RiskyRossco & Grow45
For your models RAT , certainly in my time, never used the optional sliding canopies - we 'ad it tough in them days. Seriously, too much trouble to open if we had to exit in a hurry.
Tim Mills
Thanks, I thought I was alone in my fear. The box slow roll used to get a bit hairy at times too. I got seriously close to Marcus on occasions and I think we once may have touched. As No2 I was always short of rudder power as airspeed decayed in the last 1/4 and, in the early days, I sensed the ground was a bit too close as I skidded out of position.
The Hairyside always followed a loop to gain entry speed and the whole thing, including initial climb and No4 rejoin took too long so we dropped it in favour of a complete vic outside loop. No4 did a mini-solo while we climbed, and it was a doddle for him to rejoin when we were back on top of the bunt with low speed. We did the full looping display if we had 1100ft cloudbase, but I always sensed the proximity of grass/water when we bottomed out.
Yes, Dave P was fantastic (RIP) and he could do it all without exceeding any limits unlike at least one of his notable predecessors.