Heard a somewhat apocryphal story.
In the dim and distant past when the SAAF still used Harvard (T-6) trainers the instructors used to unscrew the stick and drop it over the side when they considered a student ready for solo. One bloke had a spare stick hidden in the cockpit around the time he thought he might go solo and when the instructor jettisoned his stick the student quickly threw his spare over the side as well. Apparently he had quite a job talking the instructor out of bailing out.
(Edited because this fershlugginer machine which is soon to end up against a wall with a blindfold and a cigarette is stuffing me around.)
[ 08 October 2001: Message edited by: Cardinal Puff ]