AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2011 - 93

situations that can lead to one of these two unusual attitudes in the first place. Prevention is always preferable to cure, especially when most stall/spins—as well as wake turbulence encounters— occur close to the ground.” Stowell developed the PARE spin recovery method (Power idle; Ailerons neutral; Rudder opposite rotation; and Elevator forward). For spiral or overbanked recoveries, he teaches Power (nose up/power up; nose down/power down); Push (reduces the angle of attack and checks the panic pull); and Roll (using coordinated aileron and rudder). APS also uses the PARE technique for spin recoveries but offers its own mantra (Push, Power, Rudder, Roll, Climb) for rolling upsets. Push reduces the angle of attack; Power corrects airspeed; Rudder (neutral); Roll (wings level), and Climb. “Primary training only addresses slightly more than 11 percent of the allattitude environment,” said Paul “B.J.” Ransbury, a former Canadian military pilot and APS founder, whose company uses Extra 300L aircraft for unusualattitude training. “The easiest part of upset training is imparting the motor skills. The most challenging aspect is developing a pilot’s mental discipline to apply counterintuitive strategies in a time-critical situation that’s likely to be life threatening.” In addition to these techniques, those who provide unusual-attitude training have developed some of their own common-sense procedures. Joey “Gordo” Sanders, an air racer and former U.S. Air Force fighter pilot (www.sandersaviation.com), urges pilots to use their sense of hearing for strong hints about the airplane’s attitude. Increasing wind noise—and rpm, in airplanes with fixed-pitch props—is a good hint that the nose is down and airspeed is increasing, he said. “Lots of our senses can be tricked while flying,” Sanders said. “But pilots can learn a lot simply by listening to what’s going on around them.” Bill Finagin, a veteran aerobatic performer and instructor in Annapolis, Maryland (Dent Air Ltd.), teaches pilots a method reminiscent of the Hippocratic Oath’s admonition to “do no harm.” Finagin starts by immediately and affirmatively neutralizing the controls, so at least the pilot isn’t aggravating the situation while trying to solve it.
AOPA PILOT • 93 • OCTOBER 2011

Flight schools that specialize in unusual-attitude training say that it takes multiple flights for the methods they teach to take hold. APS, for example, found that four or five training flights of one hour (or less) each over three days produced the best results. Stowell recommends about the same number, with a maximum of two unusual-attitude flights a day. Exposure to extreme pitch and bank angles allows pilots to eliminate the panic response. Familiarity with the sights, sounds, and sensa-

tions of unusual attitudes aids in their recognition. Once pilots recognize the flight condition, finding the shortest way to bring the airplane back to normal flight is a relatively straightforward matter. Once the panic pull is successfully suppressed, APS and other schools recommend that pilots keep their new habits sharp through regular practice, or an annual refresher course at a minimum. Email the author at dave.hirschman@ aopa.org.

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AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2011

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2011