Elliptical Winging

[Lewis-A2A]

Not just Unique in fighters, or combat aircraft, but in aviation altogether. Its elliptical wing made it an icon of the era, a legend in the making. Beautiful with teeth, the Spitfire was deadly to its foes and a pleasure to its pilots. A an aircraft ectched in history for being the protector of a people and of freedom;











(unedited fsx)

[Naki]

Very nice...how far away is the Mark V?

[padburgess]

Hi Scott

I agree that the Spitfire was a beautiful aircraft, but sorry, the elliptical wing was not unique to it and in fact Supermarine were beaten to the punch by Heinkel with the He70. The early He111 also had a beautiful elliptical wing. These tended to be dropped fairly quickly though as the performance advantage they provided was not enough to outweigh the manufacturing penalty.

Still you can't beat the gorgeous sight of the Spitfire in planform.

Regards
Paul

[Lewis-A2A]

Yes you are correct Paul, hence me not saying it was unique to the Spitfire itself. Its was however unique in that aircraft with the wing that were successful can be counted on one hand, aircraft with the wing altogether can prolly be counted on two hands and its pretty much limited to 30's design too. The Spitfires wing came from Supermarines racer history.

thanks,
Lewis

[Mathias]

Hi Scott

I agree that the Spitfire was a beautiful aircraft, but sorry, the elliptical wing was not unique to it and in fact Supermarine were beaten to the punch by Heinkel with the He70. The early He111 also had a beautiful elliptical wing. These tended to be dropped fairly quickly though as the performance advantage they provided was not enough to outweigh the manufacturing penalty.

Still you can't beat the gorgeous sight of the Spitfire in planform.

Regards
Paul

Don't forget that the elliptical design caused a far from stellar roll rate due to the unfavourable position the ailerons had to be mounted.
The Brits adressed it somewhat with the clipped wing design, the US boys in Africa tried to catch up by mounting metal plates on the ailerons,
nothing what would make it competitive to second generation designs though such as the Fw190 or P51.
I agree though, all the wartime gospel aside, it's quite a sight to see a Spitfire flying!

[hairyspin]

Aahhh, the Lady!!! Lovely, lovely and the canopy on that Mk.Ib has flat sides - excellent attention to detail.

BTW Mathias, aren't you trying to get out to FHC sometime? Fw190A in flying condition, original engine, being flown on display this summer??

[Blade124]

The fw190 was clearly the most maneuverable energy fighter, however, the Spitfire (metal ailerons) had a very fast roll rate during slower, close combat. Under 250mph ias, it out rolled a P-51. The clipped wing variant actually out-rolled the fw190 under 220mph ias.

Scott.

[OBIO]

The Spitfire surely was one of the most beautiful planes of all times. But still not my favorite elliptical winged fighter. That status goes to the fighter plane with elliptical wings and a round engine...the P-47 Thunderbolt. Not meaning to turn this into a "what's the best plane" debate....just basically posting just to hear myself type.

OBIO

[Lewis-A2A]

Interesting OBIO ive never really thought of the P-47 like that. Ithink its because its drilled into us what beauty is, and the curve of the spit wing is it. The P-47 is somewhat on the other end of the scale hehe. Its beautiful but more for the aviation fan where as the normal bloke in the street will admit to the spitfire being beautiful.

[Blackbird686]

I have always thought that the Spitfire's beauty came from it's overall design, in addition to the wings. The plane has such clean lines and a flowing shape, the eliptical wings are just part of what makes a Spitfire a Spitfire. The plane retained it's good looks all the way through to the F.22 and F.24 versions, although those planes weren't quite as graceful. The Mk.XIV with the clearview canopy was certainly a very nice design, but overall I think the Mk.I through the Mk.IX and Mk.XVI were clearly the most beautiful versions.

BB686

[pilottj]

The Spitfire is a beautiful plane for sure. My personal favorite is the MK. IX with the small tail. To me it is the balance of curves and 'muscle' in all the right places and proportions...a little more 'muscle' under the cowling than the early marks. I know A2A will probably be 'Spitfire'd out after the Mk V...but would hope Mk IV eventually sees some light.

[Blade124]

That status goes to the fighter plane with elliptical wings and a round engine...the P-47 Thunderbolt.OBIO

Well, that's because US engineering is superior to British engineering

[CodyValkyrie]

And heeeeere we go. :D

[pilottj]

And heeeeere we go. :D

LOL, I take it this happens alot behind closed doors during A2A development meetings

[Mathias]

The fw190 was clearly the most maneuverable energy fighter, however, the Spitfire (metal ailerons) had a very fast roll rate during slower, close combat. Under 250mph ias, it out rolled a P-51. The clipped wing variant actually out-rolled the fw190 under 220mph ias.

Scott.

Absolutely correct as long as you saddle the horse from the front end, and exactly the reason why boom 'n zoom replaced turn 'n burn fairly early in WWII.
It's slow speed performance didn't help the Spit and the attrition rates amongst the British pilots in '41/'42'/'43 tell the story.