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Old 08-18-2003 | 02:56 AM
  #6  
Tall Paul
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From: Palmdale, CA
Default Augmentation Roll Spoiler

An historical note on use of spoilers...
Any decent model of the Northrop P-61 will have the spoilers this plane had.
Top and bottom.
In flight testing, the airplane was lost, and the pilot almost killed.
No spoilers were ever used on the P-61 after that; although they were installed, they were disabled.
On the short version of the Tristar, the -500, the plane demonstrated a tendency to tighten a turn. Without the use of spoilers this rapidly became an uncontrollable situation! I've seen the pilot with the column hard against the instrument panel, and the turn -still- tightening.
Pulling the spoilers slowed the plane and pitched it up. The CAA made a mod to the autopilot that -automatically- extended the spoilers on CAA certified planes above about .86 Mach.