Recent content by Engineman

Wow! Looks like I have 1000's of hours on those mainspars in the L1011! Eng

Yeh! Stick with the knowledgeable people who tell you what they (choose to) think! Eng

Sorry to be very late here, High performance guns were important for the bomber-killer. German fighters had found the 0.5 Browning defence of the B-17 etc to be quite bad, and the prospective B 29 defence would be worse. The answer was bigger and better guns for the fighter. The MK 103 was...

Hi, Winkle Brown makes quite positive remarks about the flying performance of the Ta 152 H in his book "Wings of the Luftwaffe". He was quite well qualified to comment as he had done high altitude development flying of the Spitfire PR 19. Brown could only fly the Ta 152 H without power...

Yes, in extremis the system broke down. I believe the N.Africa campaigns in WW2 were so far removed from supplies of spares at times, that both Allied and Axis were mixing and matching damaged aircraft parts to generate flying aircraft. Merlin engine rebuilds in Cairo were really hard pressed...

In WW2, there was a fairly comprehensive system in the RAF for processing damaged RAF aircraft. A damaged aircraft would be catagorised for the damage and level of repair required. Minor damages could be repaired on site, and sometimes bigger damage was repaired on site with a works team, but...

Your description is still incorrect. The CSU Controls rpm. Its response to rpm is used to give an output that adjusts the blade pitch to achieve the demanded rpm, not a specific blade pitch. Eng

Hi, Thanks for your reply. I understand your points. Being specific, all different engine/VP propeller installations have their own particular limitations and protocols, but what I have said about basic CSU equipped operation is correct. With respect to the propeller speed control being a...

Hi, You are still confusing the simplicity of CSU engine control with the trickyness of a basic 2 pitch or simple VP propeller. There is no "ability" needed with a CSU, you simply move the lever to the rpm required. The throttle is simply opened or closed to give the MAP or Boost required...

Thanks Writer. The technical understanding of pilots varied hugely. Believe me, I am a professional engineer and pilot! In those WW2 days, pilots would usually be trained to use their aircraft, with enough technical information to understand the function of the particular type. Although many...

Yes, certainly a good group. These would be from a/the wing MG/FF's on a Bf 109 E, unless it was fratricide by a Whirlwind. Eng

Hi Writer, Generally, there are many differences in the way that different specific "Constant speed" propeller operating systems function. You should also bear in mind that we are talking relatively early systems here, more modern propeller control is far more complicated. So, I will try to...

The operating functions of the Curtiss Electric Propeller that you describe, are similar to the German VDM electric propeller in the Bf 109 late E to K, and others. The Electrical switching and functionality is similar. However, the VDM system also incorporated a prop pitch indicator "clock"...

Hi, you may see from the posts that there is more to this. The function of engine control did change greatly with the introduction of Constant speed control. I hope you can see the difference between the systems. Eng

Hi, The correct detail of how these systems function is important, witness the incorrect statement apparently quoted, or was it a miss-translation? The only Spitfires with selectable "Pitch lever" were those with variable pitch propellers but without a CSU. Maybe he was confused and quoting his...