What do you recommend as better airmanship for a stuck left rudder, which has resulted in a violent fully developed spin
Well, as you have asked...
Allowing for the moment that the rudder was obstructed (of which I remain skeptical), as the pilot, I would avoid the slow flight which would result in a spin. I struggle to believe that there would be an obstruction to full rudder deflection, and a partial rudder obstruction might be manageable to an unhappy, but injury free landing. With some rudder, a Tiger Moth can be slipped right on to the ground, inevitably to ground loop, but who cares about that compared to a worse outcome.
Yes, a Tiger Moth is among the many types I have flown.
Legal Approach has told us:
As an example the retired airline pilot who it was claimed had seen the fatal 'loop' had clearly seen the first loop and not the fatal manoeuvre as the timings simply did not fit. She had seen the aircraft perform 3/4 of a loop before trees obscured her view without it having departed from controlled flight. This could not have been the failed loop claimed by the AAIB and the prosecution.
Honestly, if a retired airline pilot saw 3/4 of a loop - it was a loop, you don't have to see the last 1/4 to know it was entered!
From the AAIB report:
The pilot discussed plans for the first flight with his passenger, which included the possibility of the pilot flying a couple of loops.
I continue to assert that the pilot did not have the experience nor planned the flight with good airmanship to
consider executing a loop under the conditions he chose.
Loops are in this discussion. The pilot is not described as having near the minimum experience to fly loops (at least by specific Canadian standards). If the pilot flew a loop, with inadequate experience, and not meeting the minimum requirements, that pilot is guilty of at least very poor airmanship for that, regardless of the outcome. A pilot who summons legal assistance to later evade prosecution where flying a loop under these conditions has been authoritatively asserted, does not rate well with me.
Also from the AAIB report:
The passenger took with him a camera which he wore around his neck on a strap
Of course, I can't say if the passenger took the camera strap off his neck, but I do know that getting a camera moving from place to place in a cockpit is even more easy during aerobatics, particularly poorly executed aerobatics.
I'm reading and considering, but remain unconvinced. The outcome is what it is, and will not change. In my opinion, the best that can come of it is learning and refreshing our minds that responsible pilots fly so as to not be caught in these situations.
I do not fly however I like, thinking I can hire a crack legal team to get me out of it later. I fly the best I can to avoid/prevent occurrences which could ever result in the need for that crack legal team.