Quote:
Originally Posted by Kurfürst
Well the manual highlights that the elevator is so sensitive that the pilot can easily pull enough g-load to exceed the structural limitations and of the aircraft. It isn't so in the sim, no matter how crazy manouveres I tried in the Spit (ie. vertical dives at Vne) I simply couldn't break it.
It's incorrect and the stick/pitch behaviour should be fixed.
Also the aircraft seem to be rolling much faster at high speed than it should - 3 times as fast as I recall.
Personally I think this disharmony between the controls and senstitivity in pitch are one of the most curious ommitments from the Spitfire's FM. Simply to put, it is not flown like a Spitfire, 'with a light fingertip on the elevator and arm wrestling the ailerons' as pilots have put it.
Positive pitch stability for the Spitfire FM in the sim is also confirmed, as opposed to the real life longitudal pitch instability. This is, again, important for the flying experience: the very low stick force per g and slight instability meant that real Spit had to be handled with careful movements on the stick, and with routine aft-and-fore movements on the stick to prevent the aircraft to tighten up itself. I do not think this was particularly dangerous (though the low stick force per g had some safety risks, admitted by the manual), but it was characteristic of the Spitfire's handling.
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I have already said that in a previous posting when I replied to the Crumps pilots notes
In a high speed dive it is possible to exceed the G limit, if you pull up too quickly.
So I don't see what the problem is. The only problem is the emphasis on it is easy. The pilots notes don't say that its easy, that say that it is very easy for the pilot to impose high load factors when looping, pulling out of dives or doing tight turns. Something any pilot of any airforce would agree. It then goes on to say that it is well within the pilots power to exceed 10G. If the Spitfire goes past 10G then you can expect the wings to come off.
I do not have any problem with the SIM breaking the wings off should the Spit exceed 10G
However its the how easy is it.
It depends on the individual but you would expect most pilots to lose consiousness at 7-8G and tunnel vision happens well before then. The Sim should show a tunnel vision effect at around 4G and a loss of consiousness at around say 8G.
All aircraft will have their break point whereas the effect on the pilot of the G forces is a constant and would apply to all.
In the real world it would be a rare pilot who delberately went past the point of consiousness it would have to be a real emergency, last throw of the dice situation. This would explain why it was rare to have an accident of this type.
The only situation I can see this happening is if the pilot yanked hard on the controls adn suddenly went through the passing out limit. Even here they would probably have a chance to ease off the controls as there are four stages, 1) a loss of colour vision, 2) tunnel vision 3) blacking out whilst stayng consious and then 4) passing out.
So to sum up, if the Pilot decides to go into a state of passing out and then the aircraft goes through its limits, you have a chance of things breaking up.