djpil now THAT is interesting.
20 odd years ago would be 2+ years after my episode.
While neither myself or the student were overweight (at the time
) we were both over 6' tall and had the seats all the way back. We were in a left spin. I don't remember it being/or becoming particularly flat - certainly not compared to how flat the Traumahawk spun.
I had been taught NEVER to move the stick briskly forward all the way to the down elevator stop because you risked bunting the aircraft past the vertical and then having to pull back through the vertical (and risk structural failure). This actually happened on the day but I pushed then rolled right way up before pulling out into a climb. I am certain that had I pulled back through the vertical we would have hit the ground. The other thing I am certain of is that aerobatics and spinning was very much 'my thing' in those days and that was also a factor in our survival.
I believe the generally benign spin characteristics (99% of the time anyway) of the Cessna 150/152 series aircraft had lulled the entire training industry into a false sense of security. The reason the Traumahawk flies
and spins as it does is because when Piper asked the industry what they wanted in a primary trainer they said "Not a C152" which was viewed as too benign - as in it, the 152, was difficult to actually force into a 'proper' spin and more inclined to spiral dive.
Several times over the intervening decades I have run into information like your post that fills in another piece of what may have happened that day.
Thanks for that!!