Finally, an excerpt from Neil Williams' book, Aerobatics, which talks about experimenting with
spins and control inputs... An interesting read for user's wishing to experiment. (Aerobatics, pg 28 - 31, Neil Williams)

During all normal spinning the ailerons are held central, as on some types they will tend to trail in the direction of roll. It is especially important that the ailerons are not involuntarily used during the spin exit; should this use be required in the event of an emergency then they must be used positively. On most aerobatic aeroplanes they will not be needed, but in a contrary situation aileron should be applied in the direction of roll, whilst all the time maintaining rudder opposite to the yaw and full forward stick. The rate of turn indicator will always show the true direction of yaw, regardless of whether the spin is erect or inverted. The slip ball should be ignored completely. In the normal erect spin, the use of ailerons will change the character of the spin. When outspin aileron, i.e. aileron opposite to the direction of the spin, is applied with the Stampe, the nose rises from 40° to about 30° below the horizon, and the wings are level. With inspin aileron the nose goes down to 45° and the spin is faster and tighter.

It is interesting to experiment, given plenty of height, because the docile behaviour of this aircraft nevertheless gives a pointer to the sort of characteristics produced by the effects of aileron.

It is important not to move the head about unnecessarily during the spin, because one can suffer coriolis effects which can produce severe disorientation.

It is best to look straight over the nose of the aeroplane in the erect spin, and in a multi-turn spin I find that it helps in orientation to call the number of turns aloud to myself.

In spinning, as a precision manoeuvre, there is a risk of a phenomenon which resembles self-hypnosis, and this must be guarded against. What usually happens is this. The pilot requires to carry out a multi-turn spin, but during the early stages of the spin, his attention is distracted, perhaps by attempts to set up the idling RPM. The result is that he misses his exit point, and realises that if he pulls out in the wrong direction he will get zero for the manoeuvre; so he elects to do another turn, and to recover next time round. If he misses it this time, he is now really getting confused and says to himself “I’ll get it next time”—“No, missed, next time” and so on. The further this performance is allowed to continue, the worse it gets, and one does not appreciate how low one is getting, until the ground starts to open out, and then it may be too late. This situation can be aggravated by having less than a whole number of turns, e.g. one and three quarters, as one tends to lose one’s primary exit line. If this occurs one must make a concentrated effort to carry out the correct recovery immediately, regardless of what heading the aeroplane comes out on. In the case of extreme disorientation, the Stampe will usually recover if all the controls are centralised, but if this technique is adopted it is best to look down into the cockpit to make sure that everything really is central.

Merely releasing the controls will not ensure recovery as the rudder tends to trail in-spin. With the Stampe, indeed with most light aeroplanes, the position of the rudder is critical. Some people make the mistake of trimming into the stall prior to the spin, and this can result in quite a heavy push force being required in recovery. Occasionally when one thinks the stick is fully forward, an extra push will produce an additional movement which may make all the difference. If, during recovery, the stick is moved forward slowly, the spin will apparently speed up considerably before stopping. The reason for this is that in the stable spin there is a balance between the couples of roll and yaw. When the yaw is reduced by applying opposite rudder, the energy content of the aeroplane causes the roll rate to increase, until the couple is finally broken, and the spin stops. Another factor is that the upgoing wing unstalls completely and adds to the autorotation.

In any spin of short duration the character of the spin will be primarily determined by the method of entry, so since competition spins are usually not more than two turns, the value of a smooth entry cannot be over-emphasized.

The more exotic forms of spinning will be covered later. It remains only to experience inverted flying, and the method of recovery from the vertical and we are ready to commence the basic manoeuvres.

During the demonstration of inverted flying, the student will appreciate why the straps were pulled so tightly on the ground. Now, they are quite comfortable, and he is held quite firmly down onto the cushion or parachute. He will also appreciate that “up” and “down” are referred to in relation to himself and not to the now inverted Earth. If he did not remember to tuck away all loose strap ends, he will now be embarrassed by seeing them dangling in front of his eyes.

This is a safe exercise, and the instructor will draw his attention to the fact that it is now trimmed fully nose heavy. Nothing can be done about the dihedral, so the aeroplane will now be laterally unstable while it is inverted. The student will also appreciate the fact that the engine continues to run steadily on the inverted fuel system.

Usually the student is reluctant to move any of the controls because he will think that their function is reversed, due to being inverted. I usually tell the student to hold the controls lightly and to use them in the natural sense, because of course they operate in the same sense that they always did. He will probably make the mistake of clutching the control column as though his life depended on it, and I find that the best approach is to take control and to get him to hold both arms “above” his head. Now, with all his weight on the straps, he suddenly realises that he is not going to fall out, and when he returns to the controls his touch is much lighter. This method always works, although I don’t understand the psychology behind it, and it provides the confidence necessary to progress to the next stage.

The recovery from the vertical is merely to cater for a stall turn attempt which has gone wrong. If one appreciates sufficiently early that a stall turn isn’t going to work, it is best to apply full rudder, pull the stick back, and allow the aircraft to fall into a spin, from which one can then recover. If one delays too long, the result can be an inadvertent tailslide, with the possibility of damage. I once got it wrong in a Tiger Moth, and slid backwards nearly 400 feet with full rudder jammed on—I couldn’t get it off. The aircraft had tilted in the direction of the rudder, and the two forces were exactly balanced. There was a loud bang before the nose dropped, and I landed to find that I had broken every rib in the rudder. So the tailslide is not to be taken lightly. If one is going to slide, leave full power on to cushion it, and hang on tight to stick and rudder, and try to stop any deflection of these controls. Once you know what to expect, it is not too difficult to keep things in the middle until the nose drops, which it will do, in the same way that if a throwing dart is dropped point up, it will tip nose down before it has fallen very far. The deliberate tailslide is learned a good deal later.