Greetings:> Can anyone explain why the recommended spin recovery procedure for the
> Decathlon calls for elevator neutral before opposite rudder application?
On a purely theoretical basis, in order for an airplane to spin it must must always be in a stalled condition. By reducing elevator, you lower the AOA (angle of attack) below the critical AOA and "break" the stall. If I understand your question, you're asking why the recommendation is not to apply down elevator. This is probably because the elevator is so powerful that you might then enter an inverted spin (e.g. stalled with the elevator in the down position) if you're not careful.
Hope this helps.
Ben
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Greetings again:You might check out:
http://bellsouthpwp.net/d/j/djswartz//Unrecoverable_Spins_page_1.htm
(Thanks, Dave!)
I can't verify the accuracy of the story from my own experience (or lack of in this instance), but one of the cases discussed is a specific problem that can happen with
the Decathlon. Dave says that the POH actually does suggest stick first rather than the "traditional" rudder first technique. He goes on to say that using stick first does accelerate the spin, but as the article shows, this may be sometimes necessary.
HTH,
Ben