At 11:30 21 January 2005, Jackal wrote:
Possibly looking through the string and just observing
the direction
the world is moving and inputting rudder in the direction
counter to
the direction of motion might have merit?



Yes - I think there is no choice.

I started the thread because that is apparently not
always as easy to do in an unexpected spin as in a
practice or training spin - and was prompted by the
posting from a professional test pilot that even he
had once used the wrong rudder in a spin recovery in
a jet.

The suggestion about considering using the string was
based on Helmut Reichmann's comment in Cross Country
Soaring (P147 Revised Edition) that 'the string always
points to the inside in a spin'.

Two interesting things have come out of the feedback
within the thread and directly:

1) Confirmation that even experienced pilots and instructors
can get disorientated about rotational direction an
unexpected spin.

2) Reichmann's assertion has been undermined and consequently
the behaviour of the string can't be said to be reliable
enough to advocate as the primary reference for which
rudder to use in a fully developed spin.

John Galloway