On spins: while I believe primary students should experience spin training I don't think the training as it is normally conducted is of that much value because it consists of intentional spin entry and execution of a recovery. In a base to final spin there is no opportunity for recovery. A better method of training would be to get the student into an unexpected spin but it's difficult to do at altitude because it is the ground reference illusions and anomalies that create the hazard and that can't be duplicated at 3,000 feet.
Not trying to be deliberately argumentative with you about this new topic, but it's something I feel strongly about. I disagree strongly with this statement. Saying intentional spin training has no value is like saying intentional stall training has no value. I'm pretty sure most pilots have instinctive muscle memory developed for stall recovery...even if they have never accidentally stalled an airplane. Intentional or unintentional, most have done enough stalls such that if they DID accidentally stall, the recovery wouldn't even need to be thought about.
Spins are no different, it's just that pilots in general have much less experience with spins than they do stalls. I do intentional spins just about every time I fly. I have done what I'm sure is well over a thousand spins. But I have never
accidentally produced a spin. But I can sure as heck guarantee you that if I am ever in an airplane where either I or someone I'm flying with accidentally produces a spin, I'll be able to immediately respond and recover. How you got into the spin is irrelevant. It's about the recognition of it, situational awareness, and developing muscle memory with the correct inputs. Intentional spin training will definitely do this. The problem isn't so much with HOW it's taught, it's with the fact that after a pilot does one or two spins, they may never do them again. This is not exactly proficiency, and does not prepare a pilot for dealing with an accidental spin at low altitude. For spin recovery to be ingrained, it takes more than one-time spin training.
a base to final spin there is no opportunity for recovery.
This is absolutely false. Most light spinnable airplanes can do a full turn spin and recover to level flight in well under 1000'...
and that's if you sit there and actually LET the spin develop. Anyone who produces an accidental departure and LETS the spin develop is likely confused, and inexperienced or lacking proficency with spin recovery. This pilot may not recover even with plenty of altitude. You can recover from an incipient spin entry in most light trainer types in under 200'. A J-3 Cub can do a full one-turn spin and return to level flight in about 300'. A departure below 1000' doesn't have to be a death sentence if you're proficient enough to deal with it. Of course, this is a catch-22. If you're proficient enough to recover from a 600' base-to-final turn, then you're proficient enough to not have gotten yourself in this situation in the first place. The people who are very proficient and comfortable with spins are NOT the ones who stall/spin on base-to-final. But if a student pilot produced an incipient spin at 500', a skilled instructor COULD save it. Dismissing the value of the type of (admittedly minimal) spin training most people receive is more nonsense.
