Page 26 - April23T

Bad Attitude
From the Flight Deck
by Kevin R. Dingman
Pilots don’t get disoriented; we get transitorily perplexed
Do you remember when doing spins during training for your private pilot license was common? There was a placard on the wall behind the bench seat of
Cherokee 140s: UTILITY CATEGORY—that’s what they called it, and that’s what allowed you to do spins. After doing spins for the first time, I wanted more. Barrel rolls, loops, lazy eights, and more spins. Spin recovery was even part of training in the Air Force T-37. Of course, in the F-16, an unusual attitude was not unusual. Even arrogance was a normal attitude.
I eventually got to do snap-rolls in a C-150 Aerobat—never did develop a taste for any ‘outside’ maneuvers, though; no negative g’s for me, thank you. The Cherokee’s roll control with the Hershey-Bar wing was so stiff that you had to practically stand on the yolk. But then came the
24 • TWIN & TURBINE / April 2023
PHOTOS PROVIDED BY AUTHOR
taper-wing Warrior. I blame the temptation on Piper: they enhanced the roll authority of the Cherokee, making it a dream to roll..... or so I’ve heard. NORMAL CATEGORY only, don’tcha know.
Many folks have rolled airplanes that aren’t sup- posed to be rolled. Some have done loops as well. Some with bad results. In his Shrike Commander, the late- great Bob Hoover showed a generation of pilots that, done properly through energy man- agement, most airplanes can perform aerobatics without ‘g’-ing your lips off or spilling a cup of tea —even with both engines feathered.
A few days after I delivered a used C-150 to an FBO in Phoenix, a renter tried a loop (note: tried) and pulled the wings off. And a local pilot here in AZO crashed trying (note: trying) to do a roll right after takeoff. Aerobatics in the wrong airplane and without training can kill you. So can accidental aerobatics. How can you accidentally do aerobatics? Glad you asked.
The J3 Cub is the safest airplane in the world. It can just barely kill you.
-Max Stanley