Originally Posted by
Rory166
Thank you for mentioning that. At Swanton Morely the T31s did not have spoilers but the T21 did. I was beginning to doubt my sanity with all the talk of spoilers and the pictures. It did mean landing way up the field. I soloed in the T31 in 1973 at the age of 16, you had to be 16 to solo but had flown air experience since age 13. Due to poor weather I had to return for a second bank holiday weelend of flight training so took abot 33 launches which was a lot in those days, some would have soloed in one weekeknd with 20 odd launches as I recall.
Cadets were taught not to use spoilers on the Mk3 (even if fitted) up to solo standard. They could be vicious and most importantly it sometimes took a few seconds for the wing to start working properly again when they were closed and the ground might intervene.
My personal best as an instructor was on a course when I managed to get a pupil solo after only 16 launches and never getting launched above 600 ft which with the rate a Mk3 came down was probably only just over half an hour's flying. Two of those launches were in a Sedbergh (again to 600 ft) in which we did stalling and spinning!