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Originally Posted by 41Sqn_Stormcrow
This is a bit OT (when talking about the slats): Personally I believe if the slats had posed a big problem without providing sufficient advantage they would have eliminated it from later models.
To my understanding some unexperienced pilots were afraid of going to points were slats would open. The reason I imagine is linked to what was said by a previous poster: It was very likely not smooth. So an unexperienced pilot might have been surprised by the rather sudden change in lift and may have reacted wrongly. Someone with experience would have learned to do the right moves at the moment the slats opened.
Another issue was perhaps that for symmetric opening one would have to avoid side slip and there also experience comes in, an experienced pilot likely being more automatic in maintaining symmetric flight than an unexperienced one.
I think I have read some pilot tales that said that the real manoeuvering for them started when the slats opened as the plane then could provide enough lift for tighter turning.
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I think during training the 109's pilot could get used to that attitude... it could be scary but it saved their life because that was the final warning to not turn tighter.
Without that attitude I suppose there could be many more pilots afraid to not tighten the turn at plane's limit because there was not a real defined final warning and the stall would be a lot more violent and probably they never tested it.
Maybe it can be also one of the reasons of many accounts on which bad turners are actually outturning the better one.
@Osprey: I own many books regarding british, french, japanese and german pilots (but nothing on italians
)... most of them are in english: I know I'm not able to write well in english but still I can read them correctly.
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Originally Posted by Osprey
If I picked my moment everytime I'd rather have the 109 characteristics, but you can't. What then? Would you prefer to move better if you cannot run? Ceteris Paribus the Spit has more important advantages, without diving away and not fighting at all that is.
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IMO the aerobatic skill was not important at all. It's a placebo who's works only against undisciplined pilots.
I think many players here are too much influenced by ingame dogfight: in reality aerobatic skill of the plane and flying ability of the pilot weren't the most important things as, sadly, they are ingame because of its many limits.
I quote Lt. Colonel "Billy" Bishop: "The most important thing in fighting was shooting, next the various tactics in coming into a fight and last of all flying ability itself."
And Air Vice-Marshal J. E. "Johnnie" Johnson: "Tight turns were more a defensive than an offensive tactic and did not win air battles."
Those are things I learned long time before I read the Shaw's book by personal experience (that's a lot of ingame KIAs) and today I still teach to my cadets (the ones who actually want to learn...
) that the only good defensive manouvre is diving away since you already lost the battle giving the energy or positional advantage to the enemy.
Now you can stay in the fight in a defensive position, turning circles, but good pilots will not give away the advantage they gained.
And in reality manouvering hard the pilot will get tired long before the BnZers.
I take speed and service ceiling far ahead of turning rating. Of course if your plane has no speed it's better that it has good aerobatic performances.. but still..