T11 I knew that, really I did.
That'll teach me to check my facts
before commiting pixels to CRT
In fact having done so it turns out
that the spin was inverted, the student
ejected at 10,000', the Instructor
rode it down to 5000' and was
about to eject when he regained
control. It was concluded that
the absence of the canopy was
the major factor in it's recovery.
It seems that the Vampire had
a tendency to go inverted from an
entry to a spin.
And the terrified inhabitant was
a farmer on a donkey cart!
Later,apparently, this piece of
accidental test flying was written
into the manuals by DH.
Maybe they should have modded
the pilots notes for the type.
'In the event of a failure to recover
from a spin - EJECT STUDENT'
That would have been sobering reading
for tyros.
This particular student holds the
distinction of being the only member
of the Irish Air Corps to eject from
an aircraft. The Vampire was replaced
by the Fouga Magister which didn't have
ejection seats. Not much progress there.
Similarly, during the war years the
pilot of a Miles Magister in a spin
stood up to bail out, only to
find the aeroplane recovered possibly
due to the disruption of the airflow.
I agree with your point about the
correct and positive recovery actions
for spins. My friend flew a lot
of aerobatics so he had plenty of
experience of inadvertant spins.
He drove like that too, he could spin
a car as easily as a aeroplane.
I wonder though. would the two
lucky individuals concerned, qualify
as members of the Caterpillar club.
Considering the aircraft were not lost?
[This message has been edited by fifthcolumns (edited 22 September 2000).]