Unusual Recoveries, II

We compared the Neutral Recovery Controls and the Hands-Off methods of spin recovery to the tried-and-true NASA Standard recommendations in Part I of this series (June 2007). Well now look at recovery strategies for airplane upsets specifically involving excessive angles of bank. Since leading supporters of Neutral Recovery Controls steadfastly maintain the method works in any attitude and in any airplane, well compare this strategy as well as the instinctive Split-S reaction (i.e., "Just pull, baby!") to a more traditional roll recovery as embodied in the Power-Push-Roll procedure.

Key Takeaways:

• Comparative flight tests across various light aircraft and upset scenarios (descending spiral, wake encounter, botched inverted flight) demonstrated that traditional roll recovery methods, such as Power-Push-Roll, consistently outperformed "Neutral Recovery Controls" and "Split-S" techniques.
• Alternative recovery methods (Neutral Recovery Controls and Split-S) frequently failed to recover, worsened the upset by increasing bank angles, caused accelerated stalls, resulted in significantly greater altitude loss, and led to physiological distress like grayout.
• The article strongly advocates for traditional upset recovery, emphasizing the importance of pushing the elevator forward and rolling to correct bank angle, and stresses that effective recovery requires early recognition and hands-on, scenario-based training over untested "new" or "simplified" methods.

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