Taking off and landing in the updated Spitfire from FI

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The updated Spitfire handles a bit better provided you trim for TO and do not use full throttle until the wheels are up- if at all.

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You don’t need full throttle at all (in fact it’s a great way to get uncontrollable yaw (go for about 7-8 on the boost gauge).

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well not on TO - but in aerobatics for sure of course

It reminds me of both the default Mustang racer from FSX and the Aerosoft Hughes H-1 in that the casual simmers want to go to full power on T.O. in EVERYTHING they fly thinking it is just natural. I think the Alabeo GeeBee Z was another one that folks bought but hardly used for this reason. They just want to light 'em up and then wonder why they can’t get down the runway.
Taking off with a powerful engine and giant prop - or a short-coupled airframe with a big motor is way different from the same exercise in a Piper, Cessna, or jet.
This Spitfire has a proper FM and will only get better with ongoing development

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ignore what I wrote before please. Must have been some kind of glitch.
Works perfectly now. Sorry

I notice you tweaked the rudder trim to “port”, but the manual says “Rudder Trim – NEUTRAL OR RIGHT BIAS”. Any reason for the difference? Does it even make any difference? I have to say I notice very little effect of the rudder trim personally.

They also mention Negative G for fuel starvation, but the Merlin 66 supposedly did not suffer from this affliction due to its pressurised carburetor so the addition of this seems odd for this model.

I find landing fairly straight forward, but takeoff is indeed nerve wracking, especially with a twist stick rudder :slight_smile:

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I also use a twist stick and agree -
as to the rudder trim - all I can tell you is that if I don’t dial it in the way I do - if I dial it the other way or if I don’t touch it - the airplane is a 10 second rodeo into the weeds. An old test pilot once said, ignore the labels because half the time the labels are reversed, or the rigging is backwards and no matter what - if the plane crashes, it’s the ■■■■ pilot’s fault.
After trial and error the trim I dial in on the rudder and on the elevator give me the best result

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hehe, would love to be a test pilot eh? Cool, I never thought to try the opposite direction, but will give it a go. Thanks for tips :slight_smile:

I think equally important to the trim is to keep the throttle below full power - as the moderator above suggests 8-10 on the ‘boost gauge’

Yeah, the plane has so much lift, even 8 seems enough. I never had the courage to give it full beans anyway, it was more the excessive yaw which suddenly kicks in and no end of rudder trim to the right helped. Didnt realise I was going the wrong way and probably making things even worse. Once the yawing starts, and then the wings tilt
 its panic stations all around.

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yeah - I’m not a fan of the rodeo at all either - lol

it sure is a fun plane to fly though - can’t wait to see what Flying Iron does next

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The rudder trim in this plane is bugged, it is reversed, if you trim port you actually trimming right and that is what you need. You can easily see on the trim tab on the rudder

Quite honestly don’t think it makes a blind bit of difference. I can have it deflected in either direction. Nothing seems to alleviate the initial pull left and severe aileron roll.

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the ASOBO shift
for baseball fans who remember

There are two different counterforces to the powerful Merlin engine needed

  • From the start and all the way during the takeoff roll, some right rudder. Set a strong rudder trim bias to the right (clockwork turn). This will counter the yaw, the tendency of the aircraft to point her nose to the left.

  • When speedometer is alive, some right aileron will be needed to counter the torque which will cause the wing to dip . Do not anticipate it by having the stick to the right but be ready when you feel it coming . The torque will try to roll the aircraft on it self.

Rudder will not do anything to counter the roll, and aileron wont’do anything to counter the yaw.

It is important to increase the speed slowly, gently, to let the speed build up. A boost of 6 to 8 is all is needed at the end.

Be aware of the wind direction and don’t take off with a tail wind.

All in all, I find the FI Spit’ not easy but rather fun and convincing.

Not a pilot but tens over tens of hours in the A2A P-1 and P-40 :smiley:

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I can set the rudder trim fully left or right, the tendency for the plane to yaw left is basically unchanged. I don’t think this makes any difference. You have to use your rudder and the amount of roll I think is greatly exaggerated. If the plane really was this bad, people would be stamping stencils of successful takeoffs on the side of their plane instead of enemy kills.

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The type of controllers you use has an impact on your experience. Difficult for me to comment. Their calibration too btw. I had issues early on with the FI Spit’s which were coming from the calibration of my pedals.

In any case, the real WW2 warbirds were not easy to handle and there were a lot of new pilots killing themselves before even meeting an enemy. Sloppiness is not an option with them. You need a lot of concentration during take off, landing and rollout. Pactice, trials and errors is the name of the game.

Anyway, read here that may help.

SUPERMARINE SPITFIRE. Take off and Landing Guide. | Key Aero

I must admit, the twist stick rudder of my MSFFB2 doesn’t make things any easier. I can take off and land and have had many successful trips in the Spit, but I find the take off roll excessive (the yaw I can accept). I actually don’t believe it could really have been this severe in reality.

Ii is a bit strong, no doubt about it. My many crashes attest of that :flushed:. Remember that an important cause of deaths in warbirds was pilots moving the throttle forward too fast when the aircraft was flying slow to get out of the pickles (recover from a bounce, initiate a Go Around for instance). Slow speed+High throttle=death. The torque is overwhelming. This is why one needs to build the speed slowly.

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As I said, the rudder trim in the Spitfire is bugged. Turning it clockwise actually trims the rudder left and makes everything worse.

Like I said, it seems to make no difference. Plane turns left anyway.