Originally Posted by i.dingbat
It took some nerve kicking that left rudder and flipping the plane upside down into the spin,
i.ding-
Do enough spins and you won't be able to stop yourself as the inputs just become automatic! I took the Magnolia beauty up for a test flight the other day after some work at Stik's place and just went to do a straightforward stall. It took a concerted effort to keep my left heel on the floor and NOT kick it into a spin!!
I'm with Stik on the competition/DA debate. I haven't gotten my DA yet (two years of reliability and other issues getting in the way) but that is my goal for this year. Like Stik says, comp aeros gave my flying and learning purpose and direction. Otherwise it's too easy to go up and just waste your time tooling around without purpose and not improving your skills. Also comps teach things like positioning, wind correction, and how to manage your energy in a sequence of linked maneuvers. I'm not a competitive person by nature so comp aeros isn't really in my line of flying, but doing displays for an appreciative audience, and flying the airplane the way I want to fly it are, and that's all possible because of what I learned by doing comps and getting to know other Pitts pilots like Stik.
I think aerobatic pilots ought to consider doing at least one season relatively seriously because of what you learn from the experience. Well worth the time and effort.
Pitts2112