FFF, wasn't the first known spin recovery accomplished by Lt Parke RN in (I think) a Boxkite some time before WW1? The spin was initially referred to by Brit pilots as "Parke's Dive". The bloke you refer to was perhaps the first to understand why an aircraft spun and how and why it recovered?
As for WW1 pilot experience, I recall reading in Pilot Mag a while back of a Nieuport ace who was made an instructor with fewer than 30 hours. The occasional reports by the Shuttleworth pilots in that and other publications suggest just how hard those early machines were to fly. I seem to recall that Cecil Lewis was slightly unusual in that he was (mis) posted as a ferry pilot after training and so had, relatively speaking, lots of hours and types when he later joined his first front line unit. It speaks volumes to his skill that he recorded combat successes in a Morane Parasol, generally regarded as a pilot killer.
Tiger Moth, how's it going? Sounds like you've been making some progress with the mighty sideways flying machine. Keep it going and don't let the grumpies get to you.