Flight Replicas Mk5 Spitfire released

**shotgunshack** · March 31st, 2024, 08:23

Originally Posted by Bomber_12th

Thank you, Jan. I think it's just that the clipped wings make it look more business-like/brutish, compared to the more elegant lines of the full-span wing tips, and therefore I've always thought it was a neat look. I certainly count myself in the minority with regards to preferring the clipped-wing look. This video from 1996 just popped up again recently on Facebook, of Andy Sephton talking through a flying display in the Shuttleworth Collection's Spitfire Mk.V AR501 at Old Warden (back when it sported clipped wings), and he mentions about trying not to show off too much of the wing plan-view during his display due to the clipped wings making it a bit "ugly", in his words: https://fb.watch/r8cM25nPql/

Despite the low rez that's one of the best displays I've seen. Thanks John.

**keithb77** · March 31st, 2024, 11:17

heywooood

If we’re taking a minute to conduct a poll on clipped wings vs full elliptical wings on the Spitfire (or Jug)
I’ll vote full elliptical every time.

Me too - in Clostermann's The Big Show, the pilots referred to their Spitfire V's as 'clipped, clapped and cropped' - clipped wings to improve roll rate together with single-stage supercharger to help combat the FW190's at low-level.

***K5083*** · March 31st, 2024, 12:58

Originally Posted by keithb77

Me too - in Clostermann's The Big Show, the pilots referred to their Spitfire V's as 'clipped, clapped and cropped' - clipped wings to improve roll rate together with single-stage supercharger to help combat the FW190's at low-level.

And "clapped" referred to the fact that the clipped wings often were retrofitted to battle-weary (clapped out) full span Spits.

After a couple of trips around Duxford, I like this plane a lot. If I have to pick a personal favorite, I'd lean toward the Aeroplane Heaven Mk.I, for its better modeling of the braking, engine management, and cantankerous handling of the original. The real Mk.V was a bit more refined, but the FR model is very easy to start, taxi, and fly with expected behaviors and no surprises. Questionable decisions like the one to give the P-40N no prop pitch control have been avoided here. Visually it is very nice, inside and out, and I appreciate the attention to accuracy in the external textures compared with some products we have seen recently. The price point is frankly too low for the value that you get. This is easily a $20 or $25 plane. I suspect that FR may be reaching for a broader market here. With other Spits already available, this may cater to players with less experience who are likely to be lured by the price point relative to its competitors. If so, FR may have hit a home run, as those players will receive a delightful handling plane and it is still authentic enough for the more demanding crowd. I will be using it a lot and hope it sells well.

August

**Browncoat** · March 31st, 2024, 16:38

I just saw this in the marketplace. Wonderful! I was really happy to see that the Aboukir Trop variant is a part of the pack. That is not one that I have often seen represented in Flightsims.