Spins!
 

I just had the opportunity to go up with and get some instruction from Bill Finagin in his S-2C

Now I've done spins, aero, etc, etc... but this guy...wow... I learned more about spins and aero in one hour than I have learned about flying period before.... thought I'd share :)

If you're a CFI - or thinking about getting a spin endorsement/training in the Annapolis area you should think about flying with Bill.

We went into just about every aerobatic maneuver that could go wrong resulting in departure from controlled flight - into all sorts of different spins - he would have me close my eyes... get into something crazy and give me the controls to recover.

The recovery technique was the same everytime (regardless of how disorientated you could be) - and it worked for upright, accelerated, flat, inverted, inverted flat spins everytime in the Pitts:

1. Rip the power to idle.
2. Forcefully neutralize the stick and rudder pedals.
3. Look at the airspeed indicator, and once it shows 100 knots or more (roughly at least 1.4 times the airplane’s stall speed) …
4. Pull out of the dive.

Just recently AOPA also went flying with him and took a video of everything:

AOPA Online: Spin myths


Bill taught this technique at the Navy TPS at Pax River - and it worked for pretty much everything from 172s to T-38s and F-14s... the caveat is that it'll work for airplanes with a normal CG. Some aircraft with various different CG loadings are unrecoverable from certain type of departures.

Now... some may be thinking about the normal spin recovery technique taught.. no problems... but in a relatively higher performing airplane - the normal recovery technique (Power out, Aileron Neutral, Opposite Rudder, Elevator forward) if used in the wrong order, or too forcefully can result in a crossover spin (i.e going from an upright to a inverted spin in the other direction)