DLSPIT.AIR v0.1 by David Lewis ---------- A Supermarine Spitfire Mk1 for Flight Sim 5.1, FLIGHT SHOP NOT REQUIRED. This aircraft has been designed and tested on FS5.1 but I see no reason why it should not work for FS5.0a. This aircraft was converted from John Cooper's Mk9 Spitfire. Fine work, John! I've had the opportunity to add a few extra features of my own, apart from the dozens of detail changes between a Mk9 and a Mk1. The only items I haven't changed are the basic outlines of fuselage and wings. No log of hours spent on this project because (a) it's over 100 and I can't count that far, and (b) for an aircraft like this the hours don't count. Many thanks (as always) to Maurizio Gavioli for his excellent documentation of FS5 file structures, and to Simon Hradecky for his sections in particular. Special thanks on this aircraft to John Cooper, and to Carl Josef Kaeser, who supplied the RAF pilot notes and flight tested the aircraft. Legal Stuff ----------- DLSPIT.AIR comes with no warranty or claim of fitness or reliability. These files are distributed AS IS, USE AT YOUR OWN RISK. The author has absolutely no affiliation whatsoever with BAO or Microsoft Corporation. Neither the author, IBM, BAO, nor Microsoft Corporation shall be held liable for any loss of data, down time, loss of revenue or any other direct or indirect damage or claims caused by DLSPIT. These files are FREEWARE, and MAY NOT BE sold. Any distribution of these files must be complete, and include this documentation along with DLSPIT.AIR. Copyright (C) 1997 by David Lewis. All rights reserved. Microsoft is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation. Flight Simulator is a trademark of Bruce Artwick. Any opinions expressed in this document are those of the author, and not necessarily those of his employers, or of any other organisation. Not suitable for children under 36 months. Installation ------------ 1. Copy DLSPIT.AIR to your flightsim \SIM directory 2. Copy DLSPIT.*AF to your flightsim \TEXTURE directory 3. Delete DLSPIT.BGS - it's only there for other plane builders to read and get an idea of what I write when building an aircraft. 4. Edit the file \PANELS\PANELSET.FS5 - wherever you find SOPW_* (e.g. SOPW_S), replace it with CESN_* This will give you a more useful instrument panel for flying this aircraft. A better instrument panel is planned for version 1.0 Change history -------------- v0.1 - initial pre-release - reasonable flight model, based on RAF pilot notes etc. (somewhat under-powered) - animated retraction of undercarriage - moving flaps (full flap only, as per Flight Shop) - landings kick up dust - interior 'view' based on guesswork from the exterior plus official photographs - certified to +8/-4 G Known bugs / limitations ------------------------ 1) Aircraft disappears when its shadow is visible. If you have aircraft shadows visible on the ground, then the shadow is visible but the aircraft disappears. I don't know why. The work-around is to select Option...Preferences...Display... ...Aircraft...Shadows (off). 2) There are no performance characteristics. Just the standard Cessna description. Anyone like to help me with instructions on writing this part? 3) The planned instrument panel is not yet complete. Look out for version 1.0 shortly. 4) Some visual features have not been finished, namely: - lights showing when switched on - moving ailerons, flaps, elevators, rudder 5) How accurate is this Spitfire? See below... The Spitfire ------------ What can I say? The Spitfire is possibly the most famous combat aircraft ever built. Total production 20,334 Spitfires plus 2,556 Seafires (carrier version). Used by the RAF, RN, USAAF, Soviet Union, Australia, Canada, Norway, Poland, South Africa and many more. Flying examples are now changing hands for upwards of half a million pounds. Although the Mk5 was more numerous, and the Mk9 more powerful, the Mk1 was the aircraft which many would say won the Battle of Britain. (please, no complaints from former Hurricane pilots - I'm talking about the public perception). This aircraft is a Mk1A of No64 squadron, based at Hornchurch at the end of 1940. The dark green/dark earth colour scheme was in use at this period, rather than the later grey/green schemes. An account of Pilot officer Trevor Gray's action in SH-E appears in Spitfire at War: 2, by Alfred Price. Flying the Spitfire ------------------- Data from Jane's, also Bill Gunston's Allied Fighters of World War 2 and RAF pilot notes, plus my own observations. Dimensions: Length 29' 11" Height 11' 5" Wing span 35' 10" area 211 sq ft (by measurement) Max all-up weight 5,784 lb Empty weight 4,810 lb Fuel (full tanks) 850 lb Performance at Max Take-Off Weight (MTOW) Max cruise 308 kts Economy cruise 147-172 kts Stall speed, clean 78 kt Stall speed, full flap 65 kt Max rate of climb 2600 fpm Service ceiling 32,000' - note that this specimen is limited to 27,000'. Range 480 nm with no reserve Engines: 1 Rolls-Royce Merlin II, rated at 1030 hp. 3-bladed De Havilland variable-pitch propeller. Personal notes on flying this Spitfire: No flaps for take-off. Taxiing is tricky without being able to see the runway, just like the real thing. Neutralise the elevator trim before you start, and watch out for the tail swinging about when you nose forward onto the main gear at about 45 kts. Climb out at 155 kts. Economy cruise needs the throttle almost at idle to avoid going over 180 kts. I had to reduce the drag a lot to get near the top speed, which makes slowing down a bit difficult. At high altitude you really need turbo boost, but it isn't available in FS5, so I'm afraid you have to put up with reduced performance. This may be better in version 1.0. In the meantime stay under 20,000'. Carl is still trying to persuade me to use the jet engine model for this aircraft, which would correct this problem but create others. Approach speed is 140 kts. Apply flaps & gear at 138 kts, aim to cross the fence at 80-ish. Touchdown at 65kts. Bounce on landing is almost guaranteed at first. It takes a while to realise that your head can be going up and down by a yard while the main wheels stay firmly on the tarmac (or grass). Also, look where the horizon is when you start the engine before take-off, and aim to put it in the same place when you land. Once the speed drops to 50kts hold the stick back and apply brakes. It is critical to keep the wings level on final approach. Pilot officer Prune says "a good landing is one you can walk away from". My proficiency was 1 good landing in 4 until I realised how high the nose has to be. Entry speed to most manoeuvres (rolls, loops, etc) is 195 kts. For stall turns, pull round at 90 kts. Flick rolls are possible at 140-150kts, but the pilot's handbook prohibits them. I find that positive aileron is needed to start one. I have found this flight model to be clean and fun to fly aerobatically, especially at very low altitudes (like 100' AGL !). Customisation ------------- This aircraft includes DLSPIT.*AF files. These can be repainted, for example with R8WORX.EXE, or others substituted. If you want to keep two complete planes with different paint jobs, copy one of them (e.g. to NWSPIT.AIR), and then go through that file with a hex editor and change every occurence of DLSPIT to NWSPIT. Now copy DLSPIT.*AF to NWSPIT.*AF, and you've got two separate planes. For once I've found an aircraft which I believe really should be textured, so I've put no effort at all into a non-textured version. Look out for my other aircraft: - a Jodel Mousquetaire III Low-wing taildragger (JODEL.ZIP) - a Boeing 767-300 (FS767.ZIP) - a Britten-Norman Islander (FSISL.ZIP) - a Boeing 737-300 (FS737.ZIP) - a De Havilland Canada Twin Otter (DLDHC6b.ZIP) from the site where you got this one. If anyone can find or build me a non-FSFS instrument panel for more than 2 engines then I could be tempted to produce some planes to use it... Any competent assembler programmers want to volunteer? If you enjoy flying this aircraft, or would like to comment on its accuracy, suggest future projects, or just say hello, why not drop me an E-mail ? I can't guarantee to reply, since over 1,000 people are now using my planes, but they don't all write! Happy landings ! David Lewis (DAVIDS_LEWIS @ UK.IBM.COM) Portsmouth, England.