Quote:
Originally Posted by bongodriver
And this is exactly why there is no reason to question the Spitfires superior turning ability, whenever there is a report of a 109 out turning a Spit the 109 was probably being flown by a skilled pilot against an average Spit pilot.
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How can a RAF pilot with a bunch of hours in the 109 be more skilled than the other RAF pilots in their usual rides?
It could be also that the ones who actually out-turned the 109 were very skilled pilots while the 109 pilot could out-turn the other average pilots...
Simply there's no answer.
We can't know the real turn-rate skill of those plane: wingarea and power are only two of the many variables how dictate the maximum turn-rate.
Anyway I still think that it's easier to reach the best turn rate in a plane that does not kill you if you push too much.
Probably the Spitfire real turn rate was better, but easily only the bravest pilot could go near it (so near that the next day they could have spinned losing their life).