Snap (Flick) Rolls Ancient and Modern
Good to hear from you, Danny42C. The Cessna Aerobat's POH includes the vertical reversement - been years since I've done one. Another book in my library is the little Aerobatic Handbook by Sam Urshan which seems to be based on the Stearman.
My flying interests are pretty much limited to aerobatics so perhaps a specialist, certainly not an expert - still learning. Being addicted to aerobatics I got into competition aerobatics therefore some advanced snapping, still enjoying the occasional snap on a vertical up line and multiple horizontal snaps in a Pitts.
Re the CAAP: "3.14 Stick Position And The Stall
3.14.1 An important aspect of both normal and aerobatic flight is the relationship of the stick position to the angle of attack of a wing for a specific flap setting or centre of gravity, in particular at the stall. The fore and aft position of the control column determines the angle of the aircraft's wings to the airflow. For example, the stick positions for cruise, glide and the stall move progressively aft. Once the stick position for the stall has been determined (and remembered), it can be used as a measure of whether an aircraft's wing is stalled or not. If the stick is forward of the 'stalled stick position', the aircraft will always be in unstalled flight, regardless of aircraft attitude or airspeed.
3.14.2 Appreciation of this concept, and the ability to recognise and apply stick position to achieve CLMAX (that is the point just before a wing stalls) can increase awareness and enhance a pilot's confidence and aircraft handling at this critical phase of flight."
That bit about "the stick position ... can be used as a measure of whether an aircraft's wing is stalled or not" is definitely incorrect as it ignores a number of considerations - one being the response of an aircraft to the stick being moved - move the stick aft of the stall stick position and at some time the angle of attack will increase to the critical angle but certainly the stick position is not a "measure" that the "wing is stalled".
When the CAAP was written, some people in CASA were enamoured of stall stick position - I suggested to one FOI that he should read The Silver Chain from the 1944 book Stick and Rudder before continuing the discussion - never heard from him again (I know I have that effect on some people).
I agree that it is a useful concept to understand as another cue to approaching the stall for some-one in a familiar aeroplane. My instructor trainees get to see a stall where there is little, if any, of the normal symptoms of an approaching stall - however, they also don't notice the aft stick position either because they are looking outside (pilots also sense stick force much more than stick position, in my opinion). Plus, there are some types with minimal longitudinal stick-fixed stability margin (i.e. stick position for steady flight does not vary much between high and low angle of attack) where the concept is pretty useless.