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Thread: Crossover Spin Video

  1. #1
    RetroAcro's Avatar
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    Crossover Spin Video

    I shot this awhile back and added some descriptions for the purposes of spin safety. The crossover is probably the most insidious spin condition a pilot may find themselves in, if it has never been experienced.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i3DJl...p;feature=plcp

  2. #2

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    I have 3 questions on this, please.

    Did this the inverted part occur because there was too much forward stick put in in the first attempt at recovery?

    If instead of pushing the stick all the way forward, would the recovery on the first try have worked normally if the pilot had just released the back pressure, perhaps even letting go of the stick as Gene Beggs found works in Pitts.

    I can't recall if the Beggs did his testing on inverted spins, but I'd guess he did, and I know he used a Pitts.
    So once it was in the inverted spin, would it have stopped if the pilot just let go of the stick while using opposite rudder?

    Thanks

  3. #3

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    The cross over is cause by the hard push. For competition spins, you push to the vertical down to conclude the rotation and start your exit. So competitors have to be careful to push enough, but not too much, AFTER stopping the autorotation.... or you cross over.

    For a normal spin recovery, applying anti-spin rudder, then relaxing the back pressure, or simply releasing the stick to float, is enough to recover in many airplanes (but not all).

    The subject of cross over spins periodically comes up in the aerobatic competition community since we attempt to do a "crisp" stop and transition to the vertical down line. The novice competitors sometimes over-amp and are at risk of doing a cross over. At competition altitudes that can be very thrilling. Fortunately, I have never see that at a contest,. UNfortunately, we believe that a competitor was lost in NJ when practicing due to crossing over into an inverted spin and not betting it figured out before impact.

    This video is great. I hope that we have permission to copy it and use it in our winter safety seminar.

    Be careful out there.

    Wes
    N78PS

  4. #4
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    Bill- yes, the inverted and upright crossovers occured due to excessive elevator input (forward for the crossover from upright to inverted and aft for the crossover from inverted to upright).

    The Pitts will recover any spin mode using Beggs-Muller. It will also recover any spin mode by simply pulling power and neutralizing all controls and waiting for recovery. IMO, the neutral control emergency recovery method is simpler in that it does not require the pilot to recognize the spin direction, which can be confusing if you're inexperienced with inverted spins or crossovers. In my experience, in my airplane, Beggs-Muller recovers the spin a little more quickly than the neutral method. But if you're flying at a reasonable altitude, this should not matter much.

  5. #5
    RetroAcro's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by WLIU View Post
    This video is great. I hope that we have permission to copy it and use it in our winter safety seminar.
    Please do

  6. #6

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    Thanks for posting this Retro.

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