Not let go, but physically move the stick and rudder to the center after pulling power. It will recover any spin mode every time in a properly loaded Pitts. It really is great emergency recovery technique in the Pitts, since it doesn't require you to recognize the direction of the yaw, and whether your are positive or negative. If you can instantly recognize these things, then there's probably no need to invoke emergency recovery techniques, since you never lost situational awareness. But for the newbie acro pilot who finds him/herself in a confusing situtation, this is a good way to go. It actually doesn't take that much longer to recover compared to positive recovery inputs. Give it a try.cgzro wrote:I suppose you could let go of the controls and cut the power as a spin recovery technique in a single seat Pitts and they do recover after a few turns that way assuming the C of G is about right, but nowhere near as fast as a quick jab of opposite rudder at the same time. The inverted spin recovery is near instantaneous with a jab of rudder so I sure would not want to forgo that especially in the 1-2000 foot range where contest stuff happens
But of course I would never use this technique in a contest. Emergency spin recovery is a very different concept from competition/recreational/airshow spin recovery, where in many cases recovery will happen faster with power on than off. I've only ever done the neutral recovery during initial advanced spin training. As competition/recreations acro pilots, our flying will involve inputs with known outcomes, so we will know the positive recovery inputs to make before the maneuver is performed.
After getting into acro, I found it funny how in the minds of the uninitiated, inverted spins (especially a flat ones) are thought to be the ultimate "extreme" dangerous spin. Funny because they recover quite a bit faster than upright spins due to increased rudder area exposure to the relative wind.
Trivial debate…I disagree with the idea that snaps are really just horizontal spins…since in a spin, you stall BOTH wings before initiating the yaw that stalls one wing deeper than the other, causing rotation. With a proper snap, you don’t stall either wing, but pull just enough AOA so that when you apply rudder, one wing will stall, and one will remain flying. I think this is the critical distinction between the snap and spin. Aileron effects are also different in a snap vs. spin.