Aero-Terms!

Aero-Terms are designed to be a daily reminder of the terms, names, acronyms and explanations of the unique language that populates the aviation world. Aerospace, sport aviation, fixed wing, helo, you name it... it's all fair game.

Aero-Terms should serve as a quick but intriguing reminder of the terms you may use every day, or an introduction to an aspects of the Aero-World you may not yet be familiar with. ANN also encourages readers to go beyond the FMI link, and further research any intriguing terms.

Suggestions for future Aero-Terms are ALWAYS welcome, as are additions or discussion of the explanations given for each Aero-Term.

Flat Spin

An aircraft maneuver in which the aircraft is autorotating as it descends, with one wing flying and the other stalled. In a normal spin, the aircraft is pitched steeply nose-down... but since it is descending, it has a very high angle of attack. Recovery is made by pushing forward on the controls, which lowers the angle of attack and allow the stalled wing to begin flying again. Opposite rudder to the direction of the spin eliminates the rotation. In a flat spin, the angle of attack cannot be lowered enough to break the stall, even with full down elevator. Flat spins are often caused when the Center of Gravity (CG) is too far aft. This allows centrifugal force to flatten the spin. Few aircraft can be recovered from an unintentional flat spin.

FMI: http://everything2.com/index.pl?node_id=446333