Messerschmitt Bf 109 "Back Seat"

"ttyymmnn" (ttyymmnn)
10/17/2014 at 11:09 • Filed to: planelopnik

Go for a ride in a Messerschmitt Bf 109 as the pilot beats up the airfield. Camera shifts to the ground as the fighter passes over, and the sound of that engine is eargasmic.

Be sure to check out the whole site for the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! . It looks like they've also got a flying Me 262.

DISCUSSION (14)

desertdog5051 > ttyymmnn
10/17/2014 at 11:26

Very nice. Very guttural. The forward visibility on aircraft with tail wheels is not good on the ground. What powered the plane?

ttyymmnn > desertdog5051
10/17/2014 at 11:44

Wiki:

The 109 remained in production from 1937 through 1945 in many different variants and sub-variants. The primary engines used were the Daimler-Benz DB 601 and DB 605 , though the Junkers Jumo 210 powered most of the pre-war variants. The most-produced Bf 109 model was the 109G series (more than a third of all 109s built were the G-6 series, some 12,000 units being manufactured from March 1943 until the end of the war).

Regardless of the specific engine, it was a big-ass inverted V-12. I'm not sure about the engineering decision to invert it, but apparently the inverted engine made it less susceptible to ground fire.

desertdog5051 > ttyymmnn
10/17/2014 at 12:15

Thanks. Inverted V-12. That's different. Makes sense. Probably easier to service? Any knowledge of the displacement?

ttyymmnn > desertdog5051
10/17/2014 at 12:22

30 litres on the DB 601, but I had to look that up. I never knew they used inverted engines, but now I notice the exhaust placement on the photograph and it makes sense.

desertdog5051 > ttyymmnn
10/17/2014 at 12:27

I never looked at the exhaust til now. Definitely would indicate an inverted engine. 30 L. That's around 1800 CI. WWII really brought about some technological advances.

ttyymmnn > desertdog5051
10/17/2014 at 12:33

It really did, and German was ahead in many ways. Of course, it's hard to produce and develop when your factories are being bombed to hell. I wonder what inverting the engine did for center of gravity and overall handling. I'm no aero engineer, but do you gain anything by having the weight as low as possible like you do in a race car?

ly2v8-Brian > ttyymmnn
10/17/2014 at 14:06

Very little sounds better than an old warbird.

desertdog5051 > ttyymmnn
10/17/2014 at 15:09

Here's what I found. Apparently there was some advantage. I wonder how the inverted engine controlled oil from accumulating in the pistons. I know they are dry sump but gravity would make it seek the lowest place. So many questions.

!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!

Certain types of Vee engine have been built as inverted engines, most commonly for aircraft. Advantages include better visibility in a single-engined airplane, and lower centre of gravity . Examples include World War II German Daimler-Benz DB 601 , Junkers Jumo , and Argus Motoren piston engines

ttyymmnn > desertdog5051
10/17/2014 at 15:33

It looks like they used an oil pump of some sort. I found this 1940 article that covers the DB 601 in great detail. Should have all the info you could ever want, complete with photos and schematics.

http://www.wwiiaircraftperformance.org/me109/DB-601A-…

desertdog5051 > ttyymmnn
10/17/2014 at 16:24

That certainly helped. Thanks.

EdwardR > ttyymmnn
10/17/2014 at 22:51

I don't know why but I'm always a little surprised how calm the view from the interior of these segment is as well as the even droning of the motor without the doppler effect one experiences listening to these amazing machines from the ground.

VolksytheBug > ttyymmnn
10/18/2014 at 21:14

Whoa, he was really cooking in some of those fly-bys!

ttyymmnn > VolksytheBug
10/18/2014 at 21:43

It doesn't look that fast from the cockpit. I love the sound of that inverted 12.

VolksytheBug > ttyymmnn
10/19/2014 at 20:48

Definitely. I'd say it even rivals the sound of a Merlin. Heresy, I know, but ze Germans know how to make an engine.