Frustrating Spitfires

[malpeake]

I am finding the Spitfire frustrating to land, if i get it to touch down fairly softly i end up turning off the runway tipping onto a wing then wreaking. Mostly i bounce and wreak the prop. Also I find it is very touchy on take off.

However i have a lot less problem T/O and landing the P51D, it seems so much more stable on its undercarriage.

I keep trying to master the Spit as everyone says it's best for a beginner to learn to fight in but I'm leaning to the P51D as i can T/O and land.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Malap.

[BaldEagl]

Read my landing post in this thread:

http://bbs.hitechcreations.com/smf/index.php/topic,249734.15.html

The important part in the Spit is getting the tail wheel locked as it's a narrow undercarriage aircraft.

[Lusche]

First, while it's true that many of us, me included, recommend the Spitfire for beginners for various reasons, it doesn't mean you have to fly it. If you are more comfortable with flying a Pony (or any other fighter), go ahead! After all, this is a game and all about fun

That being said: When touching down (slow & gentle of course), pull stick back to lock the tailwheel, hit <space> to brake and use rudder if neccesary.

[Race]

    The C and V (left and right respectively) keys control seperate wheel brakes. If you find the rudder ineffective use them to control your heading. Make sure you let up on the main brake key or it wont work. I think youll see better results if your crashing towards the end of the planes rollout.

Race

[MajWoody]

Are you flying the spitXIV?
If that is the case, try one of the others. The 14 is difficult to land compared to the others.

[Anaxogoras]

Rudder pedals?  Independent, analogue brakes make a big difference.

The Spitfire has narrow track landing gear, like the 109.  During FSO/Scenarios we always seem to lose guys while trying to taxi to the rearm pad.

[BaldEagl]

I fly Spits all the time but didn't want to comment until I had been in the arena and consiously thought about what I was doing while landing.

When the wheels touch down and the tail wheel is on the ground apply very slight right rudder, gradually increasing it until you have full right rudder applied just as you come to a stop.  You need to do this even with the tail wheel locked to avoid dipping a wing.

Hope that helps.

[Babalonian]

The problem you're having is that you aren't very experienced with the engine torque (a signifigant factor for single-engine aircraft: your planes propeller is turning in one direction, causing your engine/plane to want to "twist" in the oppposite direction) in this game, and how to counter the torque so that on a less-stable airacraft with very narrow spacing between it's main gear wheeles (like the spits and 109s) is crucial as they are very unforgiving to error.  It's something you need to be aware of in the game, and as you become more aware of it and learn how to counter it, it becomes second nature really. 

Just keep trying and here is a quote from another landing post I made yesterday, it talks a bit about torque in regards to landing.  Apply some rudder as needed to counter it, and use your C and V keys (left and right landing gear brakes) to counter the torque and steer yourself in a controlled fashion while on the ground.

For landings come in slow, I aim for 150-180 speed at less than 2k above the runway (slower than 150 is OK, but if you go slower than 100-ish you start stalling (stalling = your plane isn't moving fast enough to maintain lift/fly)) , then deploy some flaps (when I land it's usually light, so I rarely use more than 2-3 tics (~50%) of flaps, and some planes only have two flap settings, full or none.), line up your runway approach and drop gear. 

With speed in check, flaps and gear down, and a general idea of where the runway is below you (its OK to land off of it for now, especially if your in a nice and controlled decent to the ground) gingerly work the throttle so that you avoid stalling, but not too much that you stop your slow and controlled glide onto the runway/ground.

What you should be experiencing is your flaps slowing your plane down without any engine throttle.  When you use just enough throttle to counter this drag from your flaps and maintain speed, you'll notice that your in a nice slow  and controlled glide.   Use too much and you will begin to gain speed and altitude.  Use your throttle to speed up and slow down as needed, thus increasing and lowering the rate you are descending to the ground.  At no time, other than lining up with the runway on your final approach should you tip your airplanes nose below the horizon and towards the ground (you want to be level or your nose slightly tipped up, at the very least when coming in to touch down) Also, at ~150 mph, you have a lot of runway to work with too, so don't feel rushed in hitting the runway at a certain spot.

After gliding to the ground and your wheels make contact (and keep contact) you're almost there.  Just kill your throttle and fully retract/close your flaps (if you keep your flaps down while on the runway it makes you much more easily prone to flip your plane during even a slight turn on the runway).  While your flaps retract, hit the space bar to apply your runway brakes.  I think C and the V key are the default left and right brakes.  Just tap them as needed if you still have some speed, hitting one while going too fast will cause your plane to flip.  You can also use your rudder to help steer your plane on the runway, just like during take off. 

If you want to show off your taxiing  skills, find your way on to the reload/refuel pads at the end of each runway (you need to remain still on the pad for 30 seconds to reload).

Be mindful of the torque your engine produces in this game with single-engine aircraft (and also the lack of it when you throttle down).  This is what is causing your plane to veer off course while on the runway and powering up from a dead stop.  Your propeller is turning one way, pushing your engine/plane the opposite way.  As you become aware of it, you'll notice it a lot more everywhere.

If you want some step by step in-flight help/instruction, there is usualy always a helpful and friendly person on the TA waiting around for someone to come in and ask them for help.  If not, hunt me down this weekend, I'll be more than happy to watch you put some craters in the runway until you get it right

Welcome to the community!

[Rich46yo]

I had a terrible time landing them at first but now they are no problem whatsoever.

I guess the trick is to keep your airspeed right above stall with flaps up, land with nose up, and use brakes and rudders for short corrections in direction and breaking when down. It really takes a soft touch compared to roaring in at 250 mph in a Yank Jabo for landing.

The actual landing phase, wheels on runway, for a spit is very, very short. Its a different game them say landing an LA-7 that you can land like a rock and use long rudder work for taxi directions. The Spit demands a soft touch for rudders and breaking.

Keep at it or join an accomplished spit master for a few landings. You'll get it.

[cdmanm]

just to tell you, you might want to lock your whell and use the brake quickly

[uptown]

I never make it back to base to land 

[Yossarian]

My most successful landing ever in a Spitfire was one coming in at stall speed, throttle off, on the level autopilot. 

[lowZX14]

Which arena do you normally fly in Malap?

[malpeake]

I am currently flying in the T.A. I must say i have finaly got the hang of landing the Spit, i still have the occasional oops, but most times i do good, now learning air combat. 

[lowZX14]

Alrighty then, great job on landing    all I can tell you about ACM with Spitfires is read, read, read, try it out, film, watch film, read, read, read (almost all I fly in MW now).