(The Revolution Will Not Be Televised) wrote in message ...
On Thu, 21 Aug 2003 00:27:07 +1000, "Geoffrey Sinclair"
wrote:

[snip yet more tiresome rationality and logical discourse]

I will drop this in since I have not seen it elsewhere,

From the British history Design and Development of Weapons,
M M Postan, D Hay, J D Scott.

[snipadoodledo]

B was the airframe developed from the abortive mark III fighter,
it was used for the Vc, IX and XII, and presumably XVI. The
main change appears to be the "universal" wing.

I doubt this makes a major difference to CoG calculations in the
mark V though.

Actually, I think it does for the Vb vs Vc. The longitudinal
stability problems were worse in the Vb, while the Vc had some useful
things to factor into consideration like re-raked undercarriage and
bomb/drop-tank plumbing, not to mention a different internal wing
structure which might have allowed small wing tanks. I don't think
the Vb wing had that capacity due to strength issues.

snip

Vader states that the Mk VIIIs had the 'C' wing, which implies that
the Mk. IXs should have been able to be given LE tanks with little
difficulty. I'm under the impression that the substantive changes to
the Mk. VII/VIII were in the fuselage, and except for the tanks the
wings were identical. Does anyone actually KNOW what the
structural/internal changes were from the Mk.V/IX etc. to the Mk.
VII/VIII? We all know about the tail wheel, but there had to be more
than that.

Guy