On Sat, 26 Jul 2003 06:45:00 -0400, David Megginson <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
>Jon Stockill writes: > > > They are - I started out in them when I was 14, and didn't have any > > problem handling it then. Also fully aerobatic, provided you remember > > that there's no inverted fuel system on them, so leaving it upside down > > with no +ve G on results in a bit of a chugging noise from the front - it > > starts again when you roll it back the right way up though. > >Just like the Spitfire -- the ME-109's fuel-injected engine was one of >the few advantages it had over the Spitfire's gravity-fed, carbureted >engine, if I recall correctly. Once again, like everything with the Spitfire, it depends on the Mark and mod status. I don't remember the details but there were at least three inverted flight 'states' for the Spitfire. These were: Unmodified, Modified to improve time inverted (Miss Pennys Orifice IIRC! :) ) and with an inverted flight system (still time limited IIRC). I don't remember which Mks had which. <gets carried away> The Spitfire went from Mk I to Seafire Mk 45! Always remember that the late mark Spitfires had a different wing design and engine type (Griffon vice Merlin) to the early marks and had a weight greater than the Mk.I and 12 passengers and baggage. As far as mod state goes, if you are looking at the Battle of Britain, this is important. The same aircraft might, for example, have begun the battle with a fixed, two bladed, wooden prop and ended it with a changeable pitch (two position), metal, three blade unit, giving a significant change in performance Mk I: 998 HP Merlin Mk II driving (initially) a two bladed wooden prop Mk 24: 2340 HP Griffon 64 Seafire Mk 47: 2200 HP Griffon 87 driving a contra-prop Mk I max TAS at 20,000 ft (where it was fastest): c. 350 mph Mk 21 max TAS at 20,000 ft : c. 430 mph The Bf-109 had a fuel injected engine, which had maintenance implications (especially on a 'field' strip) but gave it no problems inverted. Rick -- David Farrent and Dougie O'Hara on the Cold War role of the ROC: 'What a world of sorrow is hidden in those few words - "[Post attack] crew changes would have been based on crew availability."' _______________________________________________ Flightgear-devel mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://mail.flightgear.org/mailman/listinfo/flightgear-devel
