A newbies impression of the 109 and spit

[Crumpp]

Sorry Kurfurst but you are wrong about the spit elevators, they were sensitive yes but can in no way way be classed as ultra sensitive. I am a real world aerobatic pilot generally flying a Pitts special, and have flown many aerobatic types. The elevator on these aircraft IS sensitive, much much more so than the Spit. The Spitfire that went into service was and always has, been described as having well balanced controls (a twitch elevator would not accord this distinction!).

It is a well known fact that the British aircraft types were much more forgiving than the German equivalents, a factor in itself in the supremacy of the Spitfire over the ME109 during the Battle of Britain. You had 'green' pilots on both sides, but the Spitfire was markedly easier to fly for those pilots allowing inexperienced pilots to get more out of the machine than was typical of the Germans.

Longitudinal Instability and the Pitts elevator are not comparible. There is a huge difference between the minimal stability exhibited by a Pitts and a dangerous instability exhibited by the Spitfire.

The Bf-109 is much more forgiving than any straight wing high aspect ratio design without LE slats. Think of the slats just like training wheels. An elliptical wing on the other hand exhibits very harsh stall characteristics because of its shape.