tools+docs: the pitch stick sign was inverted - the pilot fires now

Measured, not argued: command a 45-degree-off-the-nose error and watch whether it
shrinks, both axes, both sides, two pulse widths, with the opposite sign as a
control. Yaw's sign is correct (45 -> 11.3/32.7 at 0.6 s, 41.6/33.8 at 1.2 s).
Pitch's is inverted - the pilot's own sign GREW the error every time
(48.3/55.6/70.7/91.7) and the opposite shrank it every time (30.7/41.5/15.7/9.6).

A method artefact is recorded because it gave the opposite answer first: a 3 s
full-deflection pulse overshoots a 45-degree error so far that BOTH signs look
wrong (45 -> 164 and 45 -> 178). A long pulse cannot answer a sign question.

Verified against the game rather than by inspection. Before: fire=1 in 0 of 13521
samples, |aim yaw| pinned at 90.0, target 36-43 km away. After: 43 of 1732, aim
down to 2.3 degrees, range median 6.3 km, and the HUD's own ammunition counters
moving - NOSE BM 06000 -> 05723, MAIN MPM 00300 -> 00298.

Also fixed a leftover of the same FIFO era: pilot.py called pad.f.write("tap A
90") for the target-select double tap, which raised AttributeError once Pad
stopped having an `f`. Pad gained tap()/dpad(); ctrl_probe.py and target_probe.py
still use pad.f and now say so in place.

Still open: YOU KILLED is 0000 after 250 s of firing and REMAINING OB is still
012. The craft shoots, closes and selects; whether it destroys anything is next.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
Claude-Session: https://claude.ai/code/session_01PMRJjbxLqZtsb5Vb7KunPE

docs/re/pilot-never-fires.md

@@ -122,7 +122,58 @@ Same probe, on runs confirmed animating at both ends of every phase
 suspicion that the binding was wrong: `pos-0x70` is live and tracks the ship. It
 only looked dead because nothing was turning the ship.
 
-## 🟡 Still open — the pilot does not converge
+## ✅ AND THE SECOND HALF: the PITCH stick sign was inverted
+
+(The section below is what was open before this was measured; it is kept because
+the sequence matters.)
+
+With the pad reaching the game, the sign question became testable and was
+settled by commanding a **45°-off-the-nose error** and watching whether it
+shrank — both axes, both sides, two pulse widths, plus the opposite sign as a
+control:
+
+| pulse | axis | pilot's own sign | opposite sign |
+|---|---|---|---|
+| 0.6 s | yaw | 45° → **11.3** / **32.7**  ✅ reduces | — |
+| 1.2 s | yaw | 45° → **41.6** / **33.8**  ✅ reduces | — |
+| 0.6 s | pitch | 45° → 48.3 / 55.6  🔴 grows | 45° → **30.7** / **41.5** reduces |
+| 1.2 s | pitch | 45° → 70.7 / 91.7  🔴 grows | 45° → **15.7** / **9.6** reduces |
+
+So `sticks()`'s `sy = -(KP*pitch - KD*…)` had the **wrong sign**; yaw's is right.
+
+🔴 **A method artefact worth recording, because it gave the opposite answer
+first.** The first attempt used a **3 s** full-deflection pulse and reported
+pitch growing under *both* signs (45° → 164° and 45° → 178°). That is
+overshoot: three seconds of full pitch swings the ship far past a 45° error, so
+the frozen world-direction ends up behind it whichever way it turns. Pulse
+short, or measure the initial rotation direction — a long pulse cannot answer a
+sign question.
+
+### Verified: the pilot fires
+
+Same mission, same binding, sign flipped:
+
+| | before | after |
+|---|---|---|
+| `fire=1` samples | **0** of 13 521 | **43** of 1 732 |
+| `\|aim yaw\|` | median 90.0°, min 90.0° | min **2.3°**, 7 of 14 inside 25° in the first pass |
+| range to target | median 43 km, min 36 km | median **6.3 km**, min 5.3 km |
+| ammunition | untouched | `NOSE BM 06000 → 05723`, `MAIN MPM 00300 → 00298` |
+
+![the pilot firing](captures/stage02-pilot-firing-after-sign-fix.png)
+
+One more leftover of the same FIFO era was fixed on the way: `pilot.py` called
+`self.pad.f.write("tap A 90")` for the target-select double tap, which raised
+`AttributeError` the moment the class stopped having an `f`. `Pad` gained
+`tap()`/`dpad()`; `ctrl_probe.py` and `target_probe.py` still use `pad.f` and now
+say so in place.
+
+🟡 **Still open even so:** `YOU KILLED WARSHIPS/WARPLANES` is still `0000` after
+250 s of firing, and `REMAINING OB` is still `012`. The craft shoots, closes and
+selects; whether it actually *destroys* anything is the next thing to measure,
+and it is what the objective-counter work is waiting on.
+
+## 🟡 The state before that measurement — the pilot does not converge
 
 With the pad fixed, a 150 s `pilot.py` run still fired **0** times: over its 86
 targeted samples `|aim yaw|` is *still* exactly 90.0° and the range is