Memoirs of a WW-II Typhoon pilot part 7
Sorry, I have been a bit busy over the last few months, so have not been able to post more of Peter Brett's memoirs. However, I now have a chance to catch up, and post a few more instalments. Here is part 7 - Peter is still in Canada in 1942 doing his pilot training. More soon - TOW
Aerobatics were perhaps the most enjoyable but also the most demanding exercises. The straight loop was the first to be taught and was relatively simple. You dived the aircraft to get sufficient airspeed and then eased back on the control column, as the nose of the aircraft rose above the horizon the throttle was opened fully to assist the climb. We were then told to look out sideways until the horizon went past the vertical in order to keep the wings level, and then to look 'upwards' to check that the inverted horizon was level as we went over the top of the loop.
In contrast the slow roll was a relatively complex manoeuvre. After diving to increase the airspeed, the nose was pulled up until just above the horizon. Full sideways movement of the control column was then made to start the roll. As the angle of bank increased you had to apply 'top' rudder (Left hand for a right hand roll) gradually increasing the amount of rudder until, when the wings were vertical to the horizon, the most rudder was needed in order to keep the nose up. As the roll continued to the inverted position the rudder was gradually reduced but the control column moved forward to counteract the tendency for the nose to drop. At the same time the throttle had to be closed since the engine would not run inverted, being gravity-fed with fuel. As the roll continued further the control column had to be eased back again and once more 'top' rudder applied until the aircraft regained straight and level flight. Much later I found that the 'slow' roll in a high performance aircraft was a much simpler operation altogether, but more of that later.
The 'Roll off the top of the loop' and the 'Stall turn' were also taught. The latter being what was once known as the 'Immellmann Turn' after the WW1 German fighter pilot who introduced the manoeuvre. One stunt which we were not officially taught but which Sgt Farrell showed me and which I enjoyed very much was the 'Flick Roll'. This was, in effect, one turn of a horizontal spin. The aircraft was slowed up to a few knots above the stalling speed and then full rudder and full back stick applied. The aircraft shuddered violently and 'flicked' round its horizontal axis. The speed of rotation was fast enough to keep you in your seat without the discomfort of negative 'g'. Of course, if you kept the controls in the original position the aircraft continued to rotate and at the same time drop down until you were in a normal spin.
The 'Barrel Roll' was different again. It was a sort of badly performed loop where the aircraft was flown round a horizontal spiral with sufficient speed to keep positive 'G' at all times. Although aerobatics were fun and did give one confidence in handling the aircraft, we soon found that they were rarely used in combat or operations where the most useful maneuver was the very tight vertical turn, but once again this was still in the future.
'Restarting the engine in flight' was also an unusual experience. It was never explained how you could accidentally stop the engine in flight since, in order to do so, you had to close the throttle, switch off the ignition and then practically stand the aircraft on its tail before the propeller ceased to turn. Restarting then consisted of switching on the ignition and standing the aircraft on its nose until the airspeed was sufficient to turn the propeller against the compression of the engine.
Practice forced landings also provided many opportunities for making glorious mistakes! When flying we were told that we must always keep an eye out for suitable forced landing fields within gliding distance in case of engine failure. We were also to always be aware of the prevailing wind direction by keeping watch on the smoke from chimneys etc. This latter was easy at Windsor Mills since the paper mills gave off vast quantities of both smoke and steam.
The instructors would now and then unexpectedly close the throttle and say "Engine failure, forced landing". Luckily I had no major howlers when doing this exercise except for once. When making very sure that I tried to land downwind, I misread the wind direction from the chimney smoke. The most common fault was trying to reach a field which was too far away and then trying to 'stretch the glide' to reach it. This always resulted in the instructor opening up the throttle and taking over to the accompaniment of some choice advice regarding the inadvisability of committing suicide in company with a reluctant companion. It was also considered inadvisable to land across a ploughed field, or to choose a very green field which turned out to be a bog!
The course at EFTS lasted until mid-June. The last few flying exercises were cross-country flights and a final 'Sixty Hour' check. We also had ground school examinations. Fortunately I have been blessed with the sort of temperament which does not suffer from 'exam nerves' and consequently, although I may not always have known as much as some of the others, I always managed to finish up in one of the top five positions. The course finished on 14th June with a party in the Services Club and we were then given 14 days leave until we had to report for SFTS (Service Flying Training School).