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Old July 1st 03, 05:19 AM
Peter Stickney
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Default #1 piston fighter?

In article ,
"The Enlightenment" writes:

"ArtKramr" wrote in message
...
Yeah. we got hit by a 262 one day. It didn't seem very well flown and did

no
damage and was gone.


Some Me262B (the fighter bomber version as opposed to the pure Me262A)
pilots were converted bomber pilots who didn't think like fighter pilots.


Let's also not overlook that there are a couple of other factors,
here. One is that the 262 had quite a few flight limitations. You
couldn't just horse it around in teh sky, sawing the throttle back &
forth. The engines, and their fuel feed systems were very sensitive
to -G fuel starvation, and required very tender handling even in the
most benign conditions to keep teh engines within their operatin
limits. (The penalty for exceeding those limits, BTW, being not just
a failed engine, but an explosion and fire, or teh turbine wheel
coming apart and throwing shards of itself though the airplane.

The other factor is that transitiong to jets, even if you're an
experienced fighter pilot, requires a big change in perspective. The
airplane doesn't want to speed up (Slow throttle resonce, and low
thrust compared to a propeller at low speeds) and it doesn't want to
slow down. (Pull the throttle back, and that slippery shape keeps
going and going - an idling prop produces a lot of drag). You also
need to develop a different sense of the speeds adn distances
involved. Closure rates are very high, and the turning circles are
big. These adjustments take time to make. And they aren't affected
by skill level. When Frank Gabreski started flying F-86s in Korea, he
had the same problems, despite being one of the all-time greats.


--
Pete Stickney
A strong conviction that something must be done is the parent of many
bad measures. -- Daniel Webster