Welcome Guest. Sign in or Signup

3 Answers

Aerodynamics for spins

Asked by: 4427 views Aerodynamics

Is it true that one wing needs to be stalled and the other not stalled for a plane to enter a spin but both wings end up stalled once the spin develops? What if the plane is in a slow flight AoA and the rudder is kicked into one side with neutral ailerons? That doesn't necessarily cause one wing to be more stalled than the other but merely force it to dip toward one direction, so wouldn't the tipping merely cause a spiral? Then, why is it a concern for a possible spin when practicing stalls?

Ace Any FAA Written Test!
Actual FAA Questions / Free Lifetime Updates
The best explanations in the business
Fast, efficient study.
Pass Your Checkride With Confidence!
FAA Practical Test prep that reflects actual checkrides.
Any checkride: Airplane, Helicopter, Glider, etc.
Written and maintained by actual pilot examiners and master CFIs.
The World's Most Trusted eLogbook
Be Organized, Current, Professional, and Safe.
Highly customizable - for student pilots through pros.
Free Transition Service for users of other eLogs.
Our sincere thanks to pilots such as yourself who support AskACFI while helping themselves by using the awesome PC, Mac, iPhone/iPad, and Android aviation apps of our sponsors.

3 Answers



  1. Nibake on May 07, 2015

    If you really want to learn about spins download the free pdf for the airplane flying handbook:

    https://www.faa.gov/regulations_policies/handbooks_manuals/aircraft/airplane_handbook/media/FAA-H-8083-3B.pdf

    and ready chapter 4 pages 12-15

    -2 Votes Thumb up 0 Votes Thumb down 2 Votes

  2. Best Answer


    KiwiInstructor on Jun 19, 2015

    Hi Nibake

    one wing needs to be stalled and the other not stalled for a plane to enter a spin but both wings end up stalled once the spin develops?
    One wing just has to be deeper stalled than the other, the other (outward or upgoing) can even be still flying or stalled. once the spin is established and stabilized the same applies the (inside or downward wing) will always be your “deeper stalled”

    You have everything going on roll yaw and pitch and varying angles of attack across the wings, The short answer is for it to develop all you need is yaw at the point of the stall.

    What if the plane is in a slow flight AoA and the rudder is kicked into one side with neutral ailerons?
    Booting rudder can cause a spin because you have differing AOA’s at the tips due to forward speeds, and thats exactly how we enter an intentional spin heavy rudder and back pressure.

    tipping merely cause a spiral?
    The difference between a spiral descent and a spin is stall, a spin is an aggravated deep stall. With a spiral dive the airfoils are both still flying, the aircraft is descending with a increasing banked angle, airspeed and increasing loading.

    Why is it a concern for a possible spin when practicing stalls?
    Because an incorrect recovery of a “wingdrop stall” ie: using aileron to roll out will further deepen the stall at the tip of the downward going aileron and wing, aggravating the stall and increasing the yaw.

    0 Votes Thumb up 0 Votes Thumb down 0 Votes



  3. KiwiInstructor on Jun 19, 2015

    Sorry Nbake that should have been addressed to Drew

    0 Votes Thumb up 0 Votes Thumb down 0 Votes


The following terms have been auto-detected the question above and any answers or discussion provided. Click on a term to see its definition from the Dauntless Aviation JargonBuster Glossary.

Answer Question

Our sincere thanks to all who contribute constructively to this forum in answering flight training questions. If you are a flight instructor or represent a flight school / FBO offering flight instruction, you are welcome to include links to your site and related contact information as it pertains to offering local flight instruction in a specific geographic area. Additionally, direct links to FAA and related official government sources of information are welcome. However we thank you for your understanding that links to other sites or text that may be construed as explicit or implicit advertising of other business, sites, or goods/services are not permitted even if such links nominally are relevant to the question asked.