Spitfire/Hurricane etc and drop tanks

[longer ron]

Originally Posted by treadigraph

i recall an article by the late Hoof Proudfoot describing his first "ferry flight" in a P-51D, from Geneva to the UK; he used main tanks first and it became somewhat squirrelly longitudinally.

Just checked in the Robert Goebel autobio 'Mustang Ace',he confirmed that they did indeed completely fill the 85usg rear tank,He says that he would take off with main (wing) tanks selected,after take off he selected the rear tank and burned that down to approx 30usg at which point he emptied the drop tanks before reselecting the rear tank to empty that !
He also said that if too much fuel was left in the rear tank (C of G too far aft) the a/c would 'tighten up' in the turn and loss of control could follow.

I have seen the P51 described as a 'Dog' with the rear tank full,but the losses due to instability problems were deemed acceptable at that time