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I have been watching spin recovery videos on YouTube for the last few days. Scary stuff and I haven't even started flying yet :o haha
Anyway, the recovery seems to be commonly described as PARE:
Do you physically neutralize the ailerons or does releasing the yoke/stick do that? Is that specific to certain airplanes?
You're combining two different techniques.
Using PARE, you physically neutralize the ailerons. Look down if necessary to ensure the yoke is level with the dashboard or the stick is centered left/right.
Once the ailerons are neutral, you continue on with rudder opposite the spin (look straight forward, not out to the side!) and elevators.
In some aircraft, it's possible to recover the plane simply by pulling power to idle and removing your hands and feet from the controls.
As always, get competent instruction from someone with experience in your spin-rated aircraft before trying this on your own.
You do not want to put aileron inputs during a stalled condition, as this can induce and/or further aggravate a spin. So a neutral control position should be assumed with the stick prior neutralizing the spin with opposite rudder input.
Spin recovery techniques vary a little between manufacturers and specific aircraft but the PARE method (Beggs/Muller technique) is one of the most common recovery methods out there. Alsways use the approved spin recovery technique listed in your airplane’s AFM.
The Beggs-Muller ‘Emergency Spin Recovery’ method which Gene Beggs wrote specifically for the Pitts Specials is…
Throttle to Idle, Let Go of the Stick, Apply Full Opposite Rudder to the direction of yaw - as determined by sighting down the top of the engine cowling at the ground.
Gene says that after thousands of spins that this method will stop any spin in the Pitts whether upright or inverted, flat or accelerated.
It is noticeable if you look at the stick while doing this that initially the controls trail in the relative wind, eg if the spin was upright the stick will remain rear of neutral. This is where you want it in the Pitts which suffers from the tail plane and elevator considerably preventing the rudder from getting good airflow over it in an upright spin. This is made worse if the stick is pushed forward prematurely.
Similarly, hands off, the stick is deflected slightly into the roll component of the spin. Again this is where you want it in the Pitts because it gives that wing less drag (aileron up). Perhaps more importantly it gives the other wing more drag.
When the anti-spin rudder (the Primary) and the little bit of in-spin aileron take effect and the rotation slows almost to a stop, the natural stability of the aeroplane takes over.
The stick snaps into the central position by itself and after centralising the rudder you can recover to normal flight. Again, this is what Pitts biplanes will do. Other types may not, indeed some will not.
Therefore, as many others have said, you should follow the flight manual procedure for the aircraft type.
Even more importantly, get dual instruction for spins as they can be disorienting. A neophyte may let the anti-spin rudder come off the stop or even have no idea which way the aircraft is spinning.
Control friction may prevent the ailerons going where they should and in types with considerable ‘washout’ (wing twist) on (for example) high-wing Cessnas an outboard wing may remain un-stalled in a spin. In-spin aileron would be counterproductive in that case.
