Good 109E article

[Anaxogoras]

Saw this linked over at the Il-2 forums.  Nothing shocking or new, but I was surprised that he described the working of the slats as "smooth."

http://www.vintagewings.ca/page?a=1261&lang=en-CA

[Guppy35]

Sure would be nice to see a photo op with both the Paul Allen 109E and the Russell Group 109E.  Wasn't that long ago the thought of a 109E airborne was just a dream. 

[Angus]

Cute! And can't wait for this one:
"Enemies no more. The Russell Group Spitfire closes in on the right wing of their Bf-109E. In a story coming out this winter, Rob relates his impressions after flying both the Spitfire and the Messerschmitt back to back, hopping from one cockpit right into the next - something which has been rarely done if at all. "

[MiloMorai]

Saw this linked over at the Il-2 forums.  Nothing shocking or new, but I was surprised that he described the working of the slats as "smooth."

http://www.vintagewings.ca/page?a=1261&lang=en-CA

Not hard to understand as it is not operated under combat conditions and kept in pristine condition.

from another board:
It is a BoB survivor flown at least once by Marseille
he had one confirmed kill over a Spit in it, crashed on the beach in Calais repaired and flown on the Russian front
it was recovered near Murmansk and restored

[Stoney]

Nice find.  I had never heard anything about the prop governor before--very interesting...

[Charge]

"I was surprised that he described the working of the slats as "smooth.""

Why? If maintained properly and if the plane is pulled gently in a stall they deploy smoothly and evenly. If you are in a turn or suddenly pull more AoA they may work unevenly or abruptly.

-C+

[Gabriel]

This shouldn't bother me but Hartmann never flew an E operationally,

[Anaxogoras]

"I was surprised that he described the working of the slats as "smooth.""

Why? If maintained properly and if the plane is pulled gently in a stall they deploy smoothly and evenly. If you are in a turn or suddenly pull more AoA they may work unevenly or abruptly.

-C+

I was surprised because in the other reading I've done I've heard of the slats actually scaring the pilot with a "bang!" as they opened or closed.  In AH the slates are almost binary, either open or closed.  It is impossible to get them to deploy smoothly.

[Charge]

I'm not sure if the deployment angle was changed to F model but I have understood that from F onwards the slats worked more smoothly even in maneuvers. Maybe it was not just that they became more easy to service but also that their operating conditions were slightly different too.

-C+

[Oldman731]

Excellent article, thanks for posting the link.

I was struck by the author's description of his landing approach:

"Extension of the flaps required about 30 quarter-turns of the flap wheel; a time-consuming process."

Certainly not the way we do it here!

- oldman (who has always been suspicious of the ease of dropping flaps in aeroplane computer games)

[Die Hard]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0zPgZoxdOGk

Time code 0:45, slats opening on a Buchon (Spanish Merlin-powered 109).

[Anaxogoras]

Yup, we've already covered 109 flap deployment.  Based on the mechanism, there's almost no way you'd be dropping flaps and raising them up, again and again, during combat.

[Krusty]

Yup, we've already covered 109 flap deployment.  Based on the mechanism, there's almost no way you'd be dropping flaps and raising them up, again and again, during combat.

If you want to get realistic, 99.99999999999999999999999% of all WW2 combat was with flaps firmly locked in the "up" position.

[Chalenge]

If you want to get realistic, 99.99999999999999999999999% of all WW2 combat was with flaps firmly locked in the "up" position.

Not much 'stick stirring' going on then either.   

[Krusty]

indeed! Much less redout-inducing negative G "floppy fish" evasives... you tried that in real life you'd fall outa the sky and save the enemy some bullets.