[smuzz]

I didn't know that about using rudder in the spin recovery Rob, thanks for the heads-up. I thought it was stick forward to get out of the sustained stall, then opposite aileron to counter what is at that stage a roll (rather than a spin), then back on the stick so that the ground is finally avoided. This is all assuming an upright spin rather than an inverted one of course (I never did an inverted spin). I only ever did it once and it was over 30 years ago, but it was a hoot!

This is probably digressing more than the thread should permit, but just quickly: The instructor in the Tomahawk was talking me through entering the spin as he was easing the power off and lifting the nose, but just before he kicked the rudder to get us into the spin proper we heard a banging noise from the back of the plane. It was a really loud banging noise too, which sounded just like someone repeatedly hitting the back of a car with an open hand - but of course we were at 6,000 ft, so it couldn't have been that. We turned our heads around and could see the entire tailplane, which is on top of the fin on a Tomahawk, twisting up and down! It was moving up and down by about 100 mm at the tips in the turbulent airflow from the wings. At the time I thought it was all good fun, but in retrospect I don't know how much of that sort of treatment it would take before fatigue starts to break things.

Great stuff - I really enjoyed those days ... anyway, I'd better get back to work - Junior will mercilessly kick my fat ar$e if things are not prepped properly for tomorrow morning! Are you going to be at the field tomorrow?...