Originally Posted by
rickair7777
Or jammed (or gust lock)? I saw no oscillations, the plane seemed to just fly itself off and then pitch up without the usual taildragger pitch level maneuver prior to unstick.
Although you' think he'd reject the T/O if the controls were frozen when he tried to level the nose on the roll. Or try to reverse the controls, people have managed to figure that out before.
I'd like to think a guy like that might have had the reactions to identify and remove the gust lock quickly enough on the fly. Probably depends on the gust lock design though, no idea for that plane.
Maybe, but unfortunately I've seen the scenario before. Holding forward stick to keep it on the ground and have the tail come up, but with controls reversed it "jumps off the ground" unexpectedly and then the pilot pushes the stick/control all the way forward quickly...which brings it to a steep stall/spin. If that's the case, it does go to checklist, as I'm not sure it's realistic to re-wire your brain that fast to realize the controls are reversed.