The 'Great Debate' - Spitfire vs BF109

[Glider]

Originally Posted by Crumpp

It is a complete fallacy that manueverability and stability are linked by an inverse relationship.

"Just statically stable" has nothing in common with "borderline unstable".

Sorry Crumpp but this statement is totally wrong. A Ground Attack aircraft is normally very stable as it spends a lot of time at very low altitude where the air is rougher. However it is normally less responsive to inputs from the controls as the wing is designed to soak up rough air.

A fighter has a lighter touch and the reponse times are more immediate.

To use the Glider examples the Twin Astir was used to teach basic aerobatics but it was hard work. Most of the training was done on a K21 a very popular glider which incidently was almost impossible to spin. When I did an advanced course we used a Fox glider, a dedicated aerobatic glider. This was very sensitive and needed a gentle touch.

I have no doubt that all three were technically stable but the dedicated aerobatic Fox was far more sensitive, and responded to any input.

I work on the basis that the SPitfire was like other fighters the equal of the Fox.