BF 109 canopy and bailing out
 

The BF 109 canopy appears hinged and opens to the right.I am curious about how the pilot bailed out. Some aircraft were notoriously difficult to get out of or away from. In some cases the pilot dives out, in other cases the pilot inverted the aircraft and just dropped out. In the case of the 109 does it lock open or if once open and the aircraft became inverted would it slam shut? Could they jettison the canopy? If not were they obligated to go out the left side -- which in case of fire on the port side might be problematic/

Yes mate they can jettison the canopy...just like you can

Check options and keybinding OR you can click on it to release, it's the small red lever on the left hand side towards the front of the franr

The default key is Control + j

You can use the click able cockpit too, its the red trigger at your left.

Is it only me who have problems with the german pilot to bail out?
Every time and I mean EVERY time :D I bail out in a german plane the parachute doesn't open and the pilot touches the ground in a very ungentle way.
I definitely pack a parachute for the german pilots in the menue and I just don't have a clue what I do wrong.

Pull the cord :D

Sorry couldn't resist

The German pilot jettison his canopy by pulling the red cord in the left part of the instrument panel then jump and open his parachute...

senseispcc,

I see you use the G940. I'm using the MS FFB stick, but I have a G940 and am wondering if I should change or stay with a good thing.

Also, is there a place in a menu to add/not add a parachute?

binky9

Use the parachute is a volontary action I use my mouse, pull the cord or jettison the canopy or ctrl +j sometime ctrl+o, and the keys, ctrl+e, to open the parachute and my joystick to fly the planes but I am a RAF fan and do not often fly German or axis planes.:rolleyes:

I knew it would come in handy


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5-Dnq...feature=relmfu

Wow, Richie, great film.

Now, I have a question. Did the German pilots jettison the canopy, even when just trying to ditch? I guess that would make it easier to get out of when the plane hit the ground (in case of fire).

See time 1:11 in the film, obviously, the 109 driver was not going to bail (too low). And, all the shots of the ditched 109s looked like the canopy was jettisoned, not just opened.

I have not been jettisoning the canopy in my sim ditches (I need to do that a lot), but now, maybe I will, to be historically accurate!

I guees the reason is that if you ditch it can be likely that your canopy can be pressed back into position if it is still on the right side of your plane. Imagine the plane ditches with a grade to the left and the gravity forces the canopy back into position.... not amusing when your plane starts to flood ;)

If its jettisoned you can escape from the plane from both directions

Yes, the standard procedure for ditching a 109 would be to jettison the canopy. Most aircraft with rear sliding canopies would open and lock them. Even then in a hard ditch the lock can fail and the canopy close. If it were 100% safe to do so, I would always jettison the canopy before a ditch but, jettisoning it has its' own share of hazards.

IIRC, in the P-51 the procedure is to lower the seat as far as possible, duck as low as possible, and then pull the release lever.

--Outlaw.

A buddy's dad flew with the allies (P40's I think) back in the war, not in a 109, but I imagine alot of pilots in different planes doing the same thing...
He said that when ejecting, they'd roll over and use a foot on the stick to cause the plane to dip (upside down) and give them the final "kick" out of the plane they needed. Of course I'm sure every scenario is not the same.

Just to clarify; when the 109 canopy was jettisoned the main canopy was unlocked and flew off, as did the fixed aft portion and radio mast. This photo of Von Werra's 109E shows how the entire cockpit area was opened up (although Von Werra belly landed without releasing the canopy.)

http://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k3...9_examined.jpg

Slightly OT: One of the biggest problems with the Spitfire canopy through most of the B of B is that it could not be jettisoned and had to be slid back by the pilot: if the canopy rails had been bent or damaged the canopy could jam in position

Never mind the picture on the left, but the one on the right is his plane before it was scalped.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...EZ/PSFEBEZ.jpg
The pic on the left is one of Cpt Farrel's skins.

The P-40 also had a very nasty trait where upon release the front part of the canopy would lift and the trailing edge of the canopy would spin forward just where the pilots head would be. (not mentioned in the pilot notes at the time.) If I remember rightly early in the war one of the leading Australia aces in the Western Desert was knocked senseless when he jettisoned the canopy. Luckly he came around with 'just' enough time to be able to bail out safely and report the issue. Leaning forward as you poped the canopy became SOP.