Aces High Bulletin Board
General Forums => Aircraft and Vehicles => Topic started by: Flyboy on April 30, 2004, 04:38:04 PM
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why does it take so long for the spit flaps to deploy?
allso was it used only for landings or did it got used in combat?
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Spit flaps deployed very fast in reality. Why they are so slow in AH I don't know.
No, they were not used in combat.
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They are just set to some default deployment rate. Cite me a reference to how fast they deploy and I'll change it.
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Spit flaps are slow to deploy, watch them sometime in rl
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i remember reading somewhere they deploied to an angel of 89*
if thats true they are no flaps, they are air brakes! :eek:
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I saw them deploy on a Spit V. It's almost instantly (They really pop out) and they DO only have one setting and that's about the 89 degrees mentioned. I don't know how fast they retract though. It's also true that they act as airbrakes as the Spit was found to be very clean aerodynamically and was hard to land for people used to braced biplanes.
There are million of people with more detailed knowledge then my own, for example I don't know if the flaps on later spit and seafires worked differently.
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Wish I had a reference...
I was watching a show about Corsairs on the History channel tonight. A few clips of still flyable F4Us showed the flaps being raised and lowered much faster (or so it seemed) than we have in AH.
Where can one find "flap deployment" speed? Is that info even supplied in old manuals?
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Pyro, if you want to get accurate numbers for flap deployment/retraction, call the CAF. I rifled an e-mail off to a guy who works with the CAF guys in Camarillo CA about the Spit flaps since they have a Spit 14 there. For the other aircraft, give CAF HQ in Midland a buzz and see if you can't wrangle the info out of 'em. Odds are someone would know, and even if they didn't all they'd have to do is check the time with a stopwatch. Course, you might get billed for the batteries :D
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Flakbait [Delta6]
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Wouldn't the flaps deploying instantly only happen on the ground due to there being next to zero airflow to work against?
Or did the spit use some really strong hydrolics?
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Originally posted by BenDover
Wouldn't the flaps deploying instantly only happen on the ground due to there being next to zero airflow to work against?
Or did the spit use some really strong hydrolics?
BINGO!!!!!! airflow slows them up considerably.... the same happens on a T6, when we run it up on the ground, they pop out real quick, in the air, they are much slower....
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And how would we know how fast they drop at any given airspeed?
Tough call...
SKurj
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well you only have to find out between 100 and 200 really...
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With these 1 positon flaps does it really matter how fast they deploy?
I mean are you all using them in combat? Auto retract flaps prevent them from being used as an "air break" except at low speed, at those speeds why would you need an air break? Plus there are other manuvers you should be using to bleed speed other then dropping flaps.
If you are just using them to land then who cares, right?
Maybe I missed the point......
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i belive you did miss the point, i dont use flaps in combat, i dont use them for landing either unless i want to land in a very short distanse (CVs or rearm pads)
the point is sheer curiosity.
i deploy flaps and wait for what seems to be a really long time- with that irritating sound- and i wonder "hmm that seems quite a long time for the flaps to deploy"
so without a second thought i go to this forum because i know there are some real experts in here that never failed me in the past, and post.
hope thats clear it up for you :)
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It isn't an official book source, but here's what Deak said when I e-mailed him about this...
Sorry for the delay, been moving fast.
Spitfire flaps have a toggle switch, either "up" or "down," takes about three seconds either way.
Best...
John Deakin
Advanced Pilot Seminars
http://www.advancedpilot.com
I already e-mailed this to Pyro.
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Flakbait [Delta6]
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Spit flaps are only used for landing and they are deployed just before touch down. They also cutt off airflow through the radiators, so as soon as your down you either retract your flaps or overheat your engine. :aok
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They look as if they deploy pretty fast, I've seen it a few times.
Aren't they deployed with pressurized air? In some ww2 fighters flaps were cranked down by the pilot (109?)
Not sure about that radiator thingie, but on the Mk I, the undercarriage was obstructing the oil cooler, so one would not have to much time for taxiing before boiling over.
Some early Mk I's also had a hand-cranked undercarriage BTW...
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A flap run on hydraulics should open at the same speed regardless of airflow. Standard pressure is 3000 p.s.i. on todays planes, not sure about ww2 era.
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Fixed in AH2! Pyro altered the Spit's flap deployment rate in Beta 29.
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Flakbait [Delta6]
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cool, is airflow's counter-force there too?
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If they are moving to 98deg, wouldn't they take a while compared to aircraft that have multipositional flaps and you are using just one notch of flap? When I cycle through all three or four positions to full down, that really strikes me as taking forever at least using the sound as a cue. Shouldn't the concern be with how fast they move in degrees/second?
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No... spit flaps have 2 settings, either up or down.
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Originally posted by Flyboy
i remember reading somewhere they deploied to an angel of 89*
I thought it was 80*.
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All I know is they had a totally new soret of flap the 'split-flap' and I can't be bothered to explain them but I'm sure someone with a much better understanding of aeroplanes will explain. This is why some early spit pilots called it the 'splitfire' (clever eh?)
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No... spit flaps have 2 settings, either up or down.
Read Puke's post again.
He's mentioning the total time required to deploy normal multi-positional flaps fully, compared to the Spitfire's 2 stage flaps.
Unless the Spitfire has some sort of a hydraulics system that works much quicker than other planes of that era, it should take as long, or longer, than full-flap deployment of other planes.
If the Spitty flap should be sped up till full deployment, then the flaps of other planes should also be sped up.
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Just a note: Flap drop and raise much quicker in AH2 :aok