Delete comment from: Elements Of Power
Good post
Cant really comment on the economics but don't forget, this was wartime national survival stuff, costs were important but arguably secondary to other factors.
On the design start point I always think it is difficult to actually pinpoint these things properly because thoughts and ideas would have been floating around that informed the the initial design for quite some time.
RJ Mitchell (comes from the same town as me, we have a great museum with lots of Spitfire related stuff) also designed the British entries into the Schneider Cup. Starting in the early twenties, he designed a series of aircraft that culminated in the S6.B
One might discuss the lineage of the Spitfire but I think when one looks at the S6 designs there is an obvious link and some of the subsystems and design ideas would have naturally flowed through the Supermarine design office.
Take for example the Rolls Royce R engine, it inspired the Merlin and many of the more advanced features of the S6 engined R, found there way into the Merlin.
So arguably, the roots of the Spitfire/Merlin go back way further than one might think.
Having said that, you could equally claim that about the F35
Things dont always have a hard start and stop
Mar 31, 2012, 10:05:09 AM
Posted to The F-35 and Pining For Simpler Times...That Weren’t