howdy all-

i couldn't help but writing in about this aerobatic thread.  a couple of years ago i decided to take an aerobatic lesson which made me extremely ill but boy it was fun!!  took another one 6 months later-same result but i suspect the champagne i drank the night before didn't help my stomach any-rule #1  avoid alcohol for days before aerobatics.

finally, i thought i want to learn more about this.  i knew it would help my piloting skills and who knew where it would lead.  i took a 15 hour intro to aerobatics course and got my tailwheel signoff at sunrise aviation at orange county, calif (michael church).  great school and felt safe doing basic aerobatics after this week.  took an hour lesson with m. church in his extra 300 and, well, had to have one.  so now the most fun that i have (with my clothes on as previously mentioned by another contributer) is in my extra 300l. what a machine-climbs almost like the turbine but rated to +/- 10 g's.

i guess what i'm getting at is that although i am very comfortable doing aerobatics in my extra i also feel strongly that lessons are a must if one is to be safe doing aerobatics.  it's not the maneuver that's necessarily hard-it's the botched maneuver that could prove deadly if altitude and reflexes are not on your side.  especially in a slick plane like the lancairs.  at sunrise whenever i was taught a new maneuver we then purposely botched the maneuver to see what would happen and to learn the recovery.  falling out of a loop due to low entry speed is actually a lot of fun in the right circumstance-not on your own for the first time without adequate spin training.

i think that even if you never plan on rolling or looping a plane a long weekend emergency maneuver/unusual attitude course is a great idea for all pilots.  but beware not to try to fit in too many flights in a day too early-2 flights a day is probably enough at first.

on the east coast i have taken lessons from keoki gray of amelia island aerobatics(55j in florida-off of jacksonville)in my extra as well as his pitts s2a and would reccomend him highly as a very competent qualified instructor who i periodically revisit to learn new maneuvers and make the basic ones crisper.

although i am not a cfi and have only around 1000 hrs tt i would like to mention the PARE spin secovery method which i am told should work for any plane that will recover from a spin-not all planes will.

P ower off

A elerons neutral

R udder-kick down on opposite rudder to the spin-if uncertain which it should                    be-kick on the harder rudder to push on until the rotation stops E levator through neutral to establish flow over the wings for flight(note if spinning upright this will be forward elevator-if spinning inverted it will be aft elevator).

apparently some cessna manuals put elevator before rudder.  at several aerobatics forums that i have attended the instructor strongly insisted that PARE is the correct order for recovery.

sorry for the long digression but perhaps this may help someone someday.  i actually did not really understand the pare idea until i went to a forum after i bought my extra.

happy fun safe flying to all,

david weinsweig
ivp propjet-awaiting panel and engine
n750dw reserved

ps anyone ever looped a turbine aiplane!!!!?????  or a iv?  even following PARE i fear spin recovery in a botched maneuver may be catastrophic!