Mike,
In this case, going in to the trees is "safe" The safe I was talking about wasn't "avoid crashing" safe, it's "avoid hitting someone or something that might complain or have to go to the hospital" safe. If things to out of control, I'd rather stick one in the trees than in the pits, you know?


Now, there is a differnece between "body english" while flying, and turning your body to match the direction the airplane is flying. I do body english all the time. But I don't face the direction the plane is flying.

What's the differnece? Here's an example.

Take a plane way off to the left, setting up for a low, hot pass. Most people will turn and face left to look at the airplane. However, the plane it travling to the right. So people using the "face with the airplane" technique will turn their back on the plane so they are facing to the right, then look back over their shoulder.

Now, if for some reason you need to break off the pass before you get to the center and make a quick 180 back out to the left. If you are looking at the plane, you don't do anything. But if you are looking "with" the plane, you have to turn your body as the plane makes that 180 turn.

Using the "face with the airplane" technique is fine for learning. However, most all the good pilots I know have long stopped doing it, most people stop with out thinking about it. When I see one of my students doing it, I don't mention it. If it helps them learn, great. They will almost certainly get over it before too long.

The biggest problem with the technique is that it becomes hard to move quickly enough during things like acrobatics, and it doesn't help as much when you are doing things like inverted flight. (since when inverted the rudder is backwards, but the ailerons aren't, so do you face to make the ailerons or the rudder "correct"?) (Oh, and anyone flying combat would quickly wear out their shoes trying to turn with the plane all the time )