Geriaviator:-
I suppose a determined pupil will find a way to break any machine, aircraft or truck!
It still astounds me that my instructor put me in charge of a Hastings at Thorney Island as a young PO fresh out of AFS in 1963. His place, having climbed out of the a/c on a running change, was taken by a fellow u/t co-pilot. Off we went for a take-off, circuit, and full stop landing, and somehow survived to tell the tale. Such events (ie Co-Pilot Solos) were published in the flying programme the previous day. That gave families sufficient time to prepare a picnic and set them selves out at a judicially safe distance from the runway to watch the fun and games. The full stop bit of the landings was merely the anti climax, after much kangarooing beforehand in some cases. Fortunately this tradition was made known to me only after the event, so the only person I felt I had to please was my instructor who was patiently waiting for our safe return. Oh, and the poor unfortunates incarcerated alongside me of course.
The self confidence that such P1 time engendered was a great help in learning to cope with the a/c, and was reinforced on the Squadrons on a monthly CPS basis. The irony is that u/t co-pilots on the much less demanding (for landing that is) Hercules could only log P2 time, as the N/W steering tiller was only operable from the LHS. That also meant that a financial saving in training costs could be made by cutting out co-pilot solo time, a long sought after ambition of the bean counters, fiercely resisted until the tiller issue clinched their case.