Leading Edge Slats on the Me-109

[Crumpp]

RAE evaluation that the aircraft was 'too stable'

It is a fact the RAE pilot felt that way. It is also a fact the RAE had no defined stability and control standards outside of pilot opinion. They did not have the measurements and definitions of the NACA or the RLM.

It is also a fact if you apply those definitions and standards, the Bf-109 was designed to be thrown around the sky at maximum performance the physics and physiological limits of the real world allowed.

Gust factor is a very real limit to airplanes. Flying around the other day, I had to stay below Vno just cruising because the sky was so bumpy.

If you pull a 6G maneuver and hit a gust acceleration, you have damaged the airplane. Not only that, 6G's sucks!! It is very uncomfortable and exhausting! IIRC, the USAF did a study and a fighter pilots ability to accurately track a target for a gun solution is degraded ~85% of normal after a few seconds exposure to just 4.5G's.

What Mtt did was apply a stability and control standard to ensure the pilot could quickly and precisely maneuver the guns onto target in order to make the most accurate shot possible. They tried to ensure the airplane achieved maximum performance to get where it needed to be in a condition to destroy other airplanes.

The designed a stable shooting platform and built an airplane around it.