Stability and Control characteristics of the Early Mark Spitfires

[Crumpp]

Documented evidence for this, please.

MMM, It is in the thread already. Read the stability characteristics of the Spitfire. You seem to not understand it or ignore it. Instead, you place more value on anecdotes which are impossible to quantify.

You also quote the lone voice in the wilderness from Alex Henshaw who never fired a shot in anger.

Let's get some from guys who flew both in combat:

This is the reality. The Longitudinal stability is a defining characteristic of the early Mark Spitfires. It is part of what makes the airplane unique and gives it personality.





Wow, check that out. The first pilot could not make a kill because when he touched the firing button, the nose pitched down due to the longitudinal instability.

The second pilot disliked doing aerobatics. He felt the ailerons where too stiff, the elevator to sensative, nose too long, and the cockpit too cramped.

You can google "Hurricane vs Spitfire gun platform" yourself and not the results. A defining characteristic of the early mark Spitfire is it's twitchiness as a gun platform. Yes, it too, is a function of the longitudinal instability.


The Spitfire was not a an airplane for the inexperienced or average pilot. It was a pilot's aircraft and demanded skill. For that skill, it rewarded those who mastered it with exceptional performance. That breeds affection.

robtek says:

I think of the Spit like a Porsche 911, a great car which is a delight to drift around corners, but you really have to work to hold the thin line before it bites you in the a**.

With a regular driver it is still a great sportscar and outperforms many of its competitors, but to have the edge you have to be a pro.

The same will be with the 109, where the pilot has the opposite problem of too high stick forces at high speeds.

Each needs his own tactic to use the quirks of ones plane for optimum efficiency.

Good analogy.

IMHO, the generalize the three fighters of the BoB....

The Spitfire is sportscar. The Hurricane a workings man's tool.

The Bf-109 is a shooting platform for a machinegun with an airplane built around it.