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Quill was a no nothing pilot who just operated the controls and hoped for the best
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That is not what I said. Pilots in the 1930's and 1940's were given only very elementary training in aerodynamics. It was considered unnecessary and demanded too much mathematical knowledge. That is straight out of the RAF Flying Manual.
They are not the experts in aerodynamics that we see today in the cockpit.
Glider,
The Spitfire Mk I had unacceptable longitudinal instability. The RAE knew it and corrected it in later marks.
It is a fact.
3/4 inch stick movement to run the usable Angle of Attack range at weak or neutral stability with light stick forces is going to make for a squirrely airplane.
Read the report, the stick force gradient on the longitudinal axis was considered too light by most of the pilots.
By careful flying, maximum performance turns could be made.
The yaw wise stability experiences a pitch up with large deflections that coupled with the longitudinal instability caused the plane to experience rapid accelerations. That means it is very difficult for the pilot to precisely control the elevator.
That asymetrical loading is what can cause the airframe to break apart in spin recovery.