Spitfire MkV take-off swing.

[stevef]

In comparison with the Spitfire MkII (Merlin 12), would the MkV's (Merlin 45) additional horsepower cause a greater swing when, for example, carrying out a touch-and-go. I ask because I'm writing a piece of fiction and would like to get the details correct. The section I'm researching concerns a pilot's first flight in the MkVb.
Thanks in advance.

[barit1]

Not being specifically a Spit jockey - purely a guess -

A pilot flying a familiar airplane with an upgraded engine certainly would be aware that more rudder is required (or, if rudder travel is insufficient, slower throttle advance can keep him out of trouble). Airspeed is your friend.

Even so, some pilots will "push the envelope" and run right on the ragged edge of directional control. In that case a surprise adverse crosswind can be "the straw to break the camel's back". :eek:

[johnfairr]

Steve,

I have just finished transcibing my fathers' tape cassettes he left for me, which he recorded in 1984. Sadly he died in 1999, but here are a couple of extracts that might be useful for you. The first is from 57 OTU at Hawarden in August 1941.

"In those days there was no dual instruction on a Spitfire, it was all theory until we were told to get in and fly the thing. We had a Spitfire jacked up in a hangar, and this was wired-up in such a way that you could operate the flaps, the undercarriage and naturally, the ailerons and tail. We also did hours under the trainer which was used at BFTS (Basic Flying Training School) and SFTS (Spitfire Flying Training School). It’s difficult to explain what it was like to have my first flight in the Spitfire, because in all the other aircraft we’d flown, we’d always had an instructor with us to begin with until we were fully competent or near enough so. He would then get out and leave you to fly the aircraft yourself. With a Spitfire, you had all the theoretical knowledge, then you climbed in and the Flight Commander would lean over the cockpit and just give you a few last minute instructions, wish you good luck, and send you on your way. Now as you know, when a Spitfire is taxiing, you can’t see a thing over the front, because the engine is sticking up, so you had to taxi from side to side, waggling the tail, going along in a corkscrew sort of motion. While you’re doing this, and making sure you don’t hit anything, all sorts of things run through your mind. Like, having got so far, can you manage the Spitfire? And will you eventually come out at the end of the course alright?

Anyway, I managed to get to the end of the runway without hitting anything and having spied out the land and made sure no one was going to land on top of me, turned into wind, opened up and away I went. Now that is really some sensation. To begin with, in the old type Spitfire, you had a pump undercart, which meant that you selected “UP” when the wings lifted and you had sufficient flying speed, you then pushed the throttle fully forward, take your hand off the throttle and put it on the stick and with your right hand you’d pump like mad on the lever…….

Now on all the other aircraft I’ve flown, by the time you’d got the wheels up and were trundling along, you looked over your left shoulder and there was the aerodrome tucked in behind you. By the time I’d got the wheels up and got the rest of the cockpit check done and trimmed the aircraft, I looked round to find out where I was, I was half way to Rhyll! I made a very gentle turn and came back to the circuit, did the usual checks, undercarriage, mixture, flaps, brought it along to the upwind position and came in to land. I wouldn’t say it was the best landing I’ve ever done, but apart from a couple of bumps, I managed to bring the aircraft down and taxi back to the dispersal."

And a second bit

"After we’d done about ten or fifteen hours on Spits, we all felt as though we were budding aces, but I was brought down to earth with a bump in more ways than one. I’d been up doing formation flying earlier in the morning, came back and landed and the aircraft started to wander off to the right, as I landed. Now having got used to the Spit, where you scarcely touch anything and it whips around all over the place, I didn’t realise at the time that you could kick it about on the ground when you were taxiing and you could scarcely do any damage to it at all. Anyway, it drifted off to the right and I was using gentle left pedal to bring it back again, when nothing happened, it swung off the runway and finished up on its nose.

The Wingco Flying at this time was Wing Commander Billy Brown, DFC and bar. He’d been a pilot with 1 Sqn in France, and was a very nice chap. He listened to what I had to say about my crash and then explained that you could be a lot rougher on the ground with a Spitfire than you need to be in the air. He was quite nice about it, but my log book was endorsed with the note “Inexperience” against my entry for that day."

This was all in a Spit Mk II. He was then posted to 111 Sqn at North Weald (September 1941) and then to 72 Sqn, where he flew the Vb from Dec 41 and the Vc from November 42 in North Africa as part of the Torch landings.

Hope this is useful for you.

jf

[stevef]

barit1 - useful information there regarding advancing the throttle slowly; I'll put that to use. Many thanks!

John Fairr - your father's transcripts are going to be quite useful for this section of my story. I've read several books concerning Spitfire wartime flying but none that I can remember touched on the swing. Sigh For a Merlin may have but I've mislaid it. Coincidentally, my protagonist has just left Hawarden OTU after flying Spitfire IIs!
I'm sure your father's reminiscences were very interesting. Much obliged for your assistance,
Steve.