Please be assured that I have no "agenda" regarding the takeoff or any other
part of the flight, beyond grasping for some rational explanation of what transpired. From the outset, Pilot error has been something of the bookies favourite, and the AAIB report more or less concludes the matter. There are however, at least in my mind, some loose ends.
I am happy to be guided by you Sika regarding how the Hunter should be handled, but if it was all so normal, why did the AAIB make the point that rotation was at a slower speed than "usual"?
Pulling up at a slower speed than usual into the "loop" plays a big part in this, and it does not seem without significance that some 25 minutes earlier, in his first interaction with airspeed during the flight, he dropped below his "usual" datum, and indeed towards the low end of (and arguably below) the viable range of speeds.
As I mentioned in an earlier post, figure 15 shows the rpm reducing materially during the climb phase of the "loop" and then increasing significantly after the apex. Why could this not indicate a mechanical issue followed by an attempted recovery? Pilot error seems rather a loose fit for the reduced rpm, and if I recall correctly, did the Hunter not have some form when it came to uncommanded transient thrust reduction?