Dudley HenriquesInternational Fighter Pilots FellowshipCommercial Pilot. CFI RetiredLanding a Spitfire 101 I noticed that some of you had a few questions about landing a Spitfire. I had a few free moments tonight and thought I might be able to help you enjoy the RealAir Spit a bit more if I expanded a bit on how to land this airplane in real life.What follows is just about the same procedure I used in checking out pilots in hot prop tailwheel fighters.Landing a Spit isn

I flew the Spit for the first time tonight (though I've flown extensively in the Spit Mk I presented by Aeroplane Heaven) and I must say that the trick with the lower side windscreen works well to keep you on the runway centerline...the rest must come with practice.There's a word for my first landing in the RA Spit: "Boom-sa-daisy!"I'll get better.Yoda

Many thanks for that Dudley. Really brought it home.With no feel or feedback in a PC simulation, advice such as yours is invaluable.

Yeah this is really great having someone who flew the real thing writing tutorials like this - thanks!

Great information Dudley. Thanks again. - Doug

Thanks, Dudley. Even before reading your extensive review, I had managed to grease in five landings right on the centerline. Only during the first landing did I have a bit of bounce, but all subsequent landings have been smooth and nice, with only a bit of chirp as the Dunlaps hit the runway... :)I'm sure I'm being way too gentle, as I haven't managed to blow the engine yet... Even so, it is a LOT of fun! :)Thanks again for the great tips on this delightful a/c!

Dudley,Thanks for a great write-up!In an attempt to get my arms around the boost settings, I tried converting from pounds of boost to inches of manifold pressure, and a lot of things fell into place for me. After playing around with the numbers, it has become clear that "pounds of boost" is actually the pressure, in pounds per square inch, in excess of (or below) atmospheric pressure.So if the density of mercury is taken as 849 pounds per cubic foot, a conversion factor of 2.035 inches of mercury per pound (per square inch) of boost can be calculated. If a standard atmospheric pressure of 14.7 pounds per square inch (equivalent to 29.92 inches of mercury) is assumed, the following results fall out:Start with the Spitfire's upper power limit of 18 pounds of boost. That's 18 psi in excess of 14.7 psi. ( 14.7 + 18) x 2.035 = 66.5 inches of mercury. That's consistent with Rob's comment in the flying guide: "At maximum +18 lbs the Spitfire is producing the equivalent of roughly 66-67 inches of manifold pressure."Then go to the recommended take-off power setting of +7 lbs. (14.7 + 7) x 2.035 = 44.2 inches of manifold pressure. That's certainly within the range of what one would expect for take-off power.Finally, go to the recommended traffic pattern power setting of -4 lbs. (14.7 - 4) x 2.035 = 21.8 inches of manifold pressure. Again, that's right where one would expect a low-cruise power setting to be.Voila! The big difference here is that most of us are used to seeing absolute pressures, but the Spitfire gauge gives us pressures relative to atmospheric. It's those Brits playing with our minds again!Thanks once again for some great advice.Best Regards,Ken

Anyone know if its possible to change the FS2004 display settings (ie in Ctrl Z) to read MILES PER HOUR instead of knots?Had a moment of silliness yesterday and forgot the Spitfire speeds were in MPH...Adam

I don't know if it's possible to change that or not. But if you can't, it's not a very difficult conversion to do in your head. A nautical mile is almost exactly 1.15 statute miles.So 100 knots = 115 mph200 knots = 230 mph300 knots = 345 mphetc.Ken

Hi thanks Ken yes am aware of the conversion but would be much easier to have it displayed in FS in MPH when using the Spit.Adam

I don't think MSFS provides an option, but maybe I'm wrong.When I was working on my PPL several years ago, I was flying Cessna 150's. Most had ASI's calibrated in knots, but there were one or two that used mph. Since I learned "the numbers" in knots, I'd have to convert whenever I flew an odd one. At pattern speeds, subtracting 10 from the mph reading was close enough.Ken

Yes and to convert mph to kts it's .87.

Dudley HenriquesInternational Fighter Pilots FellowshipCommercial Pilot. CFI RetiredThat's exactly right. 2.036 is the conversion figure.

You might want to consider buying or asking Santa for an "electronic E6B" calculator. Simple models are dirt cheap and available from Sporty's or any of the other major catalogs.They do lots of things other than kts/mph conversions including C-F temps, wieght and balance, wind direction/speed, TAS, and more.Jim

>I flew the Spit for the first time tonight (though I've flown>extensively in the Spit Mk I presented by Aeroplane Heaven)>and I must say that the trick with the lower side windscreen>works well to keep you on the runway centerline...the rest>must come with practice.>>There's a word for my first landing in the RA Spit:>"Boom-sa-daisy!">>I'll get better.>>YodaSpring Chicken to Shite Hawk in one easy lesson......daga,daga,daga!LOL!!