Windy still loves those Spitfires

[Paul Taylor]

Windy forwarded me an email of a great Spitfire story from the war.


http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=ie3SrjLlcUY&sns=em

[Serge_Krauss]

I love this! I'm taking it to my FB page. I love Spitfires, Hurricanes, Battle of Britain stories. Wow. Really neat!

SK

[FLOYD CARTER]

I have a WWII Pilot's Manual for the Spit.  It's amusing!  For instance, if the gear doesn't want to come down, the pilot is advised to roll inverted, and pull full up to force the gear down. (that may have caused some problems if you were low and ready to land).  Also, since the Merlin engine had a normal carburetor with a float valve, you were told not to go inverted for more than a few seconds, or the engine would quit!

Crosswind landings were tough, because of the narrow wheel tread.  Nowadays, pilots are taught how to drop a wing in a crosswind landing, or "crab:" until the very last second.  But for low-time Spit pilots, this technique was very advanced, requiring a lot of practice- that many did not have.

Floyd

[phil myers]

Thats a great story, Paul, thanks for that.. There are 1 or 2 Spitfires around here in Norfolk, England, which take to the skies on occasion, the unmistakable roar of the Rolls Royce engines always fills me with pride.

Thanks again
Phil

[Will Hinton]

I've mentioned the book, "Reach For The Sky" on here before, but this demands I mention it again. ( This is wonderful footage and I really enjoyed it.)
The book mentioned is about a Brit pilot named Douglas Bader who lost his legs in a crash, but still went on to fly Spits!!  It is something else and every WWII fan should read it.  You'll love Bader and his crew.  It's a true story, by the way.