap A/C have minimal if any climb performance at 40 degrees.

 

[jbDC9]

Advise to all. Don't ever intentionally spin a tomahawk. I lost a very close friend of mine in a spin in one. He was a DE and had about 30,000 hrs at the time of his accident.

I dunno if I'd go quite that far, when I used to instruct on occasion in a Tomahawk I spun it a few times and lived to tell about it.

Having said that, I will say it was a bit of an attention getter... up to that point I'd only spun 150/152s, which are so easy to spin and recover it's silly. The Tomahawk seemed to rotate a bit faster with more nose down attitude, plus, when I recovered, it took a bit longer to respond to the recovery control inputs... and maybe it was just my imagination, but when I started the recovery, it seemed to tighten up and turn a bit faster and steeper right before I flew it out the bottom.

Maybe your friend had the bad luck to spin a bad one? Maybe it was bent/out of rig or missing a stall strip on a wing? I have read that a spin in such a ship could get really interesting really quickly...

 

[BD King]

The only spin restriction I know of is for the 150 HP conversions, As I remember the 152 and later 172 have 30 degrees of flaps for go-around performance.
The 40 degree flap A/C have minimal if any climb performance at 40 degrees.

DC9stick gets the cigar. Believe it or not, the 150 could establish a positive rate of climb with full flaps (standard temp, blah blah) Even though the 152 has a horsepower advantage, its weight offset the extra power. The 152 would not climb with forty degrees of flaps.

 

[El Bucho]

To get out of a spin in a 152 you can let go and it will recover on its own as long as you haven't done more than about 3 turns. After that you can scream all you want and you will just be on an elevator ride to the ground floor. After the 3rd turn or so you will have to effect the positive recovery to get out of it, which might take a turn or two as to take effect. The most turns I've done in a 152 is about 20. Started out 10,000 and ended up at like 3,000. Engine quite after about 12 or so. Instructor was proving that recovering after 20 is no different then recovering after 4. Not sure about the flaps thing. Never spun one with flaps. If I recall, flaps up was one of the first things you wanted to make sure of when you started to recover. Anyway, spin away!

EB