Stability and Control characteristics of the Me-262

[ACE-OF-ACES]

Crumpp brought up the topic of the simulation of stability in flight sim (CoD) where he said..

Originally Posted by Crumpp

I think the light bulb will come on for most readers as to the importance of stability and control. It will lay the foundation for more informed discussions of other designs included in the game and in the future as the game grows.

Which is an interesting topic, and in that same spirt, and format, I would like to present EVALUATION OF THE ME-262 that was preformed by TECHNICAL INTELLIGENCE (T-2 AMC). And what they discovered with regards to the Me-262's stability.

The Me-262 was the first operational jet fighter of WWII, but not the only jet fighter of WWII, and was not without its issues like many aircraft. Raw performance numbers for speed and climb do not tell the whole story about any design. The pilots ability to precisely maneuver and use a fighter to the edge of its envelope as an effective gun platform is just as important to the fighting ability of the design as any other performance parameter.

Many of the warring powers during World War II had measurable and definable stability and control standards. Stability and control was a young science. Airplanes had simply been two slow and light previously. The forces were small enough such that there was little need.

Stability and control is the measurable science of flying qualities as they appear to the pilot. This means it is the science of creating a control system that the pilot can safely extract maximum performance of the aircraft. Granted some subjective areas are lacking because historical data is incomplete and/or missing entirely missing, or was never preformed, keeping in mind the following was performed by trained test pilots who worked in conjunction with the engineers to determine the flying qualities of the airplane.

With that said, below I have provided some quotes from the PILOT's OBSERVATIONS section of the report that relate directly to the Me-262s stability.

FLIGHT CHARACTERISTICS

Handling and control at various speeds
The handling characteristics were poor at all speeds above 350mph. The airplane would not make a very satisfactory gun platform because of a tendency to hunt directionally, which resulted in snaking at speeds above 400 mph IAS.

CONCLUSIONS

The handling characteristics of the Me-262 airplanes tested were very poor. However, it is believed that, with the exception of the directional hunting or yawing, they would have been considerably improved if the aileron and elevator servo tabs had been connected.

Things to notice....

The pilots concluded that the Me-262 would not make a satisfactory gun platform because of it' tendency to hunt directionally which turned into actual snaking the faster the plane went.

Which should make one take pause and consider the irony here.. That one of the Me-262 strengths, i.e. it's superior speed is also a weakness when it comes to stability and it's usefulness as a gun platform.

Hopefully by the time 1C creates a CoD sequel that includes the Me-262 the FM will be such that it is capable of simulating these negative aspects of the Me-262s stability.

Below I included some pilot observations that are not directly related to stability, but that I found interesting.

FLIGHT CHARACTERISTICS

Cockpit Layout
The cockpit is somewhat cramped and it is difficult to turn in the seat to obtain vision to the rear. The location of the instruments and controls is satisfactory except that the throttles and starting controls are located too far aft for easy manipulation.

Brakes and ground handling
The brakes were vary poor, which made ground handling difficult.

Take-off and initial climb
All take-offs were running take-offs, due to the poor brakes. The ground roll was slightly longer than ordinarily required. The nose wheel could be lifted off at about 100mph IAS, and the take-off was made at about 120 mph in a nose-high attitude.

Climb
no unusual characteristics were noted in the climbs.

Vision
Vision was rather poor, due to the design of the canopy, Many braces obstructed the line of vision and distortion was apparent when looking upward. Vision to the rear was poor because of the difficulty of turning in the seat to look aft.

Enjoy!