ASW 20 SPIN CHARACTERISTICS

This comment is not quite on point - but relevant. I met a pilot yesterday
who flew B-26s during WWII. He mentioned that the B-26 had a reputation for
killing pilots during training. In particular, the pilots were afraid of an
engine out on takeoff causing a spin. Vice President Truman heard these
stories and considered the B-26 a financial waste, so he sent Jimmy
Doolittle down to test the characteristics of the plane.

Doolittle spoke with the pilots, read the operations manual, then flew the
airplane. He then assembled the cadets and brought along one of the
instructors as a check pilot. On the first takeoff, he pulled an engine,
then did a 360 degree turn and landed safely. On the next takeoff, he
pulled the other engine, then did a 360 and returned to land safely.

He then assembled the cadets and stated that he had flown the aircraft and
when the engine was shut down during takeoff, he flew it exactly like the
operations manual directed. His conclusion was that there was nothing wrong
with the airplane, but that the pilots had not been trained properly.

What is important is to understand the characteristics of the aircraft and
give great deference to the operations manual - unless you are smarter than
the guy who wrote it.

Colin


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