Comments by "Gort" (@gort8203) on "SUPERMARINE ATTACKER: Without This Curious British Fighter, There Would Have Been No MiG-15" video.

  1. There were no advantages to the taildragger landing gear. The video is bunk in that regard. I posted this comment earlier: The type of landing gear fitted to an airplane does not determine its nose attitude on approach. That is a function of the angle of incidence at which the wing is set. This also has nothing to do with 'aerodynamic braking' on approach, which is a term normally reserved for the post-touchdown maneuver used in lieu of wheel braking. What must be meant in the video is that the airplane was draggy enough on approach (probably due to those flaps) to not require additional drag or thrust attenuation devices to maintain safe engine rpm. Another thing, having taildragger landing gear does not shorten the takeoff run unless the airplane isn't able to rotate to the takeoff attitude when necessary. If a plane can't rotate for takeoff (for example due to bicycle landing gear) then you need to have the wing set at an angle of incidence to allow liftoff without rotation. Having nose gear does not limit the pitch attitude an airplane can achieve on the ground. With conventional gear keeping the tail down for the entire takeoff run can actually inhibit acceleration, as compared to raising the tail during acceleration and then rotating when near takeoff speed.
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  2.  @robert-trading-as-Bob69  Perhaps you share some misconceptions with the creator of this video. Perhaps I can help with how you see things. “The airflow over the wing creates lift, which would be difficult with the wing at an angle as per the taildragger scenario envisioned by the video.” The angle of the wing doesn’t make it difficult to create lift, the angle is necessary to create sufficient lift for takeoff. The point is that angle is best controlled with the elevator, and you don’t get a benefit from sitting at that angle prior to nearing takeoff speed (unless on a rough field, see below). “It would take longer to achieve translational lift.” Translational lift is a helicopter thing, not an airplane thing. The wing provides lift as soon as it has airflow moving past it. It just needs to reach a certain airspeed before it has enough lift to break ground. Keeping the wing at a high angle of attack for the entire acceleration run incurs drag that slows the acceleration. Not a problem in a powerful prop fighter like an F8F, but a definite issue for an early jet with poor takeoff acceleration due to low installed thrust. You must have heard of the civilian-owned F-86 that failed to takeoff and crashed into an ice cream stand because the pilot rotated to takeoff attitude too soon. “I do seem to recall crop duster taildraggers having VTOL capabilities.” You must mean STOL capabilities, and of course they do. So does the OV-10 nose dragger. STOL is a function of slow speed lift, and does not require a tail wheel. Tail wheel aircraft are often considered better at coping with rough field surfaces, but for a smooth hard surface the landing gear has no real benefit, and a nose gear usually allows for harder braking after landing. The subject of this video was not designed to be rough field STOL jet. Tailwheel aircraft benefit from lighter weight, and less drag if the landing gear does not retract. It is arguably better for soft rough lumpy surfaces. Other than that they are no benefits and multiple drawbacks to tailwheel landing gear.
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  3. The type of landing gear fitted to an airplane does not determine its nose attitude on approach. That is a function of the angle of incidence at which the wing is set. This also has nothing to do with 'aerodynamic braking' on approach, which is a term normally reserved for the post-touchdown maneuver used in lieu of wheel braking. What must be meant in the video is that the airplane was draggy enough on approach (probably due to those flaps) to not require additional drag or thrust attenuation devices to maintain safe engine rpm. Another thing, having taildragger landing gear does not shorten the takeoff run unless the airplane isn't able to rotate to the takeoff attitude when necessary. If a plane can't rotate for takeoff (for example due to bicycle landing gear) then you need to have the wing set at an angle of incidence to allow liftoff without rotation. Having nose gear does not limit the pitch attitude an airplane can achieve on the ground. With conventional gear keeping the tail down for the entire takeoff run can actually inhibit acceleration, as compared to raising the tail during acceleration and then rotating when near takeoff speed.
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  4.  @robert-trading-as-Bob69  “Since you seem to be tightly wound, that last sentence was a joke.” Says the guy who launched into a nasty tirade because he had no rational response to having his inaccurate comments corrected with facts. Your entire response is a sad joke, especially the part where you said you were trying to dumb it down so I would understand. I presented you with nothing but a few facts, but you cannot understand the concepts involved, and getting angry aver that will not make you smarter.
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  5.  @justforever96  Yeah, so many YT videos about airplanes are made by people who don't really understand airplanes, so they pass along every misunderstanding they gleaned from whatever inaccurate source they used for research. Nobody had to pass a bar or peer review to write about airplanes. What's funny is the way the audience gives so much weight to whatever they see on YouTube and are willing to fight over it if you try to correct them.
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  6. What do you mean by working and floating? All wings are still working even at angles of attack where much of the flow has separated. Also, the term laminar flow airfoil described an airfoil with is peak upper surface camber pushed father aft on the chord. The more gradual rise and aft peak was meant to maintain laminar flow over more of the wing, but not necessarily all the way to the trailing edge.
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  7.  @robert-trading-as-Bob69  Wow, it appears you have some serious emotional and maybe even cognitive issues. Please seek help.
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