Oleg - Spitfire Cockpit.

[MD_Wild_Weasel]

@BoBc ,
"I have been studying spit Mk1 30 yrs and the cockpit for 25 yrs. Not just from books, far from it, from hands on experience. Touching panels that flew in the BoB. I know my cockpits."

You lucky git can i be your friend? LOL The closest ive got to a spit is when its being rolled out for an airshow at Duxford. I did however manage to get one of the owners to take a picture of a Spit MkvcX4h!!


ooh sorry just remebered this cocpit was for the Vb next door. I wanted a picture of the vc4 pit but the old git said"we dont touch each others planes"


If these changes are not that time consuming to correct then i really believe that they should be corrected prior to release. After all we are all after historical accuracy.

[322Sqn_Dusty]

All RAF planes used similar lay-out blindflyingpanels, but even those differ in models, rectangular like the one in the attachment and rounded-off versions as seen in above picture.
For as I know instrumentpanels were fitted with parts at hand so Spitfires used by the same flight could differ.

Attachment panel is in use by the Dutch MkIX

[BOBC]

Hurricane Mk1 and Spitfire Mk1 in the BoB only had the square type blind flying panels. The way to tell the difference if holding both and not knowing which is for which aircraft is that the spitfire panel has a larger radiused curve top left, why...to allow function of the flaps up/down lever, else the corner gets in the way.
The curved top came later after the BoB.

Surviving spitfire Mk1's cannot be used as accurate reference for what the BoB pit looked like, with the exception of the Spitfire Mk1 at Cosford, it sat at Hendon many years called a Mk1 but inside it had seen changes taking it beyond what it should have looked like during the BoB, let alone during the period that its paint scheme represented. Therein lies the dangers of believing what you see in a Mk1 is what it was like during the BoB.
It was restored to Mk1 May 1939 spec by MAPS. Cockpit doesnt represent BoB in that it has a ring and bead gunsight.
I bypass the dangers of studying preserved aircraft by seeing what they had when frozen in time, the moment of the crash. If I see this part in a preserved aircraft then I can better details from it as its complete.

Aircraft undergo changes, Supermarine were forever issuing amendments and if you look at the MkII spitfire instrument panel drawing (there isnt one for the Mk1) you will see down the left side the amendments and when they were issued. As each amendment comes out its added to the master drawing.

I meant the survey to gauge simmers wishes, should there be a chance for a refit. No way can we go telling Oleg and co what we want, we can but form an 'orderly queue' and let him gauge the length of it and decide himself.

BOBC

[322Sqn_Dusty]

BOBC,

Sadly i can hold only the Spitfire Mk IX parts, so i haven't noticed the little difference before.

I'm still looking for a good Mk V mainpanel blueprint with measurements for a simpit though.

I'm sure the dev team sorts it out, i'll love flying the Mk's.

After a landing accident in 2007 the Dutch Mk IX finally flies again..she's still a delight to see roaring between the clouds.

[BOBC]

322Sqn_Dusty...have you tried RAF Museum Hendon. They have microfiche (spelling ?) of all the Spitfire plans, and when last there you stick it into the reader then throw a lever to fit the plan to A1 or A2 etc paper sizes and hit print. if you cant get there I am sure they can print you off a plan at original size.
You need to get one fully dimensioned as some are partially dimensioned. Dont ever trust the plan to be to scale, it isn't. They were deliberately drawn non scale. Paper changes size so by doing so, they force engineers to plot it out accurately. You need to re-create the drawing onto your chosen surface using the dimensions on it.
If no MkV plan then the Spitfire II is fully dimensioned and may prove a good start point. From what I remember when studying a MKV cockpit for 10 yrs, the panel was the basically the same as a Mk2. They dont move the holes around much.That though is said without researching it again, but you get my drift !

BOBC

[MD_Wild_Weasel]

o.k.. found these pictures of a spit mk1 pit. maybe this will help

[kristorf]

Hendons MkI

[philip.ed]

Chris, any more pictures of the one at Hendon? (any of the pilot in the cockpit?)

[kristorf]

A couple, a jobsworth 'shood' me away, I dared to go off the carpet area....

[philip.ed]

Excellent work mate, so how'd you get the pictures of the cockpit?