Bf109 ground handling

[Crumpp]

I opened the throttle slowly. Directional control authority quickly felt quite positive, although I recalled my commitment to use it judiciously. A fairly strong push on the stick was required to gently lift the tail as the airspeed passed 60 km/hr; an act that was further destabilizing, however things were quickly improving as the airspeed increased. With a gentle skip, the Bf-109 became airborne around 110 km/hr. I retracted the undercarriage and immediately turned into a climbing orbit overhead the airfield while I confirmed that the engine indications were stable.

I entered the flare at 125 km/hour, maintaining a trickle of power. I can’t claim to have been completely at ease, but within seconds the wheels began to gently rumble across the grass. The Bf-109 was home from another mission.

Despite the dramatic lead in....the pilot has no issues and the airplane exhibits no bad behaviors.....

The Bf-109 also had some other interesting suspension innovations.

Thus a 109 with its struts canted forward and outward - canted in TWO directions from the centreline - has a softer but well-damped suspension action AND can have a longer travel.

Motorcycles were the first post-war application of this suspension technology, which was so new that only a couple of racing bikes had it BEFORE the war - the Kompressor BMWs of 1935-39 and the Gardengate Nortons of 1939. Cars/lorries relied on boring old leaf springs for decades afterwards.

http://forum.axishistory.com/viewtop...c260e#p1165519

Well, as long as the 109 pilot is right on top of it and doesn't let the swing get noticeably ahead of him there are no issues. The point of no return on the way into a groundloop comes much sooner in a 109 than a Spit because the CG is further aft (relative to the main gear ground contact patches) as previously stated. The Spit is much more forgiving in regards to groundlooping (due to the CG being very close to the gear) but this comes at the price of being prone to nose overs. Pick your poison. This is all very theoretical for this forum, however, because groundlooping isn't actually modeled in the game, at least that I've noticed (I've been a taildragger pilot for decades).