All WWII Warbirds are way cool, but I believe the FW 190 is my own favorite. Just an elegant work of purpose-built engineering, and revolutionary in its day....
"...if the gentlemen of Virginia shall send us a dozen of their sons, we would take great care in their education, instruct them in all we know, and make men of them." Canasatego 1744
"All that the South has ever desired was that the Union, as established by our forefathers, should be preserved, and that the government, as originally organized, should be administered in purity and truth." – Robert E. Lee
Very cool video. I especially like the form flight with the Spitfire. This appears to be a German or Austrian air show, so I feel good that the Gerries can showcase their WW2 technology next to the superior British counterpart, without too much emotional baggage.
"All that the South has ever desired was that the Union, as established by our forefathers, should be preserved, and that the government, as originally organized, should be administered in purity and truth." – Robert E. Lee
No they thought they were not needed and took away from performance.
Often wondered what would have happened if they could have stayed longer over England. Like the Mustang the tanks could have been dropped when contact had been made. Come to think about it it took a while for the Air Corp to out fit the Mustang with tanks.Glad they thought it out in time for all of trips over Germany.
"All that the South has ever desired was that the Union, as established by our forefathers, should be preserved, and that the government, as originally organized, should be administered in purity and truth." – Robert E. Lee
I especially like the form flight with the Spitfire.
Pretty sure that was a Bf 109. IIRC the nose profile looks like one of the post-war Spanish-built examples like what was used in the Battle of Britain movie.
As to which was superior, Spit or Wurger (Fw 190), that would depend I'd guess on which version of each. I'm pretty sure the last "Dora" incarnation of the 190 was pretty close to any of the later marks of Spit.
IIRC the Fw was a far more versatile aircraft than the Spit, and far more survivable in the ground attack role.
Birdwatcher
"...if the gentlemen of Virginia shall send us a dozen of their sons, we would take great care in their education, instruct them in all we know, and make men of them." Canasatego 1744
That's either a kit build or an aftermarket modded prop. F-Dubs never had four bladed props. I couldn't see the cooling fan either so I'm thinking it isn't the BMW engine.
And, yes, 190's WERE equipped with drop tanks. Probably the most versatile and best engineered plane of WWII. Definitely my fave...
The FW kicks the Spit's ass until the later marks came out and still stayed competitive throughout the war provided combat was kept below about 25,000 ft.
It ain't what you don't know that makes you an idiot...it's what you know for certain, that just ain't so...
Most people don't want to believe the truth~they want the truth to be what they believe.
The 190 was one of the better aircraft of the war, an early design with a speed of over 400 mph, and yes it did have a drop tank available... there was some 20,000 built and in some 20+ different configurations. Started out with a twin row 14 cylinder radial engine of about 1,600 hp., and with the radial engine design it didn't compete with the 109 for material allowing for the numbers that were built...
Another FW-190 "asset" was it's wide-set landing gear compared to both the Spitfires and the Bf109s (aka "Me-109s")... both of which had very narrow landing gear.
Accounts I've read written by the German pilots who flew them said that the FW-190 was a much, much easier aircraft to fly... very gentle with few "bad habits"... unlike like the Bf109 which was supposedly kinda "tricky" to fly.
I don't know how true it is, but it's been said that the German's lost almost as many Bf109s to landing accidents (due to the narrow-set landing gear) as to their opponent's efforts in "dog-fights".
It's smart to hang around old guys 'cause they know lotsa stuff...
Otto Frenzl, the designer of the FW-190, also did pioneering work with respect to the Area Rule. Richard Whitcomb later documented this effort, post-war.
The Area Rule became very important in the jet age.
I wonder what the fuel load weighed......... Had to be a nightmare to see out of......wonder if a bubble canopy was ever considered. Only one exists......that's a shame.
In all the Wurger is a better fighter but the spitfire had greater numbers, and by 1943 much better pilots on average. Dispite this their fw 190 kill ratio is just .04 meaning for 100 hundered Spifire ix shot down 104 fw 190a were shot down.
So many variables, and more than anything the skill sets of the opposing pilots.
Birdwatcher
"...if the gentlemen of Virginia shall send us a dozen of their sons, we would take great care in their education, instruct them in all we know, and make men of them." Canasatego 1744
With all the smoke coming out the exhaust in the beginning I thought that bird was one of the ultra rare coal fired 190s. All of those old birds had souls like the old steam engines.
Jim
"Whensoever the General Government assumes undelegated powers, its acts are unauthoritative, void, and of no force." --Thomas Jefferson
The Fw-190 had 20mm wingroot cannon that tore the ass off of Spits and P-51's. The pilot prob was another matter. Low fuel reserves, extended combat all reduced pilot training and long term survival(Law of averages catch up to everybody). With good pilots the190was called the "Butcher Bird" and deserved it.
Be afraid,be VERY VERY afraid ad triarios redisse My Buddy eh76 speaks authentic Frontier Gibberish!
That's either a kit build or an aftermarket modded prop. F-Dubs never had four bladed props. I couldn't see the cooling fan either so I'm thinking it isn't the BMW engine.
Indeed, and good power of observation. From the link.
This FW190 is a 1:1 new build replica (almost 98% like the original aircraft, exept the engine). The parts came from "Flugwerk" as a kit and "Meier Motors" put it together and made it airworthy. These new FW190 replicas were sold with a Russian/Chinese ASh-82 14 cyl. radial engine, which was a good match for the rare BMW801 14 cyl. radial engines at a much lower cost. The replicas were designed with a new 3-blade prop, but one of the first examples crashed from a failure in the electric prop control. The 4-blade was a matched prop from the Tu-2 that was substituted while the problem with the new 3-blade was fixed. The 3-blade prop is now back in use. This aircraft is now flying in the USA.
Crap, now I needs lots of money and a pilot's license
Birdwatcher
"...if the gentlemen of Virginia shall send us a dozen of their sons, we would take great care in their education, instruct them in all we know, and make men of them." Canasatego 1744
THIS ONE is the real deal, right down to the powerplant
An great footage of it flying side in company with a Mustang and Thunderbolt....
"...if the gentlemen of Virginia shall send us a dozen of their sons, we would take great care in their education, instruct them in all we know, and make men of them." Canasatego 1744