Spitfire Question for Bill

Hiya Bill,

I was just wondering this morning while I let my truck thaw out - how's the Spit for cockpit heat?

Dan

[n5151ts]

and ive never done the spit thing...but i can tell you a p-51 gets quite toasty on occasion.

[Bill Greenwood]

As for as cockpit heat, a Spitfire vs a 51 are like night and day. The Spitfire radiators are under the wings, well outboard of the fuselage, thus no heat source. The coolant pipes are outside the fuselage, just under the fairing that streamlines the joining of the wing and the fuselage. You get a small amount of warming of the sides of the fuselage from the exhaust gas flowing by, and perhaps some from the firewall, but the cockpit stays fairly cool once ariborn, not counting solar rays. Once the gear is up and you are in cruise, you can put the rad doors in auto which closes them. The 51, by contrast has the radiator right under the cockpit, and the coolant pipes run INSIDE the fuselage. It is an oven on a summer day, there never seems to be enough vent air, really unpleasant unless you can get up in cool air, you come out dripping sweat. I've not been in a 51 in cold weather, it is likely nice, whereas you have to dress warm in the Spitfire.

Thanks - that's interesting. Any issues at all with the windshield or canopy fogging up?