Does a skinless fuselage add to the likeliness of an unrecoverable spin? While at Air Venture this week, I happened to hear a pilot of a small experimental airplane say that he liked the skinless (Naked) look his airframe had at one point during the build, but that he believed flying it that way made it more susceptible to an unrecoverable (I assume flat) spin.  



Thinking about it later, I realized that I wasn't sure I understood how this could be.  My understanding of airplane behaviour is that a flat spin is mostly a result of CG being to far aft.  Anyway, I was wondering if anyone knew this?
Well, I would solve with transparent Monokote if it was a model.  No accounting for people's taste.  

Although some very early aircraft featured that look, designers soon realized that covered "slab" sides not only reduced drag, but also improved directional stability.  Note that covered area aft of CG acts as an extension of the empennage, allowing for a smaller Vertical stabilizer.  Many 100 years ago were comparitively tiny.

As far as behavior in a spin, what he has on the tail may be sufficient for safety, as well as good CG management.   But I would certainly not recommend denuding your fuselage for a certain "look" without some expert advice and testing.

Designers do compare side area ahead of CG to aft of CG to estimate yawing tendency in a slip.  So he may be OK.