Beaufighter quirk....

[K_Freddie]

I cannot remember if the beaufighter is modelled, but I came across a 'one-liner' in a book on SAAF pilots, from our local library.

If you pull too hard on the elevator, the beaufighter loses rudder control ?? - The rudder becomes ineffective for a while, for how long , this is not mentioned, but the pilot thought they were gonnas when it happened.

This is a wierd one.. :eek:

[Bolelas]

Just giving my opinion, if the AOA (angle of atack) is to high, than the airflow comes almost from the bottom of the fuselage, so, if there is little airflow passing the rudder, it means no control.
What do you think about this, can it be for this reason?

[IceFire]

I'm wondering if that was an early Beaufighter feature and that is why the tail on the Mark 21 is so distinctively designed. There had to be a reason for that.

[WTE_Galway]

I'm wondering if that was an early Beaufighter feature and that is why the tail on the Mark 21 is so distinctively designed. There had to be a reason for that.

Does sound like a dihedral issue ....




http://books.google.com.au/books?id=6gFzUG_6lMEC&pg=PA130&lpg=PA130&dq=beaufighter+handling&source=bl&ots=l2eUfdW0Ps&sig=6qFgV-PV9WY7xrlq5UxpAoYWXqM&hl=en&sa=X&ei=NX8DT77eMYO4iAfRgsz1Aw&ved=0CDEQ6AEwAw#v=onepage&q=beaufighter%20handling&f=false

Entering service in the nocturnal intercept role in September 1940 ... the Beaufighter displayed a measure of handling precocity. Extreme care had to be exercised to avoid incipient swing during takeoff; a side-to-side yawing during undercarriage retraction was not easily controllable and prior to adoption of tailplane dihedral it suffered pronounced fore-and-aft instability, particularly noticeable in the climb and landing approach.