Spitfire control

[Roblex]

PhilStyle has recently been experimenting with ways to reduce the chances of losing his wings pulling out of a dive in a spit and settled on applying a 24% Saturation to the Spitfires pitch and little or no curve. That sounds like a huge saturation but I have tried it myself and it does seem to work. It is almost impossible to apply too much stress pulling back at 450mph yet there is still ample elevator authority to get maximum turn rate at 300mph, enough to start blackout, or 160mph where any tighter would cause a stall.

Edited May 21, 2017 by Roblex

[coopes]

PhilStyle has recently been experimenting with ways to reduce the chances of losing his wings pulling out of a dive in a spit and settled on applying a 24% Saturation to the Spitfires pitch and little or no curve. That sounds like a huge saturation but I have tried it myself and it does seem to work. It is almost impossible to apply too much stress pulling back at 450mph yet there is still ample elevator authority to get maximum turn rate at 300mph, enough to start blackout, or 160mph where any tighter would cause a stall.

 

Of course it works because your not getting full range of movement on the elevator

[philstyle]

Of course it works because your not getting full range of movement on the elevator

 

Correct. Which was the point of doing it.

Why do you need full range?

 

I will stall at low airspeed with full deflection of only 30% saturated pitch.

I will black out at medium airspeed with full deflection of only 30% saturated pitch.

I will rip the wing off at high speed with full deflection of only 30% saturated pitch.

 

So, nothing is lost (in practice), and errors resulting from having a short stick with imprecise control relative to a historical stick are avoided.

[amazingme]

The Spit is still in development. FM seems a bit exaggerated from all perspectives. I, too, use a very large curve for the pitch axis and a bit on the rudder, as I tend to over use it.. Using a long stick, well, that's a different story.. As of now, I'm enjoying flying with a couple of force feedback sticks (G940/MSFFB2), but soon I'll make a move towards an elongated stick with adjustable force (VKB/Virpil). It's a must.