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Looking for a play-by-play from the pilot's seat of a Pitts biplane. What thoughts, considerations and control inputs are required to enter & maintain a flat "pretty" spin and a calculated exit path?

Visual example: What is going on in this guy's head, his hands and his feet?

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  • $\begingroup$ The tail is way high in the video. I don't know that I would even call that "flat". I think it's more along the lines of Youtube click bait. $\endgroup$ – Ryan Mortensen Aug 23 '19 at 23:02
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If I remember from flying the Pitts S-2B, entry into an inverted flat spin was fairly easy, starting from an entry in the vertical, similar to performing a hammerhead stall, but using a excess of rudder with insufficient aileron pressure. Another method is the fly a Lomcovak, which inevitably terminates in an inverted flat spin.

Again, it all depends on the edge of the envelop characteristics of the aircraft in question. And some aircraft may not be recoverable at all once a flat spin is entered. With aircraft certified to fly this kind of an aerobatic maneuver, recovery is fairly simple with motions being countered with rudder and elevator pressure.

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  • $\begingroup$ Could you describe the experience from the pilots seat of your Pitts? $\endgroup$ – Jim Dec 26 '17 at 15:11
  • $\begingroup$ Also, not inverted, although both are curiosities to me. I'm mainly concerned with upright flat spins $\endgroup$ – Jim Dec 26 '17 at 15:18
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    $\begingroup$ Depends on the aircraft. A flat spin is an aggravated "normal" spin with a rearward CG. Some aircraft are notorious for being difficult if not impossible to recover from flat spins. Several WWI & WWII, F4, and F111 fighters were well known for not recovering. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spin_(aerodynamics), and robertnovell.com/blogscience-spin-recovery-february-21-2014 $\endgroup$ – jwzumwalt Dec 26 '17 at 23:50
  • $\begingroup$ I added, in a Pitts biplane $\endgroup$ – Jim Dec 27 '17 at 1:33
  • $\begingroup$ "And some aircraft may not be recoverable at all once a flat spin is entered" - I thought that (in the U.S., at least) one of the certification requirements for all aircraft was that they had to demonstrate recovery from a flat spin? $\endgroup$ – Sean Jun 13 '18 at 17:43

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