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Teach me the ways of the spitfire

GR00VYJERRY
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GR00VYJERRY

GR00VYJERRY

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I bought the module a while ago. I tried and couldn’t taxi the damn thing so I shelved it and went back to my mustang and then learned the bf109. Recently I decided to give the spit a try again and learned how to taxi and takeoff. Landing is a bit rough as I haven’t stuck one yet bu I will learn. I just have a few questions. Is there a trim reset button on the plane like on the p51? Second, do you just leave your right rudder trim after takeoff or do you just trim the rudder and elevation to keep level flight? I noticed that different rpm and thrust cause different levels of roll so I just trim the rudder to counteract that, I am assuming this clips the correct way to fly it. The p51 has very little roll at various rpm/manifold pressure settings I am just not used to adjusting trim so much. Third, any suggestions on trim for landing or landing in general? Again, I assume I should just trim until I’m relatively stable on final approach. Fourth, I notice there is no slip ball like I am used to. I see the slip indicator but am unsure how to read it. Advice would be appreciated. Lastly, what are some solid rpm/boost combos to aim for while cruising and while fighting?

 

Thanks

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reece146

reece146

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My experience with extra stuff for anyone that might come across this thread in the future:

 

* Seat time, seat time, seat time...

 

* While learning the plane do whatever you need to do to get your FPS above 50-60 or so. Turn down settings for training, whatever. Without good, smooth visual cues it'll take longer to learn since there is no physical feedback and this is a truly twitchy plane as you know since you've gotten most of the way to mastering the aircraft.

 

* Bind the brake to an easily modulated control on your HOTAS. On the T.16000 I have it bound to the right hand half of the paddle on the throttle quadrant. Add a curve to the movement. IIRC mine is 15 or so.

 

* Learning trim at take off: right rudder so that the 'dd' in rudder is vertical on the knob; nose trim down ~1 degree. Once you get better you'll find 0 deg nose trim is better - especially if you start taking off with more and more boost.

 

* Curves... set pitch, roll and rudder to ~15-20, 3-4-5 or so dead zone. Exact numbers depends on which HOTAS you are using.

 

* Take-off, "hypermiling" cruise, fast cruise and full throttle will need substantially different trim settings - constant attention is needed. Yesterday I did a ~4 hour flight in the Mustang and once trimmed it's pretty settled. Would suck trying to fly the Spit for that long since you'd be chasing the trim the whole time. No trim reset as far I've seen.

 

* Yep, re: roll trim - use the rudder. Since it is not centered around the vertical longitudinal centerline it will add some roll to the flight dynamics in place of real roll trim. You can do the same in the other planes without roll trim (e.g. Bf.109, FW) but the other planes seem to be less likely to need it... much.

 

* Landing, set trim to whatever it takes to get the plane settled down, steady state and fully dirty in level flight at around ~120.

 

* Landing part two: I try to be coming in over the fence at ~110 or so and pull back the throttle to idle. With enough height any roll and yaw effects from the throttle change can still be balanced and controlled/cancelled with the rudder since you have enough air speed over the tail. The trim at 120 is good enough to get you on the ground smoothly. The main thing is to be in a position with enough speed to be flying the plane all the way in to touch down and don't flare much if at all. I tend to land on the mains with a bit of tail down attitude. This seems to keep the bouncing to a minimum. @philstyle has a good youtube video specifically on handling the Spit that really helped me get better with landing.

 

* The slip indicator isn't that bad? I don't have it in front of me but I thought it was pretty legible? Anyway, with good FPS you can see what the yaw is doing and ignore the gauge. Having lots of slip at touchdown and braking is one of the things that tends to end up with scraped wing tips. A longer, straight in approach helps cancel yaw/slip tendencies (steady state longer). Also, try not to apply brakes at all before the the tail touches the ground. If you have to touch them, pump them, pretend to be an ABS braking pump. Don't use differential braking if you can avoid it - especially if the rudder still has authority - it'll end in tears. Once the tail is down pin it to the ground with the elevator and then work the brake.

 

Still very much a work in progress for me but I'm pretty consistent nowadays - enough so that I've started using other aircraft again and am considering hopping onto multi-player servers since I won't the "that guy" that can't take off or land properly. LOL

 

After "mastering" the Spit all the other tail draggers are a yawnfest in comparison when it comes to ground handling and take-off and landing.

 

 

HTH!

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zcrazyx

zcrazyx

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For the brakes i tend to have it set on a paddle but instead of having it like real life where the brake is off when the paddle is held i just have it as off when release then tap the paddle when taxiing, as for take off as stated make sure your axis are set right and as for trim a good general rule is for the rudder knob to display vertically and for the elevator to be set to prefrence, i normally trim it forwards.

 

if you want an easier time on take off then use reduced power settings, dont use full power until the plane is under control, +8 boost should do the trick nicely, you can use more when you understand how the aircraft will behave, standard t/w techniques will apply, stick back, when airspeed comes alive stick neutral or slight forward, then when the tail lifts fly the aircraft off the runway.

 

all of this should be done while dancing on the rudder.

 

once airbourne the spitfire handles very well and as stated will need trimming depending on the speed range, the spitfire doesnt have aliaron trim so you will find you need to fly a bit more hands on.

 

for landing i typically get it trimmed and dirtied up on downwind or long final, i noramlly do a curved approach to keep the runway in sight. the manual states that the prop should be 2700rpm with 0 boost. you will find your grond roll and flare will change a fair bit depending on the prop settings at least from my observations.

 

there are different methods for landing, regardless of what the manual says you will find what works for you, if you are good at judging height a 3 point may work better for you, if not then try wheel it on with the tail slightly low, depending on speed you may have to push slight forwards on the stick to keep it from bouncing.

 

that being said on a wheeler once under control the stick should gradually go forwards to prevent the tailwheel from slamming on the ground.

 

if you want we can hop on a multiplayer server and i can help.

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cromhunt

cromhunt

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practice the spitfire

 

hello :=)i don't know if it could be usefull with your problem?however if you take attention on needles position while keeping an eye outside to check out your airplane position ,it could be done.The only way to fly an aerodyne aircraft or helo;is to take landmarks.The beginning seems always complicated as any other system.Check out those two videos and give some attempt around the apron of batumi airfield while reproducing the flight.

 

 

practice is your friend.

if you need something else more let me know.


Edited by cromhunt
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-0303-

-0303-

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The Slip & Turn is the double needle below the VSI. It's actually much easier to see than a ball.

 

Brakes are differential controlled by rudder. I have the pinkie button set for brakes. Works good enough for me. One person map to an analog axis on the throttle and swear by it. Seems complicated.

 

A big help is bringing up the CONTROL INDICATORS (RCtrl + Enter) to see the brakes operating.

 

Taxiing is an art form that can be frustrating. Once it's rolling, 1000 rpm, keep tapping the brakes and try to anticipate. Can never look away.

 

Taking off is a matter of training again and again and again... I initially had great help by finding a Cirrus cloud to aim for to keep straight.

 

Nose trim neutral or down one tick. This helps to keep the nose down and not stall just after takeoff. Make rudder trim with "dd" in "rudder" up. Rudder trim not important as you'll always have to counter with rudder anyway. Once you learned takeoff you can do it with any trim setting (except not having trim down/neutral makes often for a clownish takeoff).

 

While flying you'll keep adjusting both trims with changes in RPM or speed. Spitfire may be more work than P-51D but it's a breeze compared to Bf 109 or I-16.

 

Landing. A good setup is half the battle. If three-pointing, the touch down speed must be barely above stall speed. With excess speed it'll fly off again easily because the wings have a high AoA. Imagine tail wheel coming down last angling AoA even higher...

 

Try to fly as low and slow as possible along the runway to land.

 

Make sure to touch down without any sideslip as this will cause a swerve to the side.

 

When speed is slowed down brakes are next to always needed to keep straight.

~

 

A tip. Elaborate but works sometimes. Make a repair on the CV. The repair routine since 2.5.6 puts tail wheel outside deck. 9 times of 10 one can pull it up with the engine but ... quite often this damages the tail wheel making it a fixed locked tail wheel. And now you can make beautiful landing roll outs without using brakes.:music_whistling:


Edited by -0303-

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GR00VYJERRY

GR00VYJERRY

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All excellent information. Thanks. I can taxi and take off fine now. Landings are about 50 percent. The ones I crash I seem to land smooth but loose a little control when I rolling but it’s getting better. Another thing I notice is the engine seems to heat up quick. I am used to watching the p-51 temps and adjusting rpm and manifold pressure to keeping it from over heating but the spit seems a little more picky. I am learning though. Does anyone use the radiator open option or do you just keep it set to auto?

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DD_Fenrir

DD_Fenrir

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Auto.

 

After takeoff decide what it is you are trying to accomplish:

 

1. Immediate Combat or Interception climb - 2850 RPM and 12lb Boost. Keep IAS >160mph. 1 hour limit.

 

2. Cruising out for trouble but need to get height reasonably promptly - 2650 RPM and 7lb Boost. Keep IAS >160mph. No time limit.

 

3. Got a long flight ahead of me - 2400 RPM & 4lb Boost or even lower to get lower fuel consumption.

 

4. Get into a fight? Go to 2850 & 12. Only use 3000RPM and 18lb in extremis. Keep your IAS >160, 180 is better for cooling and if you do go WEP (3000 and 18lb) then don't grind holes in the sky cos she'll overheat even quicker than the nominal 5 minute limit "allowed". Really only use WEP for chasing down or running from an enemy aircraft - keep it fast, don't start dogfighting and getting slow.

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Davee

Davee

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Auto.

 

After takeoff decide what it is you are trying to accomplish:

 

1. Immediate Combat or Interception climb - 2850 RPM and 12lb Boost. Keep IAS >160mph. 1 hour limit.

 

2. Cruising out for trouble but need to get height reasonably promptly - 2650 RPM and 7lb Boost. Keep IAS >160mph. No time limit.

 

3. Got a long flight ahead of me - 2400 RPM & 4lb Boost or even lower to get lower fuel consumption.

 

4. Get into a fight? Go to 2850 & 12. Only use 3000RPM and 18lb in extremis. Keep your IAS >160, 180 is better for cooling and if you do go WEP (3000 and 18lb) then don't grind holes in the sky cos she'll overheat even quicker than the nominal 5 minute limit "allowed". Really only use WEP for chasing down or running from an enemy aircraft - keep it fast, don't start dogfighting and getting slow.

 

This!

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  • 3 weeks later...
GR00VYJERRY

GR00VYJERRY

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Just wanted to update. I have a pretty good handle on the spitfire now. I got really good at taxi and takeoff. Then got good at the engine management, trim, control, and combat. I gave up on landing for a while. Then one night I just created a mission for landing and practiced it over and over. I can now land that damn plane so smooth and pretty much under any circumstance. It is my new favorite ww2 bird. I just love the handling.

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GR00VYJERRY

GR00VYJERRY

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Great success!

 

 

I found the same thing - had to walk away from it for several weeks and then landing "just happened". Big thing for me was stay relaxed and just sail it in more than fly it in.

 

Pretty much this. You f you try and force the spit down you will likely screw the landing. However, letting her sail in and just letting her land herself with minimal large input helps tremendously.

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