Reminds me of an anecdote Arthur Bishop (Billy Bishop's son) wrote about George Beurling:
One one occasion, and one only, even though we were with different squadrons, I had the enviable experience of making a practice flight with George, who taught me a lesson that many months later probably saved my life. Over breakfast one morning, he asked, "Care to take a flip with me?"–an offer I couldn't refuse. With my commanding officer's permission, I rendezvoused with George at the end of the runway to take off for a tail-chase, a follow-the-leader exercise.
I was pretty excited because I prided myself that through much practice, I was able to stick to the leader through thick and thin no matter what manoeuvre he put me through. But I wasn't prepared for what George had in store.
For starters, I followed George through the usual procedures of slow rolls, loops, rolls of the top of the loop, twisting dives, spiral climbs, steep turns, and so on–no trouble at all. Then–suddenly, and when I least expected it–George pulled up sharply, cut his throttle, flicked around, zoomed past above me, rolled out, and ended up on my tail, all in a matter of seconds.
Over the radio, he laughed, "Got you, eh? That's a stunt that can get you out of a whole lot of trouble if a Hun gets up your ass," he said. "Follow me and I'll show you how to do it."
For the next twenty minutes, I clung to his tail like glue while George patiently put me through the paces. Varying the throttle thrust, spiralling, whipping from one side to the other, then climbing and twisting, George gradually increased the tempo each time. It was a tough routine. I was sweating, trying to stay in place, but finally I had the pattern pretty well down pat, and I later practised it diligently. But George cautioned me: "It won't do a bit of good unless you keep a sharp lookout. Keep turning your head–up, down, and sideways–so you wont get bounced by surprise." (An echo of what my father once told me ... )