Spitfire Unplayable?

[ATAG_Dutch]

Originally Posted by utu

No, it has only 2 position mixture: rich and lean. Lean is for cruise, because the Spit has huge amount of fuel consumption and this is a good compromise between horizontal speed, temperatures and fuel consump. The mixture is not critical like a Cessna or other small planes, where you have to listen to the engine and then pulling or pushing the mixt lever to find the right mixture. An engine of 27 liters works different. Tried at at +4 and +2 boost, even at high, med and low rpm: climbing full CEM over 5000ft means engine's fail with Spit mkIIa (rotol prop).

Well, I've just tried it with both Mk1a and MkIIa Spits and got to 10000ft and back down again without mishap.

Once started on the ground in rich mixture, radiator fully open, allow engine to warm up to 80 degrees or so with brakes on and 0 boost.

Immediately taxi to runway and take-off at +5 boost.

As soon as you take-off, lower boost to +4 and pitch to 2650, and set engine to lean mixture.

After building up some speed, trim for climb at 160 - 180mph. Obviously IAS decreases as you climb.

Then it seems to be a balancing act between prop pitch and boost.
Coarsening the prop pitch keeps oil temp under control, lower revs=cooler oil temp, higher revs=higher oil temp. Keep to about 70 degrees.
Engine boost keeps water temp under control, keep to about 90 degrees.
I didn't go into the red boost zone at all much on the climb, so no more than +4 and sometimes as low as 0 boost.
All this was with coolant rad fully open.

After reaching 10000, I chopped the throttle and changed to rich mixture to keep the motor running, closed the coolant rad and pretty much split-'S'-ed to the deck.
For a trickle of power for landing I had to go back to lean mixture and back again to rich on chopping the throttle once on the ground again for the taxi.

Hope this helps!

[bongodriver]

bear in mind you must reduce power before reducing RPM, even modern aircraft with small engines and props don't like being overboosted.

and also increase RPM before incresing power.

[fruitbat]

now try and get to 30,000ft.

bear in mind that a lot of the fighting took place between 20,000 and 30,000ft.

[ATAG_Dutch]

Originally Posted by fruitbat

now try and get to 30,000ft.

bear in mind that a lot of the fighting took place between 20,000 and 30,000ft.

Okey Dokey. BRB.

[fruitbat]

Originally Posted by Dutch_851

Okey Dokey. BRB.

if you do, tell me how your doing it, cause i bloody can't, lol.

[utu]

Originally Posted by Dutch_851

Well, I've just tried it with both Mk1a and MkIIa Spits and got to 10000ft and back down again without mishap.

Once started on the ground in rich mixture, radiator fully open, allow engine to warm up to 80 degrees or so with brakes on and 0 boost.

Immediately taxi to runway and take-off at +5 boost.

As soon as you take-off, lower boost to +4 and pitch to 2650, and set engine to lean mixture.

After building up some speed, trim for climb at 160 - 180mph. Obviously IAS decreases as you climb.

Then it seems to be a balancing act between prop pitch and boost.
Coarsening the prop pitch keeps oil temp under control, lower revs=cooler oil temp, higher revs=higher oil temp. Keep to about 70 degrees.
Engine boost keeps water temp under control, keep to about 90 degrees.
I didn't go into the red boost zone at all much on the climb, so no more than +4 and sometimes as low as 0 boost.
All this was with coolant rad fully open.

After reaching 10000, I chopped the throttle and changed to rich mixture to keep the motor running, closed the coolant rad and pretty much split-'S'-ed to the deck.
For a trickle of power for landing I had to go back to lean mixture and back again to rich on chopping the throttle once on the ground again for the taxi.

Hope this helps!

If you can climb at 10000 ft without any stutter then you have found the little trick. Was it smooth?

[ATAG_Dutch]

Originally Posted by fruitbat

if you do, tell me how your doing it, cause i bloody can't, lol.

Ok, so the altimeter gets stuck at 11500 ft.

That was a challenge! No matter what I did, I couldn't get above this height, and whilst trying, was wallowing around the sky on the edge of stall.
The ground looked very far away though!

I took off from Manston, (Ramsgate, whatever) and gently circled around, but keeping wings as level as poss for lift.
This got me to 10000 quite easily, with no engine probs, but even with wings level, and the odd shallow dive to up the airspeed, could not get any height over 11500.

Bongo, you're a pilot, any tips?!

@ Utu, do you mean engine stutter, or game stutter? The engine was smooth enough.

[utu]

Originally Posted by Dutch_851

@ Utu, do you mean engine stutter, or game stutter? The engine was smooth enough.

I mean engine stuttering, it becomes worse at 10000ft and over. I can climb at 14000 or 15000ft also, but the engine stuttering makes me epileptic, then if I insist to keep the altitude the engine fails with a message "presa d'aria bruciata" (air intake burnt)....

[ATAG_Dutch]

Originally Posted by utu

I mean engine stuttering, it becomes worse at 10000ft and over. I can climb at 14000 or 15000ft also, but the engine stuttering makes me epileptic, then if I insist to keep the altitude the engine fails with a message "presa d'aria bruciata" (air intake burnt)....

Hmm... that may mean that the supercharger has failed.

I'll try again and let you know if I have any better success.

[fruitbat]

i think something is broken at the moment, highest i've got to is about 18,000

its like the auto mixture isn't working.

can't get any of the planes anywhere near there cielings, and ideed the heights they fought at