Aces High Bulletin Board

General Forums => Aces High General Discussion => Topic started by: Kurt on October 18, 2005, 11:00:41 PM

Title: Questions about the new Spit14...
Post by: Kurt on October 18, 2005, 11:00:41 PM
What I want to know, and I'm hoping maybe the HTC guys will help me out here...

How come the SPIT 14 in AH has the standard Spit canopy.  I've seen one in real life and many in photos and all the ones I've seen were fitted with a bubble canopy like the Mustang and the P47.  My understanding is that the pilots really liked the additional visibility (although I think it ruined the classic lines of the plane).

Anyhow, I wonder if any of the powers that be would like to let me know why this isn't done in AH?  Is it just easier to model one version of the canopy?  Because the various P51s have the approprate canopy in AH..

Anyhow, just curious, here are some examples...

(http://www.raf.mod.uk/rafwittering/images/spitfire_mkXIV_1945.jpg)

(http://www.luchtoorlog.be/Images/spit_xii/tek8.jpg)

(http://www.mindspring.com/~bryandonaldson/images/Spiit%20XIV.jpg)

(http://www.aviation-top-pics.com/images/SVmuseum/14SPITFIRE.JPG)
Title: Questions about the new Spit14...
Post by: Karnak on October 19, 2005, 12:23:20 AM
Two reasons.  One, high back Spitfire Mk XIVs accounted for the majority of Mk XIVs.
(http://members.arstechnica.com/x/karnak/Spit142.jpg)
(http://members.arstechnica.com/x/karnak/Spit143.jpg)
(http://members.arstechnica.com/x/karnak/Spit144.jpg)

And second because it requires less work for SUPERFLY to do all the Spits as high backed Spits.

The bubble top Spits only entered action in March of 1945 I understand.
Title: Questions about the new Spit14...
Post by: Guppy35 on October 19, 2005, 01:54:53 AM
Kurt, the bottom picture you posted is of a postwar Spitfire XVIII not an XIV.  As Karnak mentioned the bubble tops didn't get into combat until March-April 45.  The high backs were there from the beginning and in use well after the war.  It was the better choice in terms of skins too since more units used the high back XIVs.
Title: Questions about the new Spit14...
Post by: Kurt on October 19, 2005, 10:01:08 PM
Well, while that may be correct that the low back 14 only came in at the last minute, I guarantee you it wasn't there "From the beginning".  The beginning for Britain was in 1939 and the spit 1 was barely in deployment at all...

Anyhow, thanks guys for explaining, I wasn't aware of the standard cockpit mk14.
Title: Questions about the new Spit14...
Post by: 2bighorn on October 19, 2005, 10:13:26 PM
Quote
Originally posted by Kurt
I guarantee you it wasn't there "From the beginning".  The beginning for Britain was in 1939 and the spit 1 was barely in deployment at all...
I believe that he meant from the beginning of the XIV production.

Guppy would definately not mean 'from the beginning of the war', since he's one of the most knowledgable persons when it comes to spitties.
Title: Questions about the new Spit14...
Post by: Kurt on October 19, 2005, 11:12:28 PM
Quote
Originally posted by 2bighorn
I believe that he meant from the beginning of the XIV production.

Guppy would definately not mean 'from the beginning of the war', since he's one of the most knowledgable persons when it comes to spitties.


Ill Buy that 2Big, I'm not calling anyone's expertise into question... Especially about Non-U.S. equipment which I'm first to admit is a weak area for me.  I was just double checking.

As I have learned in this thread, if I knew my spitfire from my toilet paper I wouldn't have asked this in the first place :cool:
Title: Questions about the new Spit14...
Post by: Karnak on October 19, 2005, 11:45:23 PM
I am reasonably knowlegable about Spits.

Dan puts me to shame. :D