[Glider]

Once again you are putting your own spin onto a paper that it presented to you.

Originally Posted by Crumpp

Good stuff...

He says 25 were lost due to structural failure he uncovered in his research. That is quite a few.

That is only the ones that were lost due to total failure as well as the ones we know about. It does not tell us the number of aircraft which flew home with bent wings or the ones that broke up over enemy territory.

To put that 25 unfortunate Spitfires in perspective:

~2488 Spitfire Mk I and II's were produced

2488/25 = 99.52

Where does he say only Mk 1 and II's? He doesn't so lets apply your logic to all the spits produced in the war
23,000/25 = 920

So for every 100 Spitfires, one was lost to structural failure.

So for every 920 Spitfires one was lost to structural failure

Now let's compare that to the Beechcraft Bonanza which also had some developmental issues with the V-tail that resulted in structural failure. It is the airplane that forged the "Doctor Killer" reputation.

>17000 Beechcraft Debonair/Bonanza's have been built.

Taking structural failures from 2007 on back we find that 148 airframes have been lost. We have much better records of a peacetime GA aircraft.

http://www.thomaspturner.net/infligh...ups%20NTSB.htm

17,000 / 148 = 114.8

So, For every 115 Beechcraft Debonair/Bonanza's built, ONE has experienced structural failure.

So for every 920 Spitfires produced in the war ( I could increase this number to all spits built) One experienced a structural failure.
In other words you are about 8 times safer in a Spit in wartime than in a peacetime Bonanza

I think the early Mark Spitfire would have had the same reputation in peacetime as the Bonanza due to its high rate of structural failure.

I think the early Mark Spitfire would have had a much better reputation in peacetime than the Bonanza due to its much safer record iro structural security