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4 Answers

Help with Steep Spiral Entry

Asked by: 3804 views Flight Instructor

I am having trouble with this maneuver, mainly with the entry. Because it is for CFI, I am in the right seat and the turns are to the left so I always lose sight of the ground reference right before entering the maneuver. I usually practice these over the water so we use a stationary sailboat or piling. Does anyone have tips for this? The last CFI I asked responded with "yeah.... it's just really hard to do." I'm worried I'll bust on the check ride for not keeping a constant radius around whatever it is I will be circling.  Any advice would be much appreciated.  

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4 Answers



  1. Lewis Archer on Nov 09, 2015

    Why are you turning to the left? The PTS doesn’t specify which direction you need to turn. If it’s easier to turn to the right (being that you are in the right seat), that’s what I would do on the checkride.

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  2. Best Answer


    Russ Roslewski on Nov 09, 2015

    Lewis, as he is training to be a CFI, I think it’s perfectly reasonable that he be expected to be able to do this maneuver from the right side while turning left. After all, that’s how he’s probably going to fly it when demonstrating it to a Commercial trainee.

    Thomas, when I do this maneuver, yes it is not uncommon to lose sight of the reference. However, I am able to use other references to maintain my ground track. Just like Turns-about-a-Point, if you lose sight of it, well you know that the point is just south of that farmhouse that you can see, etc.

    However, doing it over the water? Never done that. Without any other references and a featureless ocean, yes, I imagine it’s as your CFI said, “really hard to do”. Do you have a practice area over land somewhere? I imagine you’d have better luck. Even if not, make sure you’re adjusting your bank angle depending on the existing headwind/tailwind component and you should still be able to stay reasonably close.

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  3. Dan S. on Nov 09, 2015

    Try using a 4-way road intersection. If you lose sight of the reference point you can follow the road from any vantage point to orient yourself to the center point.

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  4. thomas johnston on Nov 10, 2015

    Using an intersection is a great idea. I will be doing my check ride in Brooksville, FL, North of where I usually do my training. Brooksville is less crowded than St. Petersburg so I’m guessing all the maneuvers will be done over land. I usually have to fly over the water because of the congestion we typically face.

    And yes, I was always taught to perform the steep spiral to the left because that is how I will be teaching my students. Easier from their perspective, but obviously not from mine.

    Thanks!

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