I just read another article about loss of control due to an inadvertant spin. It was like many other good articles that I have read about spins - they are good/accurate as far as they go. One thing I believe could be made clearer: a spin will only occur when: 1) wing stalls and 2) the airplane is skidding. No skid no spin. Everyone gets the first point right and kind of obfuscates the second. Most articles correctly state that an airplane can be stalled at any airspeed or attitude. I would like to see a similar type statement about a skid - e.g. the airplane can be made to skid while coordinated or slipping by improper use of the controls. The airplane has to be skidding to spin. The FAA Airplane Flying Handbook hints at this, but does not state it clearly or explicitly. In fact, it misleadingly states that a slipping or yawed airplane can enter a spin. It is true that while the airplane is slipping or is yawed, the pilot can misapply the controls and enter a skid/stall/spin. The same can said about straight and level flight. An airplane only spins from a skid.

I started flying in WV during the Nixon administration. I learned several valid reasons to slip an airplane. I have never learned a valid reason to skid an airplane.