How to fly a Spit 1a correctly!?

[reflected]

Hi,
The 1a has about the same speed as the 109, at least it had IRL.
I have no such problems online. Always close the radiator until the temps go too high. Trim the aircraft so that you don't need constant stick input. Use 3000 RPM for combat, 2,850 for power climb (I sometimes use it in combat too), 2,600 for normal climbing, and 2,100-2,300 for cruise.
When you maneuver in combat, don't pull the stick all the way, because you'll bleed energy. pull it only just as much as it's needed.

[reflected]

Mind you, the MkIa's radiator seems to be bugged. In single player mode I overheated my engine in about a minute even though I opened it all the way. Works well on the MkII though...

[bw_wolverine]

You shouldn't be able to fly very long in the Spitfire with the radiator closed unless you're at high altitude and low rpm. Otherwise, you should (and will!) overheat rather fast.

[Daliaraptor]

@reflected

Thanks so far!!!
I made a testflight and get more power out of the Spit with more RPM. Ive always thougt that 2850 RPM and more is too high anyway.
But with those RPM i have to open the radiator fully all the time, even then, the engine temperatur is rising slowly to the 100° mark. Especialy in high altitude.
Should i change Mixture and decrease RPM for a while for cool down? When i just decrease the RPM with rich mixture then the engine get struggling below 2600 RPM!

Thanks anyway for support.

[Redroach]

as has been said already, I consider trimming the plane as one of the most important things to do in terms of getting up to speed. I think many people who complain about not being able to catch up to enemy planes don't monitor their side-slip and just trim their rudder in order to fly 'comfortably' straight ahead (supposedly). You don't get up to top speed if you're yawing excessively, flying more 'sideways' than straight ahead. Watch your side slip indicator and center it by applying rudder trim in order to get up to top speed. That may imply that you have to apply more or less constant aileron input at certain throttle/rpm settings(*), but this is the thing to do for top speed. Really, it makes a lot of difference, way more so than closing the rads.

(*) however, most planes are built/set up by design so that the plane is trimmed at full throttle and zero side-slip at a certain 'optimum' prop pitch.

[SEE]

In a word - 'altitude' - wether you are low level furball fan or prefer high alt DF's your Spit1a will always benefit from having that potential energy advantage. I set PP to around 2700 RPM and generally leave it that. In combat open the rad fully.

No point in trying to chase after a BF in the circumstances you describe - it will outpace and outclimb you. Watch the good Spit jockeys around Hawkinge - flying as if they are on some imaginary roller coaster - always trading altitide for speed and vice versa.

[TomcatViP]

Originally Posted by SEE

Watch the good Spit jockeys around Hawkinge - flying as if they are on some imaginary roller coaster - always trading altitide for speed and vice versa.

The P/W ratio of the Spit looking like highly bugged, it helps a lot