Quote:
Originally Posted by kimosabi
From what I've read about the differences with the Doras and the Emils, the Emils were definitely more difficult to handle at low speeds, due to the new and much more powerful DB601 that replaced the Dora's Jumo 210 engines.
Ulrich Steinhilper got surprised when he took an Emil out for the first time and tried landing it like he landed the Dora. He did not expect the torque when correcting at final approach and he crashed the aircraft, according to his book "Spitfire on my tail". But at that time, I'd say he was a rookie pilot without combat experience. But as we all know the 109's only got heavier as the models expanded so I can only speculate that they got more and more difficult to land as the model letters ticked on.
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yeah, Steinhilper was a rookie and made a typical rookie mistake (and miraculously survived!).
The real problem with the 109 is the landing gear configuration: the wheels are diverging, which means that if you don't touch down with your plane in line with your direction... well it will straighten it for you, but not gently..
the difficulty comes in the fact that at lower speeds the controls' authority is very low (small rudder being the biggest issue), so it definitely is an unforgiving machine, you need to come down well if you want to achieve a good landing.