ELLIPTICAL ELEGANCE

Flying and evaluating the Seafire Mark III

- BY CORKY MEYER

IT’S COMMONLY AGREED that the Spitfire/Seafire configuration was the most beautiful fighter ever.

Its elliptical wing and long, slim fuselage were most delightful to the eye, and its flight characteristics equaled its aerodynamic excellence. The Navy Spitfire-the Seafire-was heavier but otherwise retained all the Spitfire’s delightful flight characteristics.

The Spitfire and Seafire series had only two unacceptable features to perturb a fighter pilot: one was caused by its configuration, and the other was the result of gross negligence on the part of the design team. The length of its nose and the aircraft's steep, nose-high angle provided insufficient forward visibility when taxiing.

The slimness of the fuselage alleviated this problem somewhat, but continual S-turns while taxiing were mandatory. And the cockpit’s internal layout was a disaster! It was configured as if blindfolded engineers had played “Pin the tail on the donkey.” Important switches, instruments, and controls weren't labeled and were small and hidden. Unimportant items, too, weren't labeled, but they were large and always in the way. So much for the objective evaluation. In reality, combat pilots would forget these drawbacks when airborne!