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Tom you wrote "everyone I know lands a fighter on the wheels". Part of it is personal preference, part is the airplane or the runway. Ever been to Duxford to watch dozens of Spits and Hurricanes land, in the country that invented them? Ever seen them land the Mark V at Old Warden about 2800 feet grass with trees at the end? There's not room to cruise tail high down the tarmac. I know lot's of 51 guys prefer wheel landings and Lee has been very successful doing and teaching it for years. As for the Spitfire, I was personally told 3 pt. is best by Alex Henshaw, the factory test pilot who recently passed away. There are some fine pilots out there flying Mustangs and other planes, but there is virtually no one here now even in his league in a Spit, so his word is gold to me. You write about keeping the tail up so the rudder is effective. This may be needed on a 51 or a larger plane, it is not on a Spitfire. The rudder is very effective, tail down or up, just as the elevator is. I have landed many times 3 point and rolled out without using ANY brakes at all for steering until I was ready to slow and turn off. At GLS the wind was light and I only used perhaps 1/3 rudder just to move over to the left side. Above 25 mph one can totally steer with rudder only. The Spit is more stable with the tailwheel on the ground, it does not lock or steer, but follows, and you have more aerodynamic braking, so it slows without riding the brakes. An almost three point tail low landing is fine also, it is actually what I made there. But trying to steer a Spitfire with the tail waving to the birds and use the brakes like that might be pretty touchy, the elevator is sensitive and there is not a lot of prop clearance. The flaps are not as big or effective as a 51. The RAF taught 3 pt. landings and they once had a few pilots who knew a thing or two about flying tailwheel warbirds. The Battle of Britain flight currently operates their rare Hurri and Spits this way. Part of it is personal preference, I learned in a Cub, Stearman, and T-6 before flying the Spit so I had no big nosewheel or tail high habit to break when I got into the Spit as barely a 400 hour pilot. I might have felt differently if coming out of jets. By the way the runway at 3V5 where QG has their shop and my annuals were done for 23 years is only 44 feet wide. I began landing the Spitfire there when I had perhaps 35 hours in type. Howard Pardue delivered it there for me once when I had a ski injury and he was new to Spits. Howard also prefers 3 pt landings, and you know a Marine is never wrong.
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Bill Greenwood
Spitfire N308WK
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