Quote:
Originally Posted by Sven
Not necessarily, example: The Airacobra, an American fighter plane, had it's point of gravity in the middle ( since the engine was placed there ), this was purposely done to create a very manoeuvrable airplane. Engine chopped off will surely cause for a very unpleasant flight, but that's the aerodynamics that mainly cause that, the centre of gravity will probably be where the pilot is, and actually improve flight characteristics, although it doesn't add up to what I previously said.
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No, that Hurricane should've immediately pitched up, stalled, and spun into the ground. There is no possible way that removing the engine would not also move the C.G. so far aft as to become uncontrollable. This is true even with today's lighter engines and shorter nosed GA aircraft. It's doubly true for a heavy-engined, long-nosed WWII fighter.