Belly Landing

Modeling Subjects Aircraft
1

Ok, fells…

I’m building a diorama of a Spitfire MKII that had to make a wheels-up landing. I’ve got the battle-damage down (practiced on an old model). Now, I need a little help on what the prop’s gonna look like when it strikes the ground and gets rolled up.

I’ve scoured the 'net for pictures and I’ve found some fairly decent pictures of real aircraft that made belly-landings with prop damage. Problem is, they’re all in black and white. Some of them look like the black paint has been blasted off to bare metal by the contact with the ground and some still are black.

Another thing, the RAF’s WWII history is hard to come by for some reason. Should I make the downed Spitfire (MKII, remember) over Belgium, France, or England? Were they used in the Battle of Britain? I’ve googled it’s history and seem to come up with more questions than answers.

Thanks,
Kevin

2

I’m no expert on Spit props but I thought the blades were timber. If so, they obviously won’t bend, but they’ll be broken and splintered in a wheels-up landing.

3

Kevin -

A DeHavilland two-blade wooden fixed-pitch propeller was employed by the prototype and the first Spitfire I’s had the Airscrew Company’s wooden fixed-pitch two-blade. Later a DeHavilland three-blade, two position propeller was adopted after trials on the first prototype. The new propeller gave a 5 mph increase in speed. In 1940 DeHavilland three-blade constant-speed propellers were substituted.

MKIIs were used in the battle of britain.

.T.Young [8-]

4

There is no right way to do it, like battle damage, every bent prop will look different.
If it was a landing due to engine failure the prop wouldn’t be spinning so only the blades in contact with the ground would be bent. If it was due to the landing gear failing to come down, the pilot may or may not have killed the engine at the last possible moment to keep the engine from further damage.
You author the story, you decide. Good luck!

Don

5

The damage the prop receives will depend on a lot of things, especially the surface the landing is made on. A concrete or asphalt runway will abrade all the paint and some metal at the point of contact, while a grass runway could leave a great deal of the paint intact with a lot of green and brown streaking!

The direction that the tips bend is dependent on how much power is on at impact. With the engine at idle, the tips bend almost straight back. Curiously, if the engine was developing a lot of power, the tips will curl forward!

So, I guess you need to decide those details to get an accurate idea of what your damage should look like. Good luck, and post LOTS of pics!

6

I watched a twin Piper make a belly landing at my airport a couple years ago. It was a flight school plane, and they were coming in for a landing when their nose gear would not come down, it was just stuck. So the instructor had no choice but to drop her in. After a few careful passes getting a feel for it (by this time there are about a dozen news helicopters in the area talk about nervous!!). He finally came down and carefully touched the main gear down, and immediately shut off both engines…one of them wound down to where the blades were parallel to the deck, while the other was still spinning when the bird touched her nose. The blades curled back instantly, it was incredible to watch. And there really wasn’t much of a sound…just a little scraping sound.

edit here is a cool pic i found!

7

Thanks for your replies, everyone.

Kik, great photo you’ve got there. I’ll try to model my Spitfire’s prop like the starboard prop in your pic.

Here’s something I just found while searching. Enjoy…and thanks again, everyone.

http://members.aol.com/mickbford/FL2004Spits_340.wmv

8

Be aware that, as someone mentioned earlier, many Spit prop blades were made of wood or wood laminate. If this is the case, then the blades would be splintered, not bent.

9

The constant speed props on Spit Mk IIs were metal props

10

Thanks for confirming that for me, Cobra. I’d really hate to have to simulate splintered wood props.

Again, thanks to everyone.

11

Plastic Kevin, Thanks for posting that video! That was awesome! I am used to seeing large groups of P-51’s flying at Oshkosh, but have only seen two or three Spits. The audio on that clip really brings out the growl of the Rolls Royces. What a beutiful sound, it makes the hair stand up on the back of my neck (in a good way that is)
Thanks again

12

Roger that, that vid is great!

13

Glad you liked the video, Bigfoot and Radmax. I liked seeing so many different variants in the air at the same time.

Again, thanks to all of you for your advice.

So, I’m to assume that I should just measure from the hub of the prop to the bottom of the fuselage where the prop will have struck the ground and begin bending there.

What’s the best method of warping the plastic? I would think a candle and slowly heating it, but if anybody else has a better idea I’d like to hear it.

Thanks,
Kevin