Common Questions
This page provides answers to many common questions about stall/spin/upset training, including:
Transfer of Skills
An aircraft such as a Extra 300L or Pitts
is a high-performance, unlimited aerobatic-class airplane. It's not a Cessna 172, Piper Warrior, Beechcraft Bonanza, or other typical general
aviation aircraft. And many pilots ask how training in such an aircraft can benefit them if they fly a “normal” airplane.
The short answer is that the goal of stall awareness/spin training is to develop a pilot's awareness of a variety of situations and to practice the proper actions to take to avoid inadvertent stalls and spins. That understanding and those basic actions are the same regardless of the aircraft you fly, and they can be taught effectively and safely in an aerobatic airplane.
If you're interested in a more detailed discussion of this subject, see the article “Transfer of Skills” at the APS Emergency Maneuver Training website. Bruce Landsberg's article, "Low Impact Aerobatics," available on the AOPA Air Safety Foundation website, also offers excellent background on this topic.
Another useful analogy comes to mind: Most pilots and instructors recognize that learning to fly a taildragger can improve basic flying skills and is useful training even if your regular mount is a Cessna or Piper with a "training wheel." You can make a similar argument about gaining experience in sailplanes even if you don't pursue a glider rating or regularly fly airplanes without engines.
It's not too big a stretch to say that "it's all good" when it comes to training in a variety of aircraft and range of operations—provided you receive competent instruction and understand how those experiences do and don't relate to your regular flying.