Spin (flight)

A spin is a special category of stall resulting in autorotation about the vertical axis and a shallow, rotating, downward path. Spins can be entered intentionally or unintentionally, from any flight attitude if the aircraft has sufficient yaw while at the stall point. In a normal spin, the wing on the inside of the turn is stalled while the outside wing remains flying; it is possible for both wings to be stalled but the angle of attack of each wing, and consequently its lift and drag, will be different. Either situation causes the aircraft to autorotate (yaw) toward the stalled wing due to its higher drag and loss of lift. Spins are characterized by high angle of attack, an airspeed below the stall on at least one wing and a shallow descent. Recovery may require a specific and counterintuitive set of actions in order to avoid a crash.

A spin differs from a spiral dive in which neither wing is stalled and which is characterized by a low angle of attack and high airspeed. A spiral dive is not a type of spin because neither wing is stalled. In a spiral dive, the aircraft will respond conventionally to the pilot's inputs to the flight controls and recovery from a spiral dive requires a different set of actions from those required to recover from a spin.

In the early years of flight, a spin was frequently referred to as a "tailspin". A method used to control a spin before it fully develops is a maneuver called the falling leaf.

Many types of airplane will only spin if the pilot simultaneously yaws and stalls the airplane (intentionally or unintentionally). Under these circumstances, one wing will stall, or stall more deeply than the other. The wing that stalls first will drop, increasing its angle of attack and deepening the stall. At least one wing must be stalled for a spin to occur. The other wing will rise, decreasing its angle of attack, and the aircraft will yaw towards the more deeply stalled wing. The difference in lift between the two wings causes the aircraft to roll, and the difference in drag causes the aircraft to yaw.

One common scenario that can lead to an unintentional spin is an uncoordinated turn toward the runway during the landing sequence. A pilot who is overshooting the turn to final approach may be tempted to apply rudder to increase the rate of turn. The result is twofold: the nose of the airplane drops below the horizon and the bank angle increases. Reacting to these unintended changes, the pilot may then begin to pull the elevator control aft (thus increasing the angle of attack) while applying opposite aileron to decrease bank angle. Taken to its extreme, this can result in an uncoordinated turn with sufficient angle of attack to cause the aircraft to stall. This is called a cross-control stall, and is very dangerous if it happens at low altitude where the pilot has little time to recover. In order to avoid this scenario, pilots are taught the importance of always making coordinated turns. Certificated, light, single-engine airplanes must meet specific criteria regarding stall and spin behaviour. Spins can also be entered intentionally for training, flight testing, or aerobatics.

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