I can see that happening in a Citabria, but the Decathlon has a windshield brace. What is your source for the factory recommendation against inverted spins in a Decathlon? And why would an inverted spin be any more stressful on a windshield than an upright spin?
I agree 100% with your view that an instructor teaching aerobatics must know how to recover from inverted spins. IMO that applies to anyone flying aerobatics. An inverted spin is always a possible outcome of a botched maneuver.
But I would need to see something authoritative to believe that the Decathlon is not suitable. I received inverted spin training twice in a Decathlon, once from a very reputable instructor who is the current Sportsman check pilot for the IAC sequence committee.
Ed I will confess, I cannot recall exactly where I got that piece of information from as it is long time ago. Perhaps Steve Kalouf of Chandler Aviation when I was considering an airplane for the mission. I may have had that conversation with Mike Lentz as well. I haven't ever dug deep into the subject and have used other aircraft for the task. I could also be recalling from a time before the post was installed in the windshield. Upon a review of the Super D manual, it does have inverted spins in the maneuvers section. Therefore I stand corrected. However, that doesn't change my position on the OP's question. 7KCAB would be the better choice for a basic operation. The aerobatics side of the business doesn't bring home the cash. To your point, with the new knowledge, I would probably reconsider the Super D to support a full aerobatic course. If'n I had the cash, I'd go for an Extreme. However when I made this decision I went for a Great Lakes which is a wonderful airplane.
I agree 100% with your view that an instructor teaching aerobatics must know how to recover from inverted spins. IMO that applies to anyone flying aerobatics. An inverted spin is always a possible outcome of a botched maneuver.
Ok, cool. Don't have to defend my Decathlon, so I can get my gander down.
Patty Wagstaff, Greg Koontz, and Debbie Rihn-Harvey all use the Decathlon as their primary aerobatics trainer.
Anything Mike Lentz says about Decathlons carries the full force of law. Or should.
Right after I finished my 5 hour basic acro course, I went to Adam Cope and got inverted spin training from him in his Super D. Everyone in my IAC chapter said it was a must do before competing. Honestly, I can't imagine anyone arguing against it.
