Spitfire runway info please?

Philip Rhodes, ref Meatbox; it would be very imprudent to try and operate-safely, off anything less than 5-5500 ft of hard runway, particularly today,in terms of performance,risk etc.6000 ft would be better,as Meteors have pneumatic brakes ,which tend to fade easily,don`t have anti-skid,and spares are difficult to get.Even J-Provosts/L-29,L-39 s are operated off a minimum of 1500m. Syc……..

A Legends full aero’s display with full wings (50 galls= 50 lbs-ish)

Mmmm, decimal point moved there a bit. More like 300 lbs. Isn’t it about 6 lbs a gallon for fuel?

Great link Guzzineil! I’ll get bored now … 😀

Thanks a lot!

Stieglitz

theres lots of Spitfire data to astound/bore your friends with here… :rolleyes:

http://www.spitfireperformance.com/spittest.html

Neil

Meteor Runway runway info please?

Okay, can anyone tell me if it is safe to operate a Meteor (F8 or T7) from a 4,000ft hard runway?

Don’t forget the take-off run is affected by:

ground surface condition (long wet grass needs a longer run than dry tarmac)
wind (a take-off into a strong wind is shorter than nil wind or a cross wind)
temperature (a hot day requires a longer run)
slope (uphill = longer)

Why would they not carry a full tank of fuel???????? Some even have extra fuel tanks in the gunbays…..

I was assuming for local flights – there are all kinds of variables for this topic.

Depends on the operator and how far they are going and how long they are flying for i suppose.

Why would they not carry a full tank of fuel???????? Some even have extra fuel tanks in the gunbays…..

True i didnt think about fuel and ammo etc.
Safety gear, Extinguisher system maybe? backup radio.
I dont know about radios either realy as ive never looked into them.
Okay i guess they are lighter now.

But then they carry modern radios and saftey gear which then adds to the weight. And then the person (must stay politicaly correct) flying it.

Modern radios – presumably smaller, hence lighter? I’ve no idea, having never had cause to inspect one fitted to a Spit. I just like to look at the cover 😉

Modern safety gear – such as? :confused:

But, again, Spits these days are probably lighter since they don’t carry weapons stores or a full tank of fuel…?

Maybe with a good steam catapult, a contra rotating prop, and a ski jump it may get 50 yards. The one at the shuttleworth collection gets airbourne fairly fast. But compared to most things they fly it is a very long run.

But then they carry modern radios and saftey gear which then adds to the weight. And then the person (must stay politicaly correct) flying it.

I would imagine that, since most Spits these days fly without guns, which are pretty weighty, then it would be a slightly shorter distance.

However, there was some discussion a while back (originated by me) as to whether a Spit could get off in fifty yards. Here’s the link:

Spitfire short take-offs

I would imagine as i said the modern distance may be different as they are proberably lighter or even heavier with the de millitrisation and fitting of modern radios etc that they require.

Thanks Ollie and Daz.

This is a good start. I shall contact some operators for further info.

Cheers,

Stieglitz

Hello Guys,

I’m gathering info about the Spitfire. Of course a lot can be found at several places, but I can not find the minimum lenght of runway that is required to take off and land a spitfire.

Does someone have this info about Spitfire MKI, MKII, MKV, MKVIII and MKIX.

Greets,

Stieglitz

Stieg.

From The Spitfire Story (Alfred Price), for the first production Spitfire MkI, K9787:

Take-off run (zero wind) – 420yds
Distance to clear 50ft screen – 720yds
Landing run (with brakes) – 380yds

Spitfire MkI K9793 – 7th production Spitfire fitted with the de Havilland 3-blade, two-pitch metal airscrew:

Take-off run (zero wind) – 320yds
Distance to clear 50ft screen – 490yds
Landing run (with brakes) – 235yds

Spitfire IIa – first production machine built at Castle Bromwich:

Take-off run – 230yds (although this does not state if it was in zero wind!)
Distance to clear 50ft screen – 400yds
Landing run – 350yds

I’d look into Spitfire – The History for you, but I need to do something else! Sorry! 😮

Hope this helps, anyway.

Contact anyone that opperates a Spitfire, they may be able to help. But i would guess that their examples take off distance may be shorter than in ww11.