Student Freezes on Controls

Heroes Remember

Student Freezes on Controls

Transcript

Thank goodness the training I received was excellent, the instructors I had were excellent. One of the students I had was a big American fellow from Texas, I won’t tell you his name, but he was a huge man and he looked not unlike a gorilla. His arms were so long he could scratch his ankles without bending over. He was a big man. I had him in the front seat and I was teaching him to spin the aircraft and to spin the aircraft there is a routine for recovery. He froze on the controls, he actually froze in the spin position which was full right rudder and I was not powerful enough to overcome his strength and we started spinning at about 10,000 feet. (Interviewer: It’s a spin like a corkscrew?) Yeah, going down in a spin. And at 8,000 I’m saying you know, “Release, release.” And he kept going, I said, “I have control, I have control.” He kept going and finally I realized when I had passed through about 5,000 feet, I realized I had to do something here or we’re gonna go straight in. So what I did was I immediately dropped the under cart of the aircraft and dropped the flaps and that was enough to lurch the aircraft and disengage him from the controls and I was able to recover. And so we did. And we went back up and did it again and did it again until he overcome this initial fright. Oh yes, and he was great. Oh all the boys, all the fellows will tell you stories like this, who were instructors, ground looping on landing, incidents in night flying, formation flying where you’re flying on another wing, with your wing a foot or two from another aircraft, oh yeah. But, but it really sounds more dangerous than it is, really is.

Description

Mr. Yarnell recalls that the instructors and the training were both excellent. He also recalls a story about one of his students freezing up at the controls and spinning at 10,000 feet.

Cyrill St. Clair (Cy) Yarnell

Mr. Yarnell was born August 9, 1920 in Carlow, Ireland. He moved to Canada when he was 8 years old. He enlisted in the Royal Canadian Air Force in 1940 at the age of 20. Mr Yarnell received his initial pilot training in Victoriaville, Quebec where he learned to fly the Fleet Finch, he then graduated on to the Harvard. He received flying instructor training in Trenton and trained pilots from many countries. After instructing for a year, Mr. Yarnell was sent overseas. He flew missions over North Africa, Italy and Germany and was involved in the battles at Liri Valley and Monte Cassino. Following the war, Mr. Yarnell continued with the RCAF, retiring in 1975 as a colonel. He is a member of the Air Force Association of Canada and is very active with the Air Force Museum in Trenton, Ontario. Mr. Yarnell and his wife, Phyllis, have three children, seven grandchildren and one great-grandchild.

Meta Data

Medium:: Video
Owner:: Veterans Affairs Canada
Duration:: 02:26
Person Interviewed:: Cyrill St. Clair (Cy) Yarnell
War, Conflict or Mission:: Second World War

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Student Freezes on Controls

Heroes Remember