In my researches I talked to at least a dozen pilots and none of them mentioned logitudinal instability. Underpowered yes so the a/c had to be handled carefully. The hosteses had a number of comments about the incline. A small number of engineers commented on the sitting 'backwards', but other aircraft have a similar arangement. On the positive side the comments were that it was quiet, comfortable and handled OK, one pilot even commented that it was quite 'pleasant to fly'. Looking at the accident statistics for the Hasting they seemed to have a prediliction for stalling.
The prototype crashed due to elevator overbalance.
The name Dick Gladdings dose not ring any bells - when was he with Skyways?
Last edited by David Rayment; 2nd Feb 2021 at 19:29.
Reason: Additional information