Robtek and Manu,
Thanks for participating and sorry if you feel like you are being whacked in the face repeatedly by a 1/24 scale Spitfire.
I have an emotional connection to the Spit, I always go and give my one a pat (Mk19) whenever I am back in my home city (Perth, Aus), and marvel at it's very odd rudder trim tab.
Despite that, I agree with most of what you say, as I agree with the core of Crumpp's argument as I see it:
The early marks of Spitfire had specific measured control characteristics, involving slight longitudinal instability, neutral stick stability and light control forces. These should be implemented as well as possible in simulation.
I don't see anyone disagreeing with that actually. I am disappointed that it is tricky to even acheive a high speed stall in current CloD Spitfires.
Crumpps qualitative interpretation on top of that that the Spit stability is a large weakness (reading back through the thread it still seems clear to me but not so much in the original post) is not supportable, unless you can legalistically exclude all opinions by pilots, which are legion. Especially when the NACA standard is admissable, which unlike the stability data it is based on, is an expert but qualitative judgement on top.
That said there are some odd side issues added in by Crumpp, like the assertion that buffet is effectively binary in the sense that either the Spitfire is out of the buffet, or stuck in a hard buffet with a massive turn degredation. This does not seem to fit with the historical record or IvanK's and Glider's flight experience of buffet onset sensing than unloading slightly.
The MkV bobweight attributed as a cure for dangerous instability in MkI and II is not supported by the historical evidence as I see it.
I could certainly believe that accidental spins out of combat turns occurred often in the Spitfire, as they are amply documented. Recovery is clearly straightforward, which should give one caution of using instructions in Pilot's notes as proof that certain actions endanger the Spitfire more than other fighters of the time.
I could certainly believe that Spit instability decreased it's ability as a gun platform, as this is supported by the historical record.
I really don't think that arguing as if the other side have had a special meeting and share all the same arguments is constructive. It's a shame though, the disscussion moderates always disappear (at least not literally, like in a civil war
), or get mad and become extremists, leaving the latter as the last men standing.
I also wish the mods could have a script that deletes any post that use the eyes rolling icon. And perhaps over a certain% of bold. But not smileys
camber