For IMAC, a proper spin entry involves the simultaneous dropping of the nose and wing when the plane reaches stall speed. If the nose only drops first, then that is a deduction. I believe pattern is the opposite.

Because there are spins which end cross-box, you have to be able to get the plane to spin in the direction you want. Otherwise, you could be going in a direction you didn't want.

You do hear Edge pilots talk about spin entries, because the straight leading edge of the wing provides the Edge with a significantly lower stall speed than other designs. So Edges tend to sit up there waiting for something to happen. This is really noticeable when there is a good head wind. The plane will stop in the air, but is not stalled. It will sit up there are long as you want to hold the elevator. Sometimes, they will start to mush down, almost like a harrier maneuver. If this happens, you waited too long to initiate the spin. In calm air, remember that stall speed is a speed at which the wing does not provide lift, and this will happen before the ground speed reaches zero.

A stalled condition is not the same as zero ground speed. We are not looking for a plane to stop in the sky in relation to the ground, but for an actual stall. When you see a true stall and the nose drops, you can't mistake the stall, even if the plane is still moving forward. One of the reasons spins are always performed into the wind is that downwind spins don't always slow down before the stall and the entry looks awful, even though it is fine. Most judges won't give as good a score to a downwind spin as to an upwind spin, even if they are otherwise equal. (Not saying this is right, but it is a fact. Downwind spins look ugly.)

I fly an Edge and when the plane gets to stall speed, I simply feed in rudder and the nose and wing will drop just like any other plane, in the direction of the rudder input. You will get autorotation.


Barry