Originally Posted by Nightflyer
Both the tailslide and inverted spin were mandatory maneuvers in the T-2C Out of Control Flight syllabus. You got bonus points on the tailslide if you could pull the tip tank dump handle and observe the tanks dumping up as you slid down.
I knew a guy who once got into an inverted spin in the A-4, while trying to see who could do the slowest loop. He lost and had to eject, as the g forces ripped both the tail and a drop tank off the plane. The cone of death was accurately described in the NATOPS, and rightly so.
What is prohibited in one aircraft, may be required in another.
Interesting name for a syllabus. I guess the old
Buckeye must have been a pretty neat machine...ugly though.
Except for maybe the test guys at Edwards, the '37 was the only AF plane you could intentionally depart. Ergo, the rest of the training and operational emphasis was on remaining in controlled flight, no matter how intense the maneuvering. That's why I kinda scoffed at the idea of putting a
Phantom in a tailslide. The odds of getting into a spin or coupled departure far exceeded the goofiness of attempting the trick. FWIW, in the late 70's I was a 9th AF F-4 flight demonstration pilot. Lots of airshows, lots of maneuvers, no tailslides.
