Martin-Baker MB5
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 Cockpit of the MB5 | |
| Type | WWII aircraft, Fighter aircraft, Military aircraft, Historical aircraft |
| Configuration | Low wing aircraft, Retractable gear aircraft |
| Propulsion | Piston aircraft, Single-engine aircraft, Contra-rotating propeller aircraft |
| Manufacturer | Martin-Baker |
| Author(s) | Emmanuel Baranger |
| FDM | YASim |
| --aircraft= | mb5 |
| Status | Beta |
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| Systems |
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| Cockpit |
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| Model |
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| Development | |
| Hangar |
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| Website |
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| Repository |
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| Download |
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| License | GPLv2+ |
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The Martin-Baker MB-5 was a British aircraft developed at the end of the second world war. Although it never saw production, it compared well with contemporary fighter aircraft. The contra-rotating propellers eliminated much of the disadvantage of prop driven fighters at the time, and provided good acceleration.
Review
Starting the MB-5 (v20111202 from FlightGear Aircraft Version 2.6 download page) with its impressive contrarotating propellers consists of tapping ⇧ Shift+M 3 times, ⇧ Shift+} 3 times, tapping the throttle key PgUp 3 times and pressing s to start.
The aircraft starts with its brakes off, so it starts rolling on startup. The stick must be held back a moderate amount to prevent a deadly and uncontrollable ground loop, with the MB-5 cavorting all over the field otherwise. I would think the contra-rotating props should have prevented this. Using auto-coordination, I used a little right stick to keep the aircraft centered, and the tail came up quite soon at about 80mph, after which the MB-5 lifted off nicely. Taking off smoothly may require practice, so be warned, this is the case with most WW II era propeller aircraft.
One thing to get used to is the ASI with the inner and outer dial, with the inner dial showing 40 to 200 mph and the inner dial showing 200 to 400 mph after which the needle goes off scale.
Speed bleeds off in a loop, and loops are accomplished fairly easily.
A high speed dive combined with rolling the aircraft resulted in losing control of the aircraft and going straight in. What was encountered was possibly a high speed shock stall of the wing.
Overall a fast and pleasant aircraft to fly.
Compatibility
- FlightGear 1.9.1.: Loads and runs
- FlightGear 2.0: Not Tested
- FlightGear 2.4: Not Tested
- FlightGear 2.6: Not Tested
(Anyone running these versions please add the information above)
Speeds as tested on FlightGear model
- Take-off: 80 mph
- Stall: 60 mph
Gallery
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