Recent content by spicmart

When you installed into an Fw 190D-9 and a Spitfire Mk XIV the same engine, Jumo 213A or Griffon 65 respectively, which would be the better performing fighter? I mean when both machines, pitched against each other, had the same engine type installed. Spit vs. Dora (both powered by Griffon 65)...

Fair enough ,you're right about Tank. One has to grant him that he put importance to agility around the longitudinal axis though. Afaik it was the Fw 190 which brought this aspect of air combat really to prominence. Please correct me if I'm wrong. As far as the Italians were concerned, what...

Messerschmitt was crazy for high wing loading which would transform to higher speed. At least Focke Wulf put emphasis on roll rate additionally. Interestingly the German philosophy, seemed to prefer roll over turning ability. Pilots accounts appreciate that the "wings were small enough to...

Apparently the Germans put emphasis on "Rollwendigkeit" which means roll agility in the air applying small wings with yet relatively higher aspect ratio. It means it doesn't look broad when looked at from above. I wonder how great the benefits really were when Allied designer wouldn't follow...

Use "one" instead of "you".

Okay, but how do you explain that late-war the Germans still went with high wing load and their developments and new designs had smaller wings than the rest. Only the Russian planes featured even smaller wings, but they were also a lot lighter.

But the US and British designed fighters with big wings from the get-go....

Was the preference of German aircraft designers for small wings/high wing loading a virtue or a drawback for a fighter in combat?

With the war ongoing control harmonisation on war planes became increasingly important, is my impression. The first plane I read of that had excellent control harmony was the Fw 190 which designer Kurt Tank seem to put more emphasis on than his counterpart Willy. And later Allied planes were...

No other than that the creator called it a Me 109M.

Instead of going the Me 209V route could they have improved the Me 109 so that it looked about like this? Eliminating most of its flaws it would have been its own successor. Oh, additional fuel cells in the wings for better range, too, as well as a laminar wing profile and a more solid wing...

The (seemingly) square wing tips seem off. Looks like the wing tip of a Ta 152?

You once mentioned a 2900 HP figure gor the Jumo 213J. Is it from this graph?

Found this pic in an FB group where it has been discussed what Focke Wulf that is, to no conclusion. Anybody know more?

I thought the Ki-83 was a long range heavy fighter which happens to carry a anti-bomber armament that was necessary? It was amazingly manoeverable for a twin, not surprising as it's Japanese. As you mentioned its cannons weighted less than Hispanos. What about a DB 605 running at high-quality...