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Re: [OM] Turning comparisons - OT (long)

Subject: Re: [OM] Turning comparisons - OT (long)
From: Barks <cmib@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Sun, 30 Jan 2000 18:33:40 +0000
The Spit certainly does turn better, both in the rate at which it rolls in and
the rate of turn that it can sustain (both important in a gunfight). Lower wing loading, that beautiful elliptical planform, and a traditional non-laminar wing
section all contribute.  The lower wing loading and planform also resulted in
suprelative high altitude performance. The Spit's weakest point was its lack of
legs.  Paul and his team also spent a lot of time trying to improve the Spit's
range. They had one shipped to Dayton where they sealed every volume they could
find to make tankage.  Fuel management was nightmare and their work was never
incorporated into production.  The Brits could have done this work themselves,
but were rather busy simultaneously dodging Luftwaffe bombs and producing
airplanes.

Gary Edwards
(an engineer in awe of what those guys did back then with nothing but slide rules
and smarts)


Engineers, huh! What did they know?  It was the pilots who made it happen ;->

Seriously though, the use of slide rules had the advantage of making you aware of what calculations you were carrying out surely?

BTW, aircrew and engineers have a love-hate relationship in my experience - especially design engineers since each thinks that he knows best what the other needs. Witness "The Right Stuff" when the pilot and astronaut-to-be asks where the window is in the space module...

But we all have something to bring to the table, as long as we get to the table and we talk when we get there to see what we need and whether we can have it - isn't that true of all parts of life?

[I spent 18 months discussing the design of the cockpit of Eurofighter with the avionics engineers who were designing its components.]

I'm better now though.

Chris

~~~~~ ><>
Chris Barker
mailto:cmib@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

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