For all ye' Spit Fans ....

[jollyjack]

Everyone seems to be waiting for the Tempest among others ... Now i'd like to see this SuperSpit ...

And in case you wonder why they're all so hard on take off, watch the tail during the ride to the runway .... don't blame Jason et Al if yours spins around always.

PS you'll need to be a tail wagging dog to get up her in the air.

Why did nobody thought of building a periscope into these things beats me: you'll have a Sub Spit then, see taxi around below.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wZIBjXz3Cqs

 

tail wagging: https://youtu.be/wZIBjXz3Cqs?t=183

 

taxi around: https://youtu.be/wZIBjXz3Cqs?t=364

Edited September 2, 2019 by jollyjack

[ZachariasX]

Pilot is Rob Davies.

 

For everyone musing about the durability of the Mustang (once it comes out), Rob Davies had some experience about that:

 

Spoiler

 

 

Despite the outcome, these planes are obviously rather sturdy crates.

[fiddlinjim]

I take the Spit off without any problems, remember to preposition the rudder, elevator trim and apply engine power moderately quickly but smoothly.

Apply light pressure on the rudder pedals, alternating between right and left, gather speed, raise the tail, and off she goes smooth as silk at abpprox

85 to 95 knots..  

Edited September 2, 2019 by fiddlinjim
left out info

[jollyjack]

well, call me handicapped, no pedals, only a joystick .... possible maybe: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4510830/WW2-Spitfire-pilot-legs-amputated.html

Edited September 2, 2019 by jollyjack

[Jonttu1]

Even with rudder pedals the Spit isn't easy to taxi. It requires very careful throttle, brake and rudder control to keep it from spinning out.

[JonRedcorn]

She likes to cut the left when you lift off the power, just make sure you have some right rudder input applied before lifting off the throttle.

[Diggun]

i find maintaining a constant, sotto voce stream of swearing and invective works wonders when taking off in the Spit. Pretty sure it's an historically accurate technique too.

[Herne]

12 minutes ago, Jonttu1 said:

Even with rudder pedals the Spit isn't easy to taxi. It requires very careful throttle, brake and rudder control to keep it from spinning out.

 

much easier if you keep stick right back. It puts more down pressure on the tail wheel making it easier to steer

 

Edit: Probably would not want to do that with a tailwind though

 

Edited September 2, 2019 by ACG_Herne

[Sublime]

6 hours ago, [_FLAPS_]Diggun said:

i find maintaining a constant, sotto voce stream of swearing and invective works wonders when taking off in the Spit. Pretty sure it's an historically accurate technique too.

The threats are especially important, tempered with enough implications about the morality of the designers mom

[ZachariasX]

16 hours ago, jollyjack said:

well, call me handicapped, no pedals, only a joystick .... possible maybe: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4510830/WW2-Spitfire-pilot-legs-amputated.html

That guy could operate the pedals with prostheses. Like Bader. You cannot taxi the Spit without working the rudder (a lot) and certainly do no takeoff.

[fiddlinjim]

I was watching a WWII video of the Spitfire as it was on the taxi and also takeoff and the pilot was working the rudder to and fro just as we have to do 

in the simulation.     I think it would be quite difficult to taxi/takeoff the Spit lacking rudder pedals.

[ZachariasX]

7 hours ago, fiddlinjim said:

I think it would be quite difficult to taxi/takeoff the Spit lacking rudder pedals.

It rolls as straight as a shopping trolley.

[69th_chuter]

On 9/2/2019 at 7:44 AM, ACG_Herne said:

 

much easier if you keep stick right back. It puts more down pressure on the tail wheel making it easier to steer

 

Edit: Probably would not want to do that with a tailwind though

 

 

 

Of course, the non-retractable Spitfire tailwheels were non-steerable 360° free-castoring so I'm not really sure how full up elevator would help other than aerodynamically ...

[Herne]

28 minutes ago, chuter said:

 

 

Of course, the non-retractable Spitfire tailwheels were non-steerable 360° free-castoring so I'm not really sure how full up elevator would help other than aerodynamically ...

 

A lighter tail tends to swing around more more easily. Just like an empty shopping trolley compared with a full one. 

More weight on the tail makes it feel less twitchy. 

[Wulf]

Maybe, but given the way he appears to be looking left and right along the engine, I suspect he's just trying to make sure he doesn't hit something obscured under the nose.

[ZachariasX]

17 hours ago, ACG_Herne said:

More weight on the tail makes it feel less twitchy. 

You just give it more moment by adding weight once it starts coming around. Weight helps you nothing on that shopping trolley, except if you are in soft grass, where it acts as almost as a skid.

[69th_chuter]

But the "weight" being added by the elevator isn't weight (mass) at all, it's force. That force is acting in one direction only: down.  If it behaved like mass it would destabilize the airplane further (moving the CG aft) making it more prone to groundlooping.   As a taildragger pilot I've only flown one plane with a free castoring tailwheel and my experience with it was that more or less elevator only changed the compression of the tailwheel spring  (it was a six inch tailwheel).  I preferred raising the tail as soon as possible for quicker acceleration and more rudder authority.  The drag, or skid, effect could be valid in grass, however, although I don't recall anything like that specifically being beneficial as the front wheels are wading along as well.  (A smooth grass strip is like velvet - OMG!!!)  Steerable tailwheels, on the other hand, can be helped by elevator downforce because of the resulting improved tire traction - like how a racecar uses downforce.

 

I have no doubt up elevator improves ground handling in game as you say but that characteristic is decidedly different than reality.  (Maybe we should preface all discussions as such.  lol)

[Art-J]

The tailwheel assembly in the Spit is not direct shopping trolley equivalent, though. It was esigned in such a way that castoring axis is not perpendicular to the runway when on the ground but angled slightly forwards. Thus, the tail is at lowest position when the wheel is straight, and has to lift a little whenever the wheel turns. This provides a limited self-centering effect and the more the whole assembly is pushed down (i.e. by the propwashed elevator), the stronger the effect is. How much noticeable it is in real life, I don't know, but it's there.

[Bremspropeller]

Everybody who finds the Spit hard to taxi, take-off or land obviously never has tried to take-off an all bombed-up Ju 88.

[BlitzPig_EL]

@Art-J

 

What you described, in automotive terms is called castor angle, and it does precisely what you say it does. It provides a self centering force on the steered wheel, or wheels.  Some castor angle is a good thing as it imparts stability to your vehicle while travelling in a straight line.  A friend of mine built a tube frame Mazda RX3 for SCCA road racing, many years ago.  He got the castor angle on the front suspension wrong, and while it was very stable under braking, you could barely turn the car, as you were literally lifting the front of the thing when you turned the steering wheel.