PILOT SPIN
Pilot Zone => Pilot Zone => Topic started by: Anthony on November 19, 2018, 09:21:36 AM
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As we all have done, I have read some stories about flying WWII fighter aircraft. Today, we also know the fighter aircraft get their maneuverability by instability, but the computer controls that aspect of keeping the plane from departing controlled flight, or corrects for it when it happens.
Obviously, they did not have computers to compensate for instability. So how difficult was it to "safely" fly an ME-109, Spitfire, FW-190, P-51, P-40, Zero, P-47, etc? Was the approach to landing stall/spin a major problem for lower time pilots?
Not that I will ever be able to own, nor fly a warbird like the above, but can a relatively good GA pilot be trained to safely fly them, or is the task very daunting?
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As we all have done, I have read some stories about flying WWII fighter aircraft. Today, we also know the fighter aircraft get their maneuverability by instability, but the computer controls that aspect of keeping the plane from departing controlled flight, or corrects for it when it happens.
Obviously, they did not have computers to compensate for instability. So how difficult was it to "safely" fly an ME-109, Spitfire, FW-190, P-51, P-40, Zero, P-47, etc? Was the approach to landing stall/spin a major problem for lower time pilots?
Not that I will ever be able to own, nor fly a warbird like the above, but can a relatively good GA pilot be trained to safely fly them, or is the task very daunting?
Training is the key. Unfortunately many GA pilots won't accept or be held to higher training standards that are required to operate such aircraft. Fortunately the cost of these aircraft, along with insurance weeds out many. If you got the bucks to own and operate one, paying for training is not a big deal.
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Obviously, if you can afford the entry price, the maintenance, insurance, fuel, and other operating expenses, you should be able to afford the required training, stay current, etc. I am just curious as to how difficult they really are to fly, and how much training would be required to be safe.
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Obviously, if you can afford the entry price, the maintenance, insurance, fuel, and other operating expenses, you should be able to afford the required training, stay current, etc. I am just curious as to how difficult they really are to fly, and how much training would be required to be safe.
Depends.
These aircraft typically have higher wing loading and operate at speeds well above most GA aircraft. With that higher engine HP comes things such as greater torque.
Take a guy who's only flown SE types like Pipers, Cessna, etc and he's gonna be way way behind the curve. We're talking several hours of dual coupled with many hours of supervised solo (instructor riding along).
I believe Stan is involved with warbirds (CAF?) and they have a very structured program. Hopefully he'll give some insight.
Now, would I go for a ride in a privately owned P51 with a low time PPL owner? Not on your life (or mine).
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Depends.
These aircraft typically have higher wing loading and operate at speeds well above most GA aircraft. With that higher engine HP comes things such as greater torque.
Take a guy who's only flown SE types like Pipers, Cessna, etc and he's gonna be way way behind the curve. We're talking several hours of dual coupled with many hours of supervised solo (instructor riding along).
I believe Stan is involved with warbirds (CAF?) and they have a very structured program. Hopefully he'll give some insight.
Now, would I go for a ride in a privately owned P51 with a low time PPL owner? Not on your life (or mine).
Yea, I fly a Warbird with the CAF, albeit a very slow and simple one at the moment. I fly a 1943 Fairchild PT-26 Cornell, which was a primary trainer for the Royal Canadian Air Force during WWII.
As for Anthony’s question, they say 75 hours in the Mustang should qualify you for the T-6, even though the T-6 was obviously the advanced trainer for fighters. The T-6 was designed to be unstable enough to prepare you for fighters. There was no intermediary step, so cadets had to have at least 75 hours in the T-6 before moving on.
As for the CAF, it depends on the Unit, but the T-6 is a huge step up for me. CAF requires you to have a minimum of 500 hours, 25 tailwheel hours and 75 tailwheel landings within the past 12 months at a minimum to begin training in the T-6. That being said, some units like ours don’t have the instructors willing to take a new student and work my way up. So I’m going to go to one of two Warbird training centers next spring for a 10-hour checkout course, which should bring me to solo their aircraft. Probably a $8-10k investment. Only after that will I apply to be a CAF sponsor of our wing’s T-6 (actually a Navy SNJ) and begin to get transition training for a commercial-level checkout in our SNJ.
Our PT-26 has had some unscheduled repairs and has been down for the past month, which is pushing back my schedule. So I’m going to try to get my commercial ticket locally over the next 2 months which should be helpful and continue to advance my hours and skill set.
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