Quote:
Originally Posted by binky9
I have always had problems flying formation, going too fast or too slow, and I am now wondering if maybe the secret is to adjust the prop pitch, instead of the throttle. Using the prop as a brake and to make small adjustments in speed.
Does that sound right to anyone? If not, what is the secret to staying in formation?
binky9
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Like i said before, pitch is like car gears. To stay in formation easier you need a more responsive gear = slightly higher RPM. This gives you a better braking effect when you pull the throttle back (because at finer pitch the prop blades are more in a "face on" alignment to the incoming airflow and act as windmills creating resistance if the engine isn't turning the prop fast enough on its own), but also a better acceleration when you do apply throttle.
Historically, wingmen always used to end up burning more fuel than leaders because of this. The leader would just select his power settings and keep them steady, but the wingmen used slightly higher RPM and played around with the the throttle to stay in formation.
What i like to do in manual pitch aircraft like the 109 is to approach the leader by applying the right combination of throttle and pitch and then forget about pitch altogether. Essentially it's like i'm flying with a fixed pitch prop at this point (much like a tiger moth) and i do all my acceleration/deceleration with the throttle.
To use the car analogy, it's like trying to drive side by side to an identical car doing 140km/h on 5th gear (formation is straight and level flight mostly, so in the car analogy it's like driving on a uniformly flat piece of road). I use 4th gear to get more "pull" and pull up alongside him, then i keep the gear there and just release pressure or apply more of it on the gas pedal to make sure i stay into position.
If i use 6th gear i'll save more fuel, but every change i make in the amount of gas pedal deflection (no matter if it's adding or reducing power) will take a longer time to take effect.