Flying the Flight Replicas Bf109 and Buchon

[Catboat]

Hi All,

For those of you who are having fun re Take-Off and Landing of the above, I can recommend reading the Haynes "Messerschmitt Bf109 Owners Workshop Manual", available from Haynes Publishing, Yeovil, Somerset, U.K. Haynes have long published the these Manuals, covering the Restoration, Care, Ownership, Operation, and Maintenance of many iconic aircraft, including the Spitfire, Mustang, Hurricane, B17, Lancaster, and many others. They start with the nuts and bolts etc. and work up from there. From the flying point of view, they also include tips from pilots who have recently flown or are currently flying these aircraft. In the case of the Buchon, and the Bf109, there are individual narratives by Dave Southwood, former R.A.F.Test Pilot who compares the Spitfire and the Bf109, and the Bf109 itself, formerly having flown Black 6; Cliff Spink, owner and pilot of a Buchon; Flt.Lt Charlie Brown, currently BF109E-4 and Bf109G-2, gives a very interesting comparison between these two 109s, and lastly but not leastly,a report of the wartime testing of a Bf109G-6/U2

[Javis]

Good tip, thanks! 50 bucks at Amazon though...

Might try this first : https://forums.eagle.ru/showthread.php?t=135476

cheers,
jan

[Bomber_12th]

Thank you for the tip about the book, Catboat, it sounds like a great one to have! Cliff Spink doesn't own a Buchon himself, but he has piloted a few. Charlie Brown has flown a lot of the types - Bf-109E, Bf-109G-2, Bf-109G-4 (converted Buchon), Bf-109G-6, Bf-109G-12 (converted Buchon), and stock Buchons. In takeoffs and landings, I recall Steve Hinton stating that the Bf-109E was an easier to handle, more docile aircraft than the later G and Buchon types.

Jan, I found that exact same Mark Hanna pilot report in an old warbird magazine while testing Mike's Buchon, and I found it confirms just how accurate the flight dynamics are.

[Catboat]

Thank you for the tip about the book, Catboat, it sounds like a great one to have! Cliff Spink doesn't own a Buchon himself, but he has piloted a few. Charlie Brown has flown a lot of the types - Bf-109E, Bf-109G-2, Bf-109G-4 (converted Buchon), Bf-109G-6, Bf-109G-12 (converted Buchon), and stock Buchons. In takeoffs and landings, I recall Steve Hinton stating that the Bf-109E was an easier to handle, more docile aircraft than the later G and Buchon types.

Jan, I found that exact same Mark Hanna pilot report in an old warbird magazine while testing Mike's Buchon, and I found it confirms just how accurate the flight dynamics are.

Thanks Folks,
I did find the information very helpful myself. My home field Murrayfield, (YMUL), has a grassed area running parallel to the sealed runway,05/23. Using the techniques mentioned in the book, I am managing to keep relative straight on take-off, using the edge of the sealed runway, giving peripheral cues for direction, and using the curved approach technique, my landings have gone from being gigantic leaps into the unknown, to a series of bunny-hops of reducing amplitude-Ahh,progress!! Just a final comment: According to Paul Brickhill's book, "Reach for the Sky", when Douglas Bader was shot down and captured, Adolf Galland, arranged for him to be invited to Galland's Base for lunch, prior to Bader being sent off to P.O.W.camp. While Bader was there he was allowed to sit in a Bf109. Bader, looking at the heavily-framed canopy, and the cramped cockpit, is alleged to have said to himself, "What a horrible place to die." Food for thought!!