Spitfire

[Yorks.ppl]

Does anybody know anything about a spitfire that flew over brighouse and wakefield on bank hol. monday?

[foxmoth]

Hmmm?
Built by a company called Supermarine, between 1936 and 1945, Tailwheel monoplane.:p

[Yorks.ppl]

ha ha ha ha ho ho he he he

[Circuit Basher]

Foxmoth - further to your last, it's believed that this is actually a low wing monoplane!! :D

Sorry, yorks.ppl - the playful spirit will always come out on PPRuNe!! ;)

[Yorks.ppl]

I was just interested to know if if was a genuine spitfire or one of the replicas, it flew right over my house and looked very impressive but didn't sound like I imagined a spitfire would sound. That said , I guess thats a pointless statement as I have never heard one in real life, only on tv!

CB & Foxmouth:p ;)

[foxmoth]

I have never heard one in real life, only on tv!

Now there is a sad admission from any sort of aviation enthusiast:(

[tmmorris]

According to the latest AOPA magazine, the first kit replica Spitfire (Mk26) in the UK is now completed and flying from ... Sherburn... so it might be that one...

Tim

[Yorks.ppl]

I agree foxmouth, always assuming that the one I saw on monday was a replica, if it was real then the statement is now incorrect.

Tim, having displayed my lack of credibility in the aviation world by never having heard or seen a real life spitfire (acording to foxmouth), it would be highly amusing if my first suspicion, that the aircraft I saw was indeed a replica, were proved to be correct.

I fly from sherburn so I hope to see this replica, thanks for the info Tim.

[snchater]

It was probably the privately owned 2-seat Spitfire from North Wales transiting to Sherburn for the Vintage and Veteran Day.
It gave a magnificent display at Sherburn as did the Mustang and Hurricaine
:O :O :O

[stiknruda]

The only hard thing about flying a Spitfire, I am reliably told, is obtaining the owner's permission!

Not that I'd want to be entrusted with such a valuable piece of aviation history.

[Juliet Papa]

Yorks, its easy to tell if it was real or not. If on hearing it the hairs on the back of your neck stood up, and forced you to gaze with awe as it passed overhead, listening to the history, passion and epic struggle encapsulated in that one sound, that beautiful but deadly airframe slicing through the blue sky - if it transported you, momentarily, to a field somewhere in 1940's England where the serenity of a summers day was pierced by that Merlin growl and gave you hope when all around was falling - then it was a real Spitfire.

Or maybe thats just me... never did quite figure out why seeing one has such a powerful effect.

JP

[Yorks.ppl]

wow JP sucinctly put !

The spitfire conjours up exactly those sort of feelings.:ok:

[TwoDeadDogs]

Hi all
I was at Cranfield a few years back for the PFA Rally. After four or five aerobatic aircraft in a row had whirled about, like enraged bumblebees, the crowd began to vote with their feet and make for the tents. A PRU Spitfire came in, low and fast, with that glorious sound from it's exhausts.The crowd stopped moving and pivoted on their collective heels and made for the fence, as the Spit went by. It was the first time I have ever heard a crowd murmur in appreciation at an airshow. Brilliant stuff.
regards
TDD

[Flik Roll]

I would love to fly in a spit :( Anyone got one?!?!

[proplover]

Yorks.ppl, I think you'll find it was a real one as PT462 was operating out of Sherburn on the Monday carrying out a number of sorties during the day.

[treadigraph]

Juliet Papa, absolutely spot on - and the Mustang does exactly the same - it may sound a little different but still makes my neck hairs stand on end...

You simply do not get the same effect looking at a static exhibit in a museum.

[KCDW]

This thread reminds me of my most memorable Spit moment about 4 years back.

I was in the car on a country road, when out of the blue a Spit appeared, very low, more or less on my nose, heading straight for me. For a split second, I honestly thought I was about to be strafed!, but then remembered it was the 21st Century. Amazing image which will stay with me for the rest of my life.

Only found out afterwards that I was driving next to Lamberhurst farmstrip, and the pilot was Malcolm Sargent (RIP).

Just thought of something else about airshows, but will start a new thread...

[Yorks.ppl]

Thanks for all the responses everybody, including foxmouth and circuit basher;)
Looks like it was the real thing then.
I am off on holls now but would love to hear peoples experiences with spitfires, a truly beautifull aircraft.
Incedently why is the eliptical wing shape, which looks so good from the ground, and presumably is good from a handling point of view, not seen on other more modern aircraft?

Look forward to reading the answers in a week.

Thanks again folks:ok:

[Kolibear]

The elliptical wing shape is a complete sod to make. Each rib is going to be different to the adjacent one.

From a manufacturing point of view, there is a lot to be said for making wings by the mile and cutting them off by the yard.

[Circuit Basher]

Due to restrictions on my work PC, I can't confirm that this link works - I can see it, but can't hear it.

This Link (http://www.spitcrazy.com/spitsound.htm) should give you the sound of a Merlin!

[airborne_artist]

was in the car on a country road, when out of the blue a Spit appeared, very low, more or less on my nose, heading straight for me. For a split second, I honestly thought I was about to be strafed!,

A friend of mine has video footage of the RR Mossie (RIP) displaying over its "home" at Salisbury Hall, close to J23 of the M25. You can hear squeals of brakes on the soundtrack as Mondeo/Vectra drivers take avoiding action!

[treadigraph]

C-B - it works! My colleagues are in shock...! :ok:

[MyData]

From one of the many NASA web pages:

"Long, slender, high aspect ratio wings have lower induced drag than short, thick, low aspect ratio wings. Induced drag is a three dimensional effect related to the wing tips. The longer the wing, the farther the tips are from the main portion of the wing, and the lower the induced drag. Lifting line theory shows that the optimum (lowest) induced drag occurs for an elliptic distribution of lift from tip to tip. The efficiency factor e is equal to 1.0 for an elliptic distribution and is some value less than 1.0 for any other lift distribution. The outstanding aerodynamic performance of the British Spitfire of World War II is partially attributable to its elliptic shaped wing which gave the aircraft a very low amount of induced drag. A more typical value of e = .7 for a rectangular wing."

I recall reading more about this not so long ago and, to explain simply, the vortex that is cause at a wing tip, and induces drag, doesn't occur because the wing surface gradually reduces to zero and so there isn't a wing tip of any note for the vortex to form around. A brilliant piece of design considering it was made 70+ years ago.

However, as already noted, the wings are extremely expensive to manufacture so have fallen out of favour.

[MLS-12D]

why is the eliptical wing shape, which looks so good from the ground, and presumably is good from a handling point of view, not seen on other more modern aircraft?Not entirely true that it is no longer used. For the reasons MyData summarizes, the eliptical format is used on some high-performance sailplanes (e.g., the SZD-55 (http://www.szdusa.com/55%20pics%201.html)). And of course, the German "Silence Twister" (http://www.silence-aircraft.de/Data/kit-planes-twister.pdf) ultralight has eliptical wings.

[kokpit]

Thought you might like this..............

'A Second In The Life Of A Merlin' by Tom Fey.

The Unlimiteds go flashing through the racecourse, engines howling, air shearing, heat waves streaming. Four hundred and eighty miles an hour is 8 miles a minute, and the elite racers take about 70 seconds to cover the 9.1 mile Reno course. If you could take a souped P-51 racer flying the circuit at Reno, slow time down, and examine just one second, what would you find?

In that one second, the V-12 Rolls-Royce Merlin engine would have gone through 60 revolutions, with each of the 48 valves slamming open and closed 30 times. The twenty-four spark plugs have fired 720 times. Each piston has traveled a total of 60 feet in linear distance at an average speed of 41 miles per hour, with the direction of movement reversing 180° after every 6 inches. Three hundred and sixty power pulses have been transmitted to the crankshaft, making 360 sonic booms as the exhaust gas is expelled from the cylinder with a velocity exceeding the speed of sound. The water pump impeller has spun 90 revolutions, sending 4 gallons of coolant surging through the engine and radiators. The oil pumps have forced 47 fluid ounces, roughly one-third of a gallon, of oil through the engine, oil cooler, and oil tank, scavenging heat and lubricating the flailing machinery. The supercharger rotor has completed 348 revolutions, it's rim spinning at Mach 1, forcing 4.2 pounds or 55 ft3 of ambient air into the combustion chambers under 3 atmospheres of boost pressure. Around 9 fluid ounces of high-octane aviation fuel, 7843 BTU's worth of energy, has been injected into the carburetor along with 5.3 fluid ounces of methanol/water anti-detonant injection fluid. Perhaps 1/8 of a fluid ounce of engine oil has been either combusted or blown overboard via the crankcase breather tube. Over 1.65 million-foot pounds of work have been done, the equivalent of lifting a station wagon to the top of the Statue of Liberty.

In that one second, the hard-running Merlin has turned the propeller through 25 complete revolutions, with each of the blade tips having arced through a distance of 884 feet at a rotational velocity of 0.8 Mach. Fifteen fluid ounces of spray bar water has been atomised and spread across the face of the radiator to accelerate the transfer of waste heat from the cooling system to the atmosphere. In that one second, the aircraft itself has traveled 704 feet, close to 1/8 mile, or roughly 1.5% of a single lap. The pilot's heart has taken 1.5 beats, pumping 5.4 fluid ounces of blood through his body at a peak pressure of 4.7 inches of mercury over ambient pressure. Our pilot happened to inspire during our measured second, inhaling approximately 30 cubic inches (0.5 litre) of oxygen from the on-board system, and 2.4 million, yes million, new red blood cells have been formed in the pilot's bone marrow.

In just one second, an amazing sequence of events have taken place beneath those polished cowlings and visored helmets. It's the world's fastest motorsport. Don't blink!

[shortstripper]

Talking Spitfires

There was a Spit and what I think was a Sea Hawk? flying around the Chichester mariner area this morning? Anyone know anything? I haven't seen a similar formation of fast piston and Jet for years.

SS

[Ringway Flyer]

The hairs-on-the-back-of-the-neck effect, in my experience, is much more apparent when it's not expected! We were at Carlisle a couple of weeks ago, and a Spitfire requested permission to over fly en route home. ATC asked if he would be prepared to do a low pass, to which he agreed. The effect also made me feel very emotional - tear to the eye, job....

This w/e we were at Marham, (Family day - son works there, fetteling Tornados), and there was a small flying display, including a Mustang and a Spitfire. Didn't have the same effect with a crowd and a commentator, somehow. Still a beautiful sound, though... I wonder if the Mustang had a Packard built engine? It certainly sounded different. And I've not noticed what I assume to be the sound of the supercharger on any of the Spitfires I've seen/heard over the last 20 years or so - anyone know? The Mustang was flown by Maurice Hammond.

[MLS-12D]

A Merlin-engined Spitfire sounds like this (http://www.spitcrazy.com/spitsound.htm).

That is one cool noise ... but at least as distinctive is the roar of the mighty Harvard (click here (http://www.spitcrazy.com/harvardsound.htm)) :ok: :ok: :ok:

P.S. For authentic recordings, you can't do better than AirCraft Records (http://www.aircraftrecords.com/products_frame.html).

[trevelyan]

shortstripper, i think they were waiting for their slot time for the Air Show at Dunsfold.

:)