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Although dramatised for TV, you get the point.
Yep, I've read the same. Have a couple of great books on the Spitfire that concentrate more on pilot experiences with it than tech specs. Even by the Mk IX the lightness in the controls was starting to go. By the time they got to the clipped wing models it really had lost its sparkle as a lovely handling machine that was simply a joy to fly.Dr. Pain wrote:For pure flying a lot of Spitfire pilots say the Mk. V was the best and that by Mk. XIV the lady was now a beast. A tricky plane to fly but they are my favourite.
That was a function of speed.Exar Kun wrote:Even by the Mk IX the lightness in the controls was starting to go.
Yet ironically, the Spit reached its zenith with the Griffon powered models, maybe not in terms of "recreational" flying but as a combat machine.By the time they got to the clipped wing models it really had lost its sparkle as a lovely handling machine that was simply a joy to fly.
More likely wing loading I'd imagine. The armour was getting beefed up quite a bit by then and there were those cannons in the wings too.J.D. wrote:That was a function of speed.Exar Kun wrote:Even by the Mk IX the lightness in the controls was starting to go.
Yep. It's a little bit analogous to cars that are light and simple and fun to drive - say a Lotus Elise - compared to a supercar that may be devastatingly quick but not as tactile an experience.Yet ironically, the Spit reached its zenith with the Griffon powered models, maybe not in terms of "recreational" flying but as a combat machine.By the time they got to the clipped wing models it really had lost its sparkle as a lovely handling machine that was simply a joy to fly.
That would affect agility but control weight would be more affected by speed. Bernoulli's Theorem says that lift varies with area, speed and density. That means that if you increase speed, you increase lift and consequently the amount of effort required to move the controls. The higher weights would have had more effect on agility, which is a different issue. Sure the response times would be longer but control weights would probably not suffer much.Exar Kun wrote:More likely wing loading I'd imagine.
The clipped wing was introduced to improve handling. It was used for low altitude where the Spit's roll rate was inferior to the Focke-Wulf 190, making it less manoeuvrable. It was used on the low altitude specialists; the MkVc, the MkXII and some versions of the MkXIV.By the time they got to the clipped wing models it really had lost its sparkle as a lovely handling machine that was simply a joy to fly.
I agree. I just have a soft spot for the Hellcat. I do think the Thud was a good machine though and it had the speed and strength to make it a good fighter.P-47 was never one of my favourites. In fact, I think I just preferred the English and German solutions over most stuff that the yanks came out with.