Throwing some light on rates of turn

[NZtyphoon]

Originally Posted by IvanK

They do mention that specifically in the report.

I presume the reason for the original RAE report was to decide whether manouevring flaps would be useful for existing designs and how they could be used in future. I doubt whether the original Spitfire flaps would have been strong enough to have been used at medium-high speeds, even if they had been adjustable. It is interesting to note that the Spitfire IV (later XII) Griffon engine prototype DP845 (first flight 27 November 1941) originally had reinforced slotted flaps with external guides, so possibly this alternative design was mooted as a result of the tests on the Spitfire III, which was very similar, apart from the engine.