Is it possible to do a flatspin with a trainer? I have tried many times and I cant do it. Well, i try blenders but the plane wont do the inverted flatspin part. If it is possible please give me some tips on how to do it.
Thanks,
Trent

Most .40 size glow trainers will not spin at all. They merely spiral when you give full elevator, and full right rudder and right aileron. The surfaces are not big enough (esp the rudder) and the thing is just too stable. I did have a trainer 20 years ago called a "RCM 40". You can still see them today. I increased the rudder and elevator throw to an extreme setting to try to make it spin. It went in to a flat spin and I could not recover. I was a newbie at the time and when I neutralized the controls it continued to spin in to the ground. Now I know that I should have tried some opposite rudder and power, but at the time, I just froze and watched it fall to the ground.

I used to do it with my trainer an Xtra Easy. You have to take all the dihedral out of the wing, move the cg really far back, and increase the throws and it'll barely do it. I broke the tail off my plane doing spins so I'd recommend not doing it. If you want to do aerobatics buy an aerobatic plane. If you can do what you say you can do, then you are definatly ready for one.

I have the CG way back (at the limit suggested by Sig the the manual) on my LT-40, and the throws are very high. It will do a rudder-elevator snap at about 1/4 throttle. If I snap the plan, then hold the rudder-elevator inputs, and the throttle at about 1/4, it will enter a spin. I can then reduce the throttle to idle and it will stay in the spin with just the rudder-elevator input. It looks very much like a true spin, not a spiral. I must enter the spin starting with a snap from level flight or it won't spin.

In the LT-40 manual, Sig say that it is capable of snaps and spins if the CG is back at 33%, where I have mine.

Even with the CG back at this position, it is still very stable. I expect it can be moved back further such that a spin can be entered from level flight, with the throttle at idle, as is normally done with an aerobatic type plane.... but I have not yet tried.

I'm not sure about a flat spin just yet.

Other LT-40 I've flown, with their CG further forward, are indeed so stable that they will do little more than a spiral dive.

None that I know of, & I've been teaching & flying trainers for a long time.

Well, I have a Funtana .40 that will be here tomorrow and I was just wondering, because I have put that trainer through its paces and it has been a great plane.. It will go into a spin but it just wont flatten out. If you want to see a good pic of the alpha and a little paragraph about my flying our club pres. wrote click this www.geocities.com/efulmer55 its on the front page. You cant miss it.
Thanks Guys,
Trent

my avistar was probably the best spinning planed I've owned, at least for upright spins. it would spin perfectly level, something none of my other planes will even do!

The trainer I use for teaching will flatspin with ease when the tank is low. The CG has to be at the rear limit for it to work.

All you really need to do is get the CG back really far and increase the control rates. That said, some will still do it better than others.

There was a trainer at my field doing some of the best looking flat spins I've ever seen. It was pretty tail heavy, and had 4lbs of lead strapped to the bottom of the fuse. (yes, you read it right, 4 pounds of lead. Why? Because he could, it was fun, and a challenge).

Anyway, the plane spun very very well. It spun so well, it didn't really like to stop spinning.

In fact, I saw him twice flat spin it right down to the ground, in the middle of the runway. I heard he did it a few other times, when I wasn't there personally. The first time, the damage was very minor, bent the gear, and the lead all fell off, but that was it, the spin was that flat. Eventually the plane was destroyed. (Which was part of the fun of it, after all).

As mentioned above, just move the CG aft as far as you dare and have plenty elevator throw.

Have any of you guys seen one do an inverted flatspin. I know im askin a lot out of this plane but Its just not fun to me anymore to fly the pattern all day.

Why bother asking- Didn't you get the funtana today? That should step up the excitement for you...

Nope, He said he ordered 2, one from Illinois and one from Cali. When I called today they said it wasnt in. Saturday they said that one of them would arrive monday and the other wednesday. I guess ill try again tomorrow.

Most likely it will flat spin and snap inverted. Right side up flats and snaps will depend on the trainer setup. But every trainer I can remember will snap and spin inverted, even if the CG was slightly forward and even if it would not snap/spin right side up. Don't worry too much about getting an extreme rearward CG on this plane. Do however get the hang of flying around with a good deal of throw on your control surfaces (which it sounds like you have done) as well as inverted flight. Then start with a few inverted spins (remember to cross rudder and aileron in inverted spins.) Get the hang of that and then start making them flat. The most common way to make the spin flat is to relax or even reverse aileron once a normal spin has established. To exit the spin, you can convert back to a normal spin and exit that; or, by sending ail/elev to neutral and applying opposite rudder and throttle will often cause a rapid spin exit.. There is no doubt a more aerobatic plane will be more capable, but trainers will flat spin. Jut be sure to practice high to start to prevent a splat spin. Cheers.

Yeah, trainers usually spin inverted better than upright. When you think about it, it's obvious why. The flat bottom of the airfoil becomes a flat top of the airfoil, and, as you might guess, a flat topped airfoil can stall pretty easily. My knock-around trainer won't spin upright, but does inverted just fine. (I keep the controls on the mellow side because I sometimes use it as part of the intro pilot program).

Btw, there is a lot you can do with a trainer. Most of the better pilots in my club keep a trainer around for fun. Lets see you slip it down, touch just one wheel, roll down the runway on the one wheel, lift off, then touch the other wheel, then take back off. It's a lot harder than it looks. You'll learn a lot about flying doing silly stuff like that.

It gets into a very tight inverted spin but when I center ailerons it wont flatten out. I guess theres not enough rudder. To recover I usually center everything and throw full throttle anf fly out inverted. Ill try reversing the ailerons and see if that works.
Thanks