Dudley HenriquesInternational Fighter Pilots FellowshipCommercial Pilot. CFI RetiredA few words about hammerheads and high torque airplanes;In both the 51 and the Spit, as you go vertical with power on the airplane, you're in a perfect conversion line to change kinetic energy into total potential energy.As the airspeed decreases going up the vertical line while power remains a constant, HUGE torque factors begin to come into play as you know. In the 51, you need a LOT of right rudder to correct this. (centered ball)A dirty little secret for doing a hammerhead in one of these fighters is that you don't fight the airplane. You always do the 180 at the top back into the down line TO THE TORQUE SIDE of the airplane. This means to the left for the 51 and to the right for the Griffon!The trick in doing a good hammerhead is to control pitch and yaw to absolute minimum parameters. You kill the lift on the up line with absolute 0 angle of attack. ANY positive aoa will pull the airplane off the line and back into you. Conversely, any negative aoa will push the airplane away from the line, so you want to play with the pitch and get it at exactly at 0. Aerodynamics wise, this would put the wing leading edge exactly at the forward stagnation point to the relative wind.The 51 has a laminar wing; not symmetrical, but a bit more laminar than the Spitfire. The wing on the Spit is a bit more cambered and creates more lift at lower airspeeds. Hence the lower landing speeds for the Spitfire as opposed to the Mustang.What this means is that in a hammerhead, you'll be holding in just a bit of forward stick on the Spitfire because of the leading edge camber. In other words, you have to rotate that forward stagnation point on the Spit a bit further around the back side of the leading edge to reach that 0 angle of attack that produces no lift!Anyway, you nail the up line this way and then you have to fight the torque changes on the way to the top. The yaw indicator will tell you right away if you're ok with this.At the top, timing is absolutely critical in these airplanes. You don't want to wait until all your energy is lost, as this will practically guarantee that the torque will roll you off. In the Griffon, this means a rolling yaw to the right side. No amount of left rudder will hold it on line if you wait too long. There is a "sweet spot" for a hammerhead that you have to nail just right.If you initiate too soon, you don't get that beautiful pivot. If you wait too long, you're rolling off the top for sure. What you want is that spot just before you reach a total energy conversion. In the Griffon Spit, you will want full right rudder. Immediately the outer wing will be traveling faster than the retreating inner wing as you apply rudder. This creates an asymmetrical lift factor between the wings. You kill this with full opposite aileron against the direction of turn, which for the Griffon Spit, will be left aileron.You rotate the airplane on its yaw axis and stop it clean on the exact reciprocal down line. If you did it right, you're on the same line you came up on with an exact 180 degree recovery heading on the exit.RealAir Griffon SpitfireRolls 101Dudley HenriquesInternational Fighter Pilots FellowshipThere are basically 3 types of rolls you can do with a prop fighter. Snaps are possible, but can be highly dangerous in real life in these airplanes, so basically with a high performance fighter like a Spitfire, you

Many thanks again Dudley. I just wish there were more hours in the day.....Doug

Dudley,Thanks for all the time you've put in on this. Not only does it add to the fun and appreciation for the capabilities of the airplane and RealAir's simulation, but it's fascinating to find out what real world airshow performers are going through up there.I once saw a pilot (wish I could remember who it was) do a complete 360 degree turn, while simulaneously doing slow rolls all the way around the turn. Amazingly complex, and very odd to watch!Best Regards,Ken

>Dudley,>>Thanks for all the time you've put in on this. Not only does>it add to the fun and appreciation for the capabilities of the>airplane and RealAir's simulation, but it's fascinating to>find out what real world airshow performers are going through>up there.>>I once saw a pilot (wish I could remember who it was) do a>complete 360 degree turn, while simulaneously doing slow rolls>all the way around the turn. Amazingly complex, and very odd>to watch!>>Best Regards,>KenDudley HenriquesInternational Fighter Pilots FellowshipCommercial Pilot. CFI RetiredYou can do a rolling 360 either inside or outside, and it's a real wild ride indeed :-)))It's a bit tough trying it in a Spitfire though. In a Pitts or an Extra it's normal behavior :-)

Thanks Dudley!Very interesting:)In the real demonstrations does having the "smoke" trailhelp the pilot with manuevers?Thanks again and please keep posting!JR

Geez this is really great information and nicely written too! I've made copies to put in my own permanent Aviation folder! Thanks so much, please do share more information on maneuvers, handling, approaches, any other aspect you feel relevant/important.

I tried a few hammerheads last night... Hah! What a great way to discover the limits of your piloting skills. The coordination required in keeping the wing in the right place, hitting the right airspeed, and cross controlling as you go over the top is a real (ahem) challenge. This is gonna take some practice!Ken

>Thanks Dudley!>>Very interesting:)>>In the real demonstrations does having the "smoke" trail>help the pilot with manuevers?>>Thanks again and please keep posting!>>JRDudley HenriquesInternational Fighter Pilots FellowshipCommercial Pilot. CFI RetiredHi JR;I'm assuming you mean the show smoke and not the tip trails off the wing tips under high g. If so, the answer would be a qualified yes. The smoke is basically there so that the crowd can follow a maneuver, but in vertical maneuvers, it can help the pilot with correct positioning if there's no cross wind to speak of , but most demonstration pilots don't really use it this way. In the P51, I didn't have a smoke system.

Thanks again Dudley!http://forums.avsim.net/user_files/100018.jpgJR