British Blind Flying Panel in Hurricane and other aircraft

[Fatboy Coxy]

Hi all

Watching the youtube video, "Why the Hurricane was such a vital aircraft in WW2" by the Imperial War Museum, see
At about 10.26 minutes into the video a contribution from a former pilot, Percival Leggett, remarks that the Hurricane had a Blind Flying Panel of six instruments, which was then standard in RAF aircraft, which made conversion from one aircraft type to another much easier.

Would these instrument panels have been fitted in American imported aircraft like the Brewster Buffalo and P.40 Tomahawk used by the RAF as well?

 

[Shortround6]

Would these instrument panels have been fitted in American imported aircraft like the Brewster Buffalo and P.40 Tomahawk used by the RAF as well

Probably. RAF Blind Flying Panel

This supposed to be from a Lancaster. What the RAF did (or tried to do) was to put the panel directly in front of the pilot and put the same instruments in the same position on the panel. The instruments themselves may have varied a bit but the airspeed was going to be in the upper left, the artificial horizon in the top middle, rate of climb top right and so on.

Other instruments were sort of scattered about depending on the aircraft designers whimsy.

For the pilots this meant that from trainer to fighter to new fighter to bomber, these 6 instruments that were the most needed for flying blind were located pretty much in same place on the panel and with the instruments all in same place in relation to each other regardless of the different aircraft. It makes scanning the instruments in a familiar pattern easier.

The US planes may well have had the same instruments, just not in the same places or perhaps not at tightly grouped.

Open to correction.