Viewer Questions

I have been getting some repeat comments and questions lately, so I thought I would make a quick video to address them.
The Official auto and Air Fan Store is Here!
gregs-airplane...
Please support this channel:
/ gregsairplanesandautom...
Paypal: [e-mail]

[@m.e.345]

Dear Greg.. Thanks for making an old man feel like a teenager again.

[@Kollider115]

Thank you Greg, people always appreciate transparency even on silly stuff as seeing our comments. Keep on being awesome and making this great content.

[@GregsAirplanesandAutomobiles]

Thanks Kolider.

[@kimmoj2570]

Hear hear. Greg is shooting time and time again content which is nowhere else. BMW 801 vs Shvetsov Ash-82 was coooool content. :)

[@derrickstorm6976]

Transparency? You can literally go watch all comments

[@964cuplove]

@@derrickstorm6976 I think he’s talking about the part about Greg’s access to the comment and eg the fact that this comment to a comment will most likely escape his attention etc. An interesting insight that I wasn’t aware of.

[@dougdenhamlouie]

Hi Greg Your a smart guy. Why do my birddogs like to roll in poo? All of them!!!!

[@jonathanmckinney32]

I would love to see a video about some of the advancements made by the 1930's air races, highlighting planes like early Supermarines, Hughes H-1, GeeBee, and others. Love the super detailed information.

[@terrybaird3122]

I love the old posters and adverts. I drve an MB and Audi and had a BMW (auto). I collect prints of these whenever i can.

[@fpmacko]

re the Me209...if anyone can find back issues of the American Legion magazine from the late 60s to early 70s there was a very good and detailed article on its development and the "run for record" flights. My father was a Legion member and I recall reading this article sometime during this time frame. I especially recall that the radiators extended thru nearly the entire wingspan and I also believe they were evaporative to cope with the amount of heat dissipated by the engine. So you could only run for as long as your coolant lasted. I also seem to recall that an engine was good for perhaps only one or two runs before it lunched itself. And as always, thank you Greg.

[@RMJTOOLS]

One subject I would love you to cover is the design of the firewall on the 109’s. My understanding is that it is mostly a one piece forging made from Elecktron and forged on the largest drop forge in the world. Supposedly that forge was taken by the US as a reparation. Also the firewall is used to hold the pivot trunnions for the main gear and you could take a wing off and still roll the fuselage around. Willy was a smart designer.

[@kurshetl]

There's a good theoretical foundation for your running lean/oil dilution idea. Standard avgas is produced by narrow cut distillation - all of its components will boil below or about 100C, so very little will persist in hot engine oil. The synthetic fuel has a significant amount of lower volatility components (particularly the aromatics), and they could accumulate even in hot (100C+) oil. The Germans were also short of good quality lubricating oils, so they were already concerned about oil quality and paid close attention to it.

[@kurshetl]

@@brettdavies-young7102 That's a good point. Running lean means less soot & pyrenes getting into the oil, so extending the oil life. Given the German's lubricating oil shortage, that could have been a significant consideration for them.

[@malcolmmoy]

Calums Douglas's book The Secret Horsepower Race covers this problem and talks about over rich mixture and oil damage as the synthetic oil didn't boil off, and then having to reduce the fuel mixture and power to protect the oil. And as per all of his superb book using primary evidence.

[@kurshetl]

@@malcolmmoy Thanks - nice to have confirmation and a reference!. I've been doing some digging on the synthetic fuel manufacturing processes (I'm an industrial chemist by trade, so that's been right up my alley) and can definitely confirm that the C3 fuel would have had an unusually high proportion of high-boiling components. Anyone know how to let Greg know his theory was correct?

[@johnhagemeyer8578]

Thank you, I only had to set my alarm for 4:55am for your presentation. Well worth it.

[@GregsAirplanesandAutomobiles]

Thanks John. 455am sounds early, now I wish I had made the video longer.

[@johnnichols9056]

The HE113 was actually a HE100, there was a HE100 used to beat the ME209 speed record. It used surface cooling to improve air flow, no great for combat. The HE100 was manufactured to the tune of approx. 13/15, a couple went to Russia and Japan before hostilities began they never capitalized on the plane though the KI61 does look similar to the HE100. Heinkel used the remainder of the planes for factory defense and Germany used them for propoganda shots in various schemes.

[@mikepette4422]

right I recalled they did actually release to the german public that picture of propaganda squadron with deceptively high numbers on the planes They were He-100's called He-113's in the pictures and allied Pilots for years swore they encountered a He-113 when of course there was no such thing though it was claimed they might have been used at the Heinkel factory as a defence squadron but I dunno seems like a thing the Luftwaffe would have hated very similar to the lone FW-187 squadron being used this way for a short while and of course the Luftwaffe said nope we don't like this, take these planes away ( they ended up in norway shortly too and were liked by the pilots over the Me-110 so of course the Luftwaffe once again sid get rid of them LOL )

[@johnnichols9056]

@@mikepette4422 The photo was on the cover of "The Luftwaffe War Diaries" among in other publications. It was leaked to the Allies also, shown in different squadron markings too.

[@OneMoreDesu]

That He-113 looks a LOT like the He-100D1, which supposedly did exist and was exceptionally fast for its time

[@dallesamllhals9161]

Great cooling design too! That is..if NO ONE made holes in your wings... (Heinkel He 100)

[@notsureyou]

Same plane, and the Aircraft stated out originally as the He-113 (which makes sense because their previous fighter was the He-112), but the name was changed to He-100, And then back to He-113 to make it believable to the world. And it was capable of those speeds in 1940...

[@dallesamllhals9161]

@@notsureyou Yeees! We know ♥

[@lwilton]

@@dallesamllhals9161 Well, at least you know. I didn't know, and learned something.

[@dallesamllhals9161]

@@lwilton My bad! ☮?

[@robertthehutt]

Once again your pictures during your talk are outstanding. I’ve never seen these. I really enjoyed what look like magazine ads for military magazines of the time. The two women assembling the 109 is great.

[@Malaveldt]

I think your expertise is incredible, but your simplicity of approach and genuine nature is what makes your channel so wonderful. Thank you.

[@jeromyrehling6043]

Love your videos and the college lecture (or higher) level presentation. We are very fortunate to have someone like you that’s willing to spend your time to create these!

[@decnet100]

Haha, been wondering about the 209 ever since you showed R. Johnson's Kill List on the side of his plane. Think I've seen it in the P-47 series... Thanks for clearing it up! :)

[@mikepette4422]

I had always assumed these "kills" were exactly what Greg talked about allied attempts to make sense of German Propaganda and Allied Intel regarding what "might" be out there. The intelligence reports must have been a real nightmare to try to figure out and you can't know what the enemy was on about in the midst of the conflict its only with hindsight of decades of research that historians figure things out for us. PS thats always been one of my fav pics so those names over the flags always gave me pause to wonder what Johnson was seeing when in combat. Fun stuff to think about anyway

[@decnet100]

@@mikepette4422 Yes, indeed a constant tough job to keep track of plane development inside Nazi Germany, with so many competing projects and so many players involved - even though it seems the brits in particular weren't doing a half-bad job at least on the engine side, from what we know. I think many of those "exotic", rare planes in any edition spotting book might have impressed themselves into the minds of young hotshot pilots specifically - like, "everyone here will be facing a 109 or 190, but maybe I'm the one who gets into a fight with a 209??" I briefly enjoyed the thought he had created some sort of hunting-ground for himself around a place like the experimental unit at Rechlin... then obviously my fancy "hunter of prototype planes" idea gave way to the reality "he probably just misidentified a plane".

[@RGC-gn2nm]

@@mikepette4422 the movie 12 o’clock high goes into the debriefing ritual was pretty rigid and cross referencing with manuals was required for new type claims

[@davidbertrand895]

Thanks Greg for your coverage of this period in aviation. I was born in 1941 and always related to these brave aviators.

[@Qrail]

Thanks Greg. Your dedication to history is awesome. (And thanks for the Lake Tahoe flyover)

[@murray4826]

Walter Shuck's book is on Amazon. "Luftwaffe Eagle"

[@petergenero4366]

Hi Greg, again, A clarification to the previous post: In the book a picture of the He 100 is captioned as an "He 112u". The book lists the armament of the 112 (4 MGs, 22 frags), but with the speed of the He 100 (469mph)....... Pete

[@josephking6515]

I am disgusted with commentards who seem to expect a personal commitment from those publishing content for our entertainment. I open a video and the first thing I do is 👍 because I am not in a financial position to become a Patreon of the few Channels I follow. I am sorry you are being attacked for your _lack_ of immediate responses to these "people" Greg. I am just extremely grateful for the content you research, create, edit, review, publish and then take time to respond to them as well as working on/at your "day " job. As someone who has held a professional pilot's licence I am obviously aviation orientated so find your channels very interesting so *Thank You* for your time. It really is appreciated and I have no need of any response to this. *CAVU,* *CAVOK* or *blue skies and tail winds,* one of which term must apply to your location. 👍

[@GregsAirplanesandAutomobiles]

Thanks Joseph. It doesn't really bother me, I just felt the need to explain why there I times I drop out of conversations.

[@Mishn0]

Thanks for clearing up my question on mixture. You're right, I didn't understand you were only talking about the "war emergency" settings as being leaner than ideal.

[@Digiidude]

Thanks Greg for clarifying the comment eply dynamiic. I had commented on the Catalina vid then replied to your reply and wondered at your dropping out I figured the channel was busy or you were airborne and never had any hurt feelings over it but did wonder. Love the channel and have spent a good deal of time in the .pdf files on the Patreon. I understand the challenge you face with German manuals but do especially enjoy the thought of seeing a German plane getting the love you have the P-47.

[@Digiidude]

As an aside, have you thought about approaching Bismarck at MAH on possible collaboration?

[@GregsAirplanesandAutomobiles]

Hi Mike thanks. Yes, the comment dynamic causes a big variation in what comments I manage. I was just of for 12 hours and this comment was pretty far down already because I have a few newer videos up. Thanks for your kind words and patronage. cont. I haven't really thought about a collaboration, nor am I sure how it would work. Bis is a smart guy, I have corresponded with him, and I have a huge amount of respect for him, so if he had a plan I wouldn't say no. I am also willing to help him when he asks. I bought his Stuka book, suggested others do the same, and used a lot of Stuka pictures in videos recently. I sincerely hope his book does well.

[@Andre_Kummel]

You're doing a great job, Greg. We love ya, keep at it.

[@964cuplove]

Great video again - thx a lot Greg !! And wow regarding your dedication to the comments, I always assumed it’s way too much to expect you reading all of it. Talking about fuel economy, I’d love to hear your take on Lindbergh optimizing the fuel economy of the P-38 . I saw a video claiming he visited some unit in the pacific theater and flew some sorties and helped extend the range quite dramatically…

[@FirstDagger]

4:18 Similar to the German word Marine (Marin-eh, as in Kriegsmarine), Haube is pronounced Hau-beh.

[@F0KK3RM4N]

Maybe Chris from MAH could help translate that book for you, would definitely be a good source

[@kmac5682]

Thanks Greg. I really appreciate all the work you put into researching the details you cover in your videos and the comprehensive answers you give. Very enlightening.

[@Paraphen]

ugh I just wanted to check the BMW 801 video for something and now I've gotta watch a whole other fascinating video first

[@LuisPerez-tt2nl]

It's like who shot down The Red Baron . Very few can survive aerial combat in Germany going up 4 time a day . It's hard to dismiss when you respect someone so much. Keep up the good work 👍😃

[@keithalexander7953]

Great video. I'm getting the picture that there is a certain minimum size for a fighter. Undersized planes just don't seem to have the room to fit all the necessary equipment. The Airacobra, the Spitfire, and the Bf109 all went up a size or two to stay competitive. A lot of Northrop designs come to mind, like the F5 and F20. The F16 must be just above the magic limit. Just a theory based on watching too much Greg lol.

[@jeebus6263]

Thanks for explaining the comment system

[@GregsAirplanesandAutomobiles]

You're welcome

[@demetridar506]

Around minute 7, not sure what you are saying, but lean mixtures are for fuel economy. At cruise, these engines run at as low rpm and as high boost as possible, while lean in the same time. Octane does play a role here, and there is an octane rating for lean operation. Perhaps you knew that, and I misunderstood your comment. Cheers.

[@carlogiacometti1996]

Hi Greg, greetings from Italy, thank you for all the great content, I really admire the amount of detail you include in your videos. I wish more people from my generation would learn about this amazing time in the history of engineering. Do you think you could make a video about Schneider Trophy racers in the future?

[@GregsAirplanesandAutomobiles]

Yes, I will, a lot of people are asking for that, and as I love Italian engines, it's fits really well with stuff I like.

[@DBSTH0R]

Seconded. :)

[@SDwriter.and.surfer]

Video request: Assuming you haven't discussed it and I just missed it, maybe some day you could describe how Focke-Wulf, for example, engineered all four of the 190's standard guns to fire through the propeller disc? That is, if there's anything unique or interesting to say. I know that by that time, the interrupter mechanisms for cowl mounted guns was well beyond the experimental stage.

[@markfryer9880]

Yes, I think that this would be a topic worthy of Greg and his research skills. As far as I am aware, machine gun or cannon interrupter gear, only gets talked about in relation to WWI aircraft, but never WWII aircraft. I don't know why this is the case but with higher spinning propellers with more blades and coupled with faster firing more powerful machine guns I would say that the problem is far more critical. One thing I did learn from my book on the Me-109 was that experienced pilots would play with the lever related to (propeller pitch?) engine rpm in order to increase the rate of fire from their guns during combat manuvering.

[@HaVoC117X]

Irc Kurt tank was an electrical engineer and the MG 151 had an electric trigger, it was probably controlled electric system..

[@Garthbrooks4756]

Viewer question/Video idea: From a pilots perspective, the challenges and difficulties of flying a notoriously complicated/finicky manual plane like a p40/p38 compared to a more automated plane like a 109/190. Especially in combat. Is it more like a manual vs automatic car, where a stick is second nature once you know how, or was it actually a substantial workload on the pilot?

[@jakeb6703]

speculation here, but although adjustments could probably be made confidently and quickly in manual planes while in routine flight when given the pilot time for familiarity, once thrown into a combat situation where your constantly trying to spot and maneuver with enemy planes under significant G loads, the ability to adjust for optimal mixture/cooling/supercharger settings for altitude changes probably goes out the window to a significant degree for the manual planes.

[@ThatZenoGuy]

Greg you truly spoil us!

[@GregsAirplanesandAutomobiles]

Thanks, but it's only a 14 min quickie video.

[@ThatZenoGuy]

@@GregsAirplanesandAutomobiles That's 14 minutes more video we'd get if it wasn't made! Heheh.

[@BARelement]

I love your energy, and responses to some of the comments 😂!

[@Simon_Nonymous]

Another thumbs up from me - you were kind enough to respond to a comment I made, and expand on something you said in a video. Nice Camel - it'd be fun to see you in the air sometime!

[@kevins1114]

I recognized the "Heinkel 113" immediately. What it was, was the Heinkel 100 dressed up for propaganda purposes. The He-100 actually existed, but in small numbers, and mostly flown by pilots hired by Heinkel to try to protect his factories from bombers.

[@BobSmith-dk8nw]

Thanks Greg. I was not aware of the difference between the creators tool and the normal method of commenting. I've only messed around with a very few videos and am abysmally ignorant on the subject from a creator's POV. From a User's POV - KZbin's Comments have some real problems. What they SHOULD do and what is done on most forums - is nest the comments - so if someone posts something - and there is a reply to THAT - it is nested under the comment it is replying to. The thing with KZbin - is it only does that on one level. After that - any comments are just tacked on to the end. If there are a number of comments by some posters all the replies to them get dumped at the bottom of the list and there is no way to tell just exactly which comment the replies are to. Thus - if someone has made 5 comments all being nested off a root comment - there is no way to tell if someone else's reply is to #1, #2, #3, #4 or #5. I've had any number of problems because of that where someone will make a cryptic comment and I've no idea which of my comments they are referring to. What I try to do, is lead into my replies with "As to xyz ..." to indicate which comment I'm replying to but ... there's no way in hell to get other people to do that and I'm probably not as consistent about doing it as I would like to believe ... .

[@jannegrey593]

Next time when I have a question I have to write it down. Unfortunately my thoughts are known for their evaporative tendencies. I know this is going to be very interesting.

[@oblivionguard2286]

Thanks for another great video, Greg! Just in time for the first day of the college semester!

[@ottonecro9949]

Hey Greg, Great video…I had an idea for a video, nightfighters? How did they do it??? I know they had rudimentary radar and they general found the bomber groups with the radar and came in from behind. The concept is still mysterious to me though, I’ve never seen a lot of accounts and or books about the nightfighters of ww2. Thanks again

[@jaym8027]

There's a book called Bomber, by Len Deighton that does a good job of covering the night fighter tactics of the Germans. Its fiction, but drawn from many interviews the author conducted with actual participants. The plot follows a night Lancaster raid into Germany from the perspectives of all involved. I found it to be very good.

[@Pirren00]

"The other battle", by Peter Hinchliffe (Airlife Publishing Ltd, 1996), describes the changing tactics and equipment of both RAF Bomber Command and German night fighter units during WW2. And yes, Bomber by Deighton is good.

[@jcwoodman5285]

Well done 🤗

[@LEGOBubuS]

Very good, thank you Greg! 🙂

[@kirbyculp3449]

Interesting posters for Mercedes-Benz!

[@johnspizziri1919]

This is a fantastic channel. Thanks Greg!!

[@galier2]

That's the second plane called Me 209 (the first one being the speed record plane which was a very different). It was evaluated against a Fw 190D and it was concluded that it was too similar in performance to justify opening a new production line.

[@danl.909]

Fascinating stuff, as usual. Thanks.

[@marcinfrostymroz]

Thanks for some great videos Greg. I live in Krakow, poland where in aviotion museum (among many interesting planes like beautifully restored Udet's Curtis Hawk) we have a fuselage of Me-209. You mentioned it could never become a fighter - would you like to expand on that statement?

[@francescoguzzetta]

Not Greg here (unfortunately), but I know the story anyway. In order to achieve the record speed, the racing me209 had an engine cooling system based on special technology, with the whole wings used as radiators, leaking coolant by design. Obviously this cooling technology could not be used for a fighter plane, due to multiple factors (e.g.: coolant consumption, extreme vulnerability to battle damage, etc.). Without these special "cooling wings", replacing them with "normal" radiators, the performance of the Me209 were equal or inferior to those of Me109.

[@GregsAirplanesandAutomobiles]

Hi Marcin, I would love to expand on that statement, but it will take a specific video to do it.

[@marcinfrostymroz]

@@francescoguzzetta Thanks for explaining this one!

[@avipatable]

As always, absolutely love your work, and recommended you on the RCScalebuilder forum I use, as I am sure there are a good few guys on there who would love to hear what you have to say. Only question I have is still.... the difference in design of the P51 prop and Spit prop for the same engine. Don't suppose you have come across anything new on that front? Keep up the good work :)

[@markfryer9880]

I wasn't aware of any differences in propellers, except perhaps for different manufacturers. None of my books on both aircraft mention any technical differences between the propellers for both aircraft. It is always described as a simple engine swap between the Allison engine and the RR Merlin and then the Packard licence built Merlin. Now I am very curious and perhaps Greg can shed some light on the topic in a video as there are plenty of people interested in both aircraft.

[@avipatable]

@@markfryer9880 The Spitfire IX's Rotol hydrualic propeller looks quite different from the Hamilton Standard on the P51D - yet both used the same engine and both were air superiority fighters (although excelling in different roles). I would just have though at the least they would have tried swapping props to see if anything happened. I'm no expert on propeller design, but I would have thought such a different blade shape would have done something either way.

[@InVacuo]

Hey Greg, regarding the Erla Haube here's a little German pronunciation help. Erla you want to say like air-la. Haube: How-be' (be like "Ben" without the N as opposed to "bee" like a lot of English speakers say.) While I'm on the topic: The U in Luftwaffe you want to pronounce like the "oo" in good. (As opposed to "food" like you currently do. 😊) Hope this helps! Keep doing what you're doing! -Tom

[@allanroser1070]

Greg start yourself a second " normal" KZbin account as any comment thread you are participating in will take you straight to the comment. I had question in the last video that was un commented on by anyone but just maybe you see it this time ... re the US handover of the tertra ethyl recipe to the Luftwaffe. Cheers love what you do mate.

[@andreaskolling3749]

Lipfert became a school teacher after the war and in 1973 his war memories were published in a book. I read it when I was a boy. Perhaps you mistakenly noted Schuck as a teacher although there seem no information available about his time after war.

[@nickmitsialis]

I read both Lipfert's and Schuck's memoirs but for some reason I found Lipfert's more readable, even though he wrote of only his combats. Schuck's book was less detailed RE: combat but we had a view at some of the colorful personalities from JG5 (speaking of, it was good to get material on a less well known unit flying on a less well known front).

[@Ensign_Cthulhu]

I think Hartmann's very cagey about the way he defines "shot down". At the very least, he was honest about being obliged to force-land through battle damage.

[@mikepette4422]

nah I always thought he was being very honest. I think the incident over romania was him just not knowing what happened and it needed a second view point to really see it but of course he would never have known about the US Pilots POV unless he'd read the guys book.

[@Jon.A.Scholt]

That fictional Heinkel fighter is a pretty good looking bird; like an updated version of their design that lost to the Bf109 earlier.

[@Mucdaba]

im so happy that i get all this information for free

[@Itsjustme-Justme]

Maybe what Robert Johnson shot down that day was very early Bf 109 G-6/AS's with early DB 605 AS engines (large supercharger for more high altitude performance, but no increased emergeny power setting yet, so at low altitude not faster than a G-4). I'm not sure when the very first of these became operational but I think it was around the end of 1943. For someone who is used to see standard G-6 with the primitive looking gun covers and the heavily framed canopy, the new canopy and new, smooth engine cowling can easily create the illusion of a different type of aircraft.

[@GregsAirplanesandAutomobiles]

I agree, in fact that's exactly the plane I was thinking of. However, while I could get the dates for the canopy to line up, getting specific dates for a specific 109 variants introduction is murky at best. I don't know exactly when the G6 A/S entered service.

[@rring44]

It had to be so much harder in real combat to ID planes. It takes a long time in IL-2 to be able to identify aircraft and that is with the ability to see and even fly all of the aircraft being flown.

[@GregsAirplanesandAutomobiles]

Great point.

[@FiveCentsPlease]

+ robert king The Luftwaffe introduced bright unit markings on their aircraft for that reason--- for identification and to reduce friendly fire incidents in the air and from the ground.

[@Verbindungs]

Thanks to you for your interesting and for me pretty unique content.

[@scottgiles7546]

Liquid cooled Radial Engines. The US, for one, tried to develop them in WWII but they failed. It is clear why they were wanted as heat-flow for cooling becomes difficult for air cooled engines at high power outputs. In the world of motorcycle racing air cooled bikes could only do full power for a couple laps, and then watch the liquid cooled ones slowly pull away. If you can find the time for the needed research it would be good to know WHY they failed.

[@GregsAirplanesandAutomobiles]

I talk about liquid cooled radials in at least two other videos, although I can't remember which. The short version is the were too heavy.

[@scottgiles7546]

@@GregsAirplanesandAutomobiles It might be the Super-Prop video. There were some interesting planes who's development stopped as the engine they were being built around never made it to production and the reasons they failed were not given in detail. I may need to re-watch it and observe more carefully.

[@carltyson4393]

Greg, as always great info and great presentation. I have a goofy question. I notice frequently white geometric lines on the surface of Corsairs just before the cockpit. Is there a reason for these markings that you know of? No big deal, just they don't seem to appear on other planes like the Hellcat. Great work, thanks so much for your videos.

[@GregsAirplanesandAutomobiles]

Those lines are there to seal those joints. Fumes would come out through those joints and get into the cockpit, so the Navy sealed them up.

[@carltyson4393]

@@GregsAirplanesandAutomobiles thanks! That is great to know, love your channel!

[@johndonaldson3619]

Spiffing stuff Greg!

[@sebclot9478]

What do you think about oil conservation as a cause for the lean mixture with C3? It would seem to me that one way to deal with water in the oil would be to change the oil more frequently. But perhaps that would a problem for the oil-starved Germans, if done on a large scale. I guess this would still be an extension of the original problem, but it seems that there must be more to this issue than simply evaporation issues, as there are other potential ways to deal with it, and the power jump from the higher octane fuel was not trivial.

[@ned900]

Greg the late model spitfire, five blade prop with the bubble canopy, that's a freaking monster, like chomping stuff up, no?

[@laner989]

Sure the pilots had plenty of time to fly around the enemy planes 4 or 5 times at a range under 30 meters. Then once identified for the exact model, then shoot the plane down.

[@davidhuber9418]

thank you Greg

[@frederf3227]

Ah Greg, putting 10x more effort toward ethics than I would ask of him on my pickiest day. Out of nowhere I've always had a question that sounds up your alley: How do high performance WWII piston airplanes compare to today's equivalents? Could a WWII piston fighter be made today any better or would anyone bother?

[@GregsAirplanesandAutomobiles]

Yes, they could be better today, we have better metal, better machining, and far better ignition and fuel controls.

[@daviddanielnievescarbonero5049]

Thanks you for this video. I would like to see a video about spitfire Griffon series

[@dukecraig2402]

That Griffon engine is a real gem, people give the Merlin more credit than it actually deserves based entirely on the P51 story, but that narrative completely ignores supercharger types and timelines, it's basically just an oversimplified bedtime story, in all honesty the Merlin really wasn't a very good engine, it had a inefficient combustion chamber, a very bad oiling system along with too many parts, and it was difficult to reverse it's direction including having to have special cams to do it. But they got it right with the Griffon, they went back to the combustion chamber that they used with the Kestrel and redesigned the oiling circuits, but even more it's only something like 13% bigger than a Merlin but makes around 30% more power, the Griffon is THE liquid cooled aircraft engine of that era, they still had the same issues with reversing it's direction that the Merlin had but beyond that it was just about as close as you could get to perfect.

[@burroaks7]

very cool, you should do a video about early Grand Prix engines and Miller and Offenhauser motors based similarly to early grand prix race motors

[@cabanford]

Thanks back!

[@stefanthiem6630]

@Greg Your pronounciation of "Erla Haube" was almost perfect. The "e" in Haube however is not silent in German. Try spelling it like "Hauba"

[@scottgiles7546]

Looking at the very complex structure of the wooden Mosquito can we safely call it a composite airframe? (Even if it's just to hose the Gen-Xers..)

[@2lotusman851]

All airplanes structures are technically composites. --they are made up of a variety of different parts (which is the definition of composite). Even if the separate distinct parts are all aluminum. If the aluminum skin material itself, is a solid sheet of aluminum-- the skin itself is not a composite. If the skin material of a Mosquito is made of a sandwich of plywood , balsa, and plywood-- then the skin is technically a composite. That said, the Mosquito design is not a shining example of "how to do it" these days. Wood quality and consistency is highly variable.

[@LuqmanHM]

Thanks Greg. Need more FW190 contents!!!!

[@mryhdy6266]

Or more cowbells?

[@mikepette4422]

I say we need more content on the Fairy Battle ! 100 episodes

[@LuqmanHM]

All of em

[@scottgiles7546]

@@mryhdy6266 FW 190's had cowbells??

[@mryhdy6266]

@@scottgiles7546 Yeah, it helped guide rookie pilots back to base. It also helped avoid mid air collisions in night flying.

[@CaptainAhorn]

Hello, I have a suggestion for a video - the P-36 Hawk. It’s an under-appreciated fighter that - perhaps - was incorrectly sidelined in favor of operationally inferior planes like the P-39 and (early in the war) the P-38. The -36s that saw further development (like Finland) indicate that the plane adapted to the addition of pilot armor, self-sealing tanks, and heavier armament with little decrease in performance. Could the -36 have been “the Army’s F4F” early in the war? Was there room for additional developments, like 4x.50s in the wing, a bigger engine, and so on? Cheers.

[@GregsAirplanesandAutomobiles]

I have thought about that.

[@anthonyrivera1727]

Are you ever gonna do a video on the P63 King Cobra? It'd be an interesting tidbit on the "what ifs", for a plane that had good performance. Love the vides tho greg!

[@TonboIV]

I've kinda noticed something with all this about power settings and fuels lately. "War Emergency" or its equivalents always seem to be limited to a handful of minutes, but why is that the case when power is often being limited by fuel octane. If some American engine burning 150 can run for five minute at 2 ata, but it cruises for hours at 1.4 ata, why can't a German engine limited to 1.4 ata by fuel octane run that power setting for just as long? I would expect that engines burning lower octane fuel would tend to have longer time limits on the top power setting, because they're effectively stuck in a lower state of tune. I can understand that many other factors are not equal, but it seems like at least some of these engines running low manifold pressures should have much longer time limits on their maximum power settings.

[@GregsAirplanesandAutomobiles]

Good question, but really complicated. I'll tackle this one another time in a video.

[@jannegrey593]

To simplify as much as possible - and this is only from my understanding, unlike Greg, I'm not an expert - I extrapolate from his previous videos - first of all you have engine life, second oil temperature at least in some airplanes will become dangerously high after that time, so you need to shut it down, give the cooler minute or two to handle it and start again. Most of other issues are connected to either longevity of an engine or it's temperature - assuming that you don't have for example 1.42 ATA limit for 3 minutes, because engineers figure out that in that time the amount of knock won't harm the engine etc. But as I write this I now start to understand why Greg said it's a complicated one. There is so much to take into account.

[@adrianhendy]

Don't forget that Germany was struggling with pressures of a lack of fuel, oil and raw materials by this time. A simple example was that later DB engines had poorer quality bearings simply because they needed to rationalise materials. This resulted in caps on power and useage that the Allies simply didn't have. Plenty of examples of engines and airframes being changed to make them easier to manufacture but less durable as the war progressed

[@TonboIV]

@@GregsAirplanesandAutomobiles I'll certainly be looking forward to that. You always manage to make even the most arcane engine related topics interesting.

[@Adi.1]

Erich Hartmann was shot down several times. I remember reading that he was once shot down behind enemy lines and had to avoid being captured while going back to his own people.

[@matthewspindler2665]

Great work always love your channel

[@ruskiwaffle1991]

There is a Me 209. But just a propaganda machine that is not intended for Luftwaffe service as I remember.

[@TheJustinJ]

The ME-209 was a real speedy race plane. One of the best of that era. And no, it wasn't going to carry any real armament or armor due to that little wing and breathtaking landing/stall speed. I could see how an America fighter pilot who had studied information on those models would mistake a 109 vs 209 as seeing an airplane in the air they always look different due to the oblique viewing angle vs. the three-view photos. E.g. a 109 looks much longer from the side than quartaring away, etc.

[@robertoquiroga2615]

Thx alot greg, great vids

[@Muzzled]

Great work.

[@spankthatdonkey]

Can I suggest a video on the Luftwaffe having two squadrons of Japanese zeroes for the Battle of Britain? After reading Len Deighton’s Fighter that thought occurred to me that having fighters to escort bombers beyond The range of the 109’s could have brought more industry, airfields, and even shipping into play. Thanks for your awesome videos!

[@GregsAirplanesandAutomobiles]

I have seriously thought about that, but I feel I would need to have a video about the Zero first just to clear up some misconceptions.

[@parallax_review]

I'd love to hear your technical insights on why racing planes cannot be easily converted into fighters.

[@blankspace998]

Hello Greg, thank you for your awesome videos, I always like to find something new in the field of WW2. I have a small question that will, maybe, make a topic for a short video. When you said that some pilots were never shot down, a question visited my mind. How did pilots were assigned to new aircraft, and what happened to the old ones? I mean if Hartmann was never shot down, wouldn't he be flying Bf-109E for the whole of WW2. Sure, he was a great pilot and that's why he was given the best equipment. But what for old 109E was it even feasible to reassign it to a newly trained pilot if both pilot and plane combat effectiveness is questionable?

[@GregsAirplanesandAutomobiles]

All sort of different answers there. US planes were often assigned the "war weary" status once they had a lot of wear on them. Then they were pulled from the front lines. Older versions were often moved to the rear or less intensive combat areas once newer ones showed up. New versions of 109s were being built and sent to the front all the time. I'm not sure who assigned them to individual pilots, I imagine it was the squadron commander.

[@FiveCentsPlease]

+ Alex I think both the Allies and Luftwaffe had similar policies on time-expired aircraft being retired to second-line operations and training units while front line units received newer aircraft. Some of the Bf-109F and Bf-109G would have been recycled back for upgrades, and a handful went into Mistel operations.

[@trimbalemrbale575]

is there going to be a video about airplane paint regarding the weight of that stuff? a barely painted B-17 weighs a lot less than a fully painted B-17, meaning more payload for fuel, ammo, bombs, etc

[@davewolfy2906]

Hi Greg, It would be really interesting to see what you would make of the Schneider Trophy and its aeroplanes. They started not long after the first flight and ended just before WW2.

[@kenb7051]

As for C3 mixing with Oil in the engine. Did the inverted V layout lead to more oil consumption via bypassing the rings in the cylinder? If the pistons bottoms are always covered in engine oil the shear amount would mean "some" would make its way into the combustion chamber over time. I know they are all dry sumps but radial engines from what i have read also have higher oil consumption numbers than inverted V engines and much higher than standard V type.

[@FiveCentsPlease]

+ ken b The lowest point in the inverted vee is the rocker covers and the oil would collect there. Scavenge pumps returned the oil into circulation.

[@jaym8027]

@@FiveCentsPlease I've often wondered about this myself. Surely there are times when the engine is shut down and at least one cylinder has both valves closed. I suppose they just hand propped the engine a few times to clear any oil from the cylinder. Must have been a joy in February on the eastern front.

[@LeonardoSalvatore]

Oh, didn't know about plans of improving the 109. Guess was aiming to make room for safer landing gear and larger fuel tanks. Thanks for this video Greg!

[@adrianhendy]

The Me109 was getting old by 1942. The Fw190 had some desirable features. They also found that the Me109 was being left behind by newer Allied fighters like the P-51 coming on stream. Problem was that Germany was by then struggling with a lack of higher octane fuel and better (!) engines. There were attempts to bring the Me109 up to modern standards but they were mostly canned when the 262 showed awesome potential and that models development sucked up enormous time and resources

[@LeonardoSalvatore]

@@adrianhendy sure. They push up to the K version but on old design.... I was talking about propaganda designs when they found out that cannot fight over London for more then few minutes.

[@adrianhendy]

@@LeonardoSalvatore of course.... never managed it really even with later designs

[@christofferwillenfort4035]

hi Greg. i wonder if you could explain why no one tried to create flat engines for wing mounts. you would think that it would be aerodynamicaly smart do do. but i cant find any examples of it even being tried. So is there a obvious drawback i have missed ?

[@scottgiles7546]

Lycoming O-1230. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lycoming_O-1230

[@GregsAirplanesandAutomobiles]

I think it's a problem of getting enough cylinders in there, and enough cooling to the rear cylinders.

[@christofferwillenfort4035]

@@scottgiles7546 I know about this one. but as wikipadia states "Although the engine was flown in an aircraft, it was not fitted to any aircraft selected for production" I was looking for the resons for this.

[@christofferwillenfort4035]

@@GregsAirplanesandAutomobiles ok I get the cooling. (But it shouldent be worse than a V-engine what i can see.) but what do you meen with "getting enough cylinders in there" are flat engines less spaceeficient for some reason ?

[@michaelheath9966]

Wasnt hartman shot down/crash landed and captured by russian soldiers and then escaped from the back of a truck after pretending to be injured? Or am i thinking of rudel... Im sure hartman did at least ditch his mount behind enemy lines even if not tecnically shot down.

[@finlayfraser9952]

Hi Greg, another non related question. The R3350 is described as having fuel injection in its later manifestations to eliminate disastrous backfires in the intake manifolds. Was this port injection, or direct injection? If the latter it would mean the problem of sufficient atomisation would seem to have been solved. I have scoured many photos of the R3350 but have not been able to identify any injector lines. Thanks for any information.

[@FiveCentsPlease]

+ finlay fraser It depends on the dash number for the engine. The -34 and -38 were direct injection, whereas other models were injected at the impeller.

[@daytch9485]

Love you videos Greg, will you cover any Japanese aircraft? Would information be harder to gather?

[@ditto1958]

How about the P-40? It used to be famous- looks cool, Flying Tigers- but has now faded from popularity Yeah, it kinda sucked- but back when I was a kid in the 60’s the P-51 was not the most popular WWII fighter These days the only two WWII planes most people know about are the Mustang and the B-17.

[@johannesbauer4490]

I agree mostly, though I'd say thanks to computer games over the last 5-10 years, a lot of young people know about a wide range, which is a good thing.

[@Hellspijker]

I would love to see vid's about the P-61 black widow, how is the performance, in the osprey book i have, they said that the test pilot showed trainey pilots to do 1 engine turns.... and how is the plane compaired to other nightfighters, was it realy needed for ww2 as a dedicaded aircraft, there where lots of planes fitted for nightfighter specialy germans,

[@xgford94]

My questions on Patreon always get answers

[@peterknight4692]

If emergency power is used for such a short period of time, would oil dilution by C3 at rich mixtures really be a problem sufficient to keep the entire C3 using fighter force at such a significant disadvantage?

[@GregsAirplanesandAutomobiles]

It would if your priorities were out of whack. I think that's the reason they ended up running higher ECRs on the late 109s, at that point someone realize the planes were not lasting long enough for the extra wear to matter anyway.

[@jatzbethstappen9814]

Thanks Gre. My question is about your surname "Eg'splanes" - from where did it originate? I ask as I can draw no sociolinguistic inferences from your accent alone. Thank you for your work!

[@GregsAirplanesandAutomobiles]

No problem. Of course in the United States nobody really cares about that, it's not where your ancestors came from or who they were, but rather what you can do with the abilities you are given. Anyway, I was born in the USA, I live just outside of Tulsa Oklahoma. Both my parents were born in the USA. My grandparents on one side came from Italy, on the other side from Poland, although I think from a part of Poland that's sometimes Poland, sometimes Soviet Union depending on when.

[@roanschaffer7720]

Thanks Greg! Do you know why planes such as the bf-109 have asymmetrical landing gear/flaps?

[@yayeetmeoffacliff4708]

Maybe to counter the tourqe produced by the prop with lift?

[@tbmavenger71]

Do you have, or plan to make, any wall art with Luftwaffe aircraft as the subject? I plan on buying some of your mugs and an F6F poster

[@GregsAirplanesandAutomobiles]

I will have that done. Give me a couple weeks and it will happen.