I don’t think they do make em like this any more. When I was training for my license in ‘80 spins had been a requirement before but because so many students had frozen at the controls taking themselves and their instructor spinning into the ground the requirement had been lifted. My first flight my instructor tested me to see if I had a set by putting us into a spin, I said now what, he told me how to pull out of it and that was that. He also would cut the engine in flight at 5000 feet and say where you going to land? Never had to land but he would let me get pretty close to the ground before kicking in the power.
Half way thru my 4th lesson, I had been greasing each landing and so he told me to pull onto the apron. I did he unstrapped and opened the door. I said where are you going, he said I’m going to the flight shack you’re going to do touch and goes. I said you sure? He said, you’ll be fine.
The one thing when you are first alone in a plane is you realize that if you crash the thing it is your fault. No one else you can point at, no one else you can depend on to save your bacon, you realize that you have your life in your hands. Wakes you up in a lot of ways.
My instructor tried to teach others how to pull out of a spin and many would kiss the ground when they landed and you would never see them again. Sorta separated the men from the boys. I asked once why he made them spin and ran off so much business, he told me, he wasn’t going to put a coward behind the yoke and read about his death and feel responsible. His name was Dwight Ensley and was from western Ky., I would like to get back in touch.
He taught me many things those little high wing planes are not supposed to do and I was not supposed to know how to do. Those skills have come in handy and I owe him a great debt.
When that pilot flew under the Tower, America still produced men, not often the case anymore. I would like to think I could have done it too.
I took ground classes at our (then) local JC. (No license; eyes flunked me out of the physical; same result when I tried for a CDL.) One of my instructors was the 5'-4" wife of my high school principal. During a bull session, we asked her what she thought was her most necessary piece of safety equipment while doing flight instruction. She quickly answer,"my fire extinguisher."
Thinking that was odd, we asked why; were there really that many cockpit fires?!?
She told us that no, she had never experienced a cockpit fire, and proceeded to explain. The extinguisher was attached to the back of the student pilot's seat; and, because of her size, she had to use it to hit a 'frozen' student over the head with it, so she could take control back during their first stall & spin! She added that in those cases, it was almost always their last trip up.