I absolutely love the analogy of a racing horse and a cavalry horse. Having spent some quality time living on a tank in combat I gained a great appreciation for machines that are simple to maintain/repair, have redundant capabilities, and are generally overbuilt. It's one thing to say something has great capabilities; it is an entirely different thing when it has to work all day, everyday. I'll take the latter every time.
Agreed. That's why i love Russian design phillosophy. "Build it rugged, tough, redundant and simple." An American fighter plane is almost certain to catch fire and explode if it does a gear up "belly landing." A Russian fighter plane can slide on its belly from one end of the runway to the other at 200 knots, spark like hell. But it will not catch fire. It will not explode. And it's pilot wil unstrap himself (american fighter pilots are strapped in and out by others) pop open the canopy, step out, and walk away in time for lunch. EDIT: here's a video of almost exactly that. A Russian plane goes on a takeoff roll, then retracts his gear without pulling up. Click this link and skip to 5:00. th-cam.com/video/814kuAcpemY/w-d-xo.html
@@davecrupel2817Would you like to retract your comment now that we’re seeing how your famous Russian equipment is performing in the invasion of Ukraine. The stuff is utter garbage. Seems like you drank the propaganda koolaid they tried so hard to spread about their gear.
The FW 190's silhouette has the most beautiful form follows function feel to it than any other fighter of the war. Even standing still, the thing screams "attack!"
When I saw it's cockpit cutout in a Berlin museum, I was amazed at it's ergonomics. While we are used to seeing plane cockpits like spaceships, fw190 looks like it's a car, everything looks clean, in its place, not too many buttons and dials. Basically like a BMW car from 90s
This is the best airplane analysis I have yet to hear. There is much 'feeling' to what the airplane represents, it's design philosophy and the minute description of really vitals for an aircraft, a very balanced approach between detail, focus and general characteristics. Hopefully part two will be of a similar quality.
This aircraft, and my grandfathers description of it flying past his ball turret (B-17G), are one of many things that inspired me to become a pilot. This is one of the finest, if not the finest material on the 190 I’ve come across. Great work.
Again thanks for the shout-out and giving proper credit. If you have trouble with downloading footage, let me know. I could just send you some raw footage if needed.
Thanks to both of you! It is good to see gentlemen work together. I'm looking forward to part two where you might discuss the engine and it's advanced control systems....or the 190's diverse armament...fighter bomber, wilde sau, escort fighter, interceptor, its flight characteristics, its weaknesses and...and...and...I hope this will be a ten part series!
The word was "Dienstpferd", which translates directly to duty-horse or service-horse. Your reliable good friend that gets the job done and needs only little care. Love your content by the way.
Kurt Tank was a common sense designer. He used what materials that were afforded to him such as the BMW engine, and sub contracting the airplanes components to be built by different manufacturers. He came up with one of the wars best fighters, and was a vary good multi roll aircraft also. It didn't get the nickname Butcher bird by being a slouch. Once again thanks for the great video, I think it's great how you go into such great detail about the subject at hand. I can't wait for part 2.
Prandtl is famous in fluid dynamics and aerodynamics and his contributions are well known in academia and the aircraft industry. His other contribution is the introduction of the concept of boundary layer theory which is used to estimate drag.
I watch your videos, and Drachinifel's, and a few others, for long form content like this. I basically treat these videos like full length documentaries. They've basically replaced my interest in documentaries, as I've already seen so many that I already know the basics on a lot of subjects... And a lot of traditional documentaries rarely delve any deeper than the basics, the suface level, generalizations, etc. Shows that try to squeeze all of WW2 in 40 or 50 minutes. Also, after I started learning subjects more in depth, I started noticing a lot more pop history documentaries that basically spread misconception. Now that I'm a lot more interested in the nitty gritty details, I love watching channels like this. I also really appreciate the research guys like you do. I did a similar amount of research into early jet engines, when I wanted to know which was better: British, or German, or the Meteor vs ME-262 (One of the more muddied subjects). It was a lot of hard work tracking down original primary sources online about performance, and figuring out what it really means, rather than rants from opinionated gamers. I even thought about making a similar series to yours years ago on the subject to dispel myths and cover actual data. I can't imagine how much reading and researching you must do to pump out this much detailed content.
@@GregsAirplanesandAutomobiles it seems that you are in the right track with your format. I am sure that quite a few will actually schedule a time slot in their lives to watch your video. I know I do that, as it would be a waste to just having it running in the background. I second all said about mainstream documentaries. They often just push established buttons to create sensation and add very little new information.
The FW190 has always been my favorite German WW2 Fighter! Many thanks for posting this video and I am looking forward for part 2. Greetings from Guatemala!
The awkward german word noted translates to duty horse. The word Dienst (pronounced deenst) is duty and in german you make from two nouns one if they relate to each other. In english your duty wagon is a staff car and in german it’s a Dienstwagen. Felddienstanzug is 3 nouns tied together. Feld Dienst Anzug or field duty uniform/ dress. The american BDU or battle dress uniform would be Kampfanzug oder Gefechtsanzug in german.
Kurt Tank's philosophy is the reason why the FW-190 is my favorite ride in WW2 flight sims. The Spitfire and BF-109 may have been an engineer's pride, but the FW-190 was designed from the ground up to be a pilot's joy.
The plane that is almost universally regarded as a pilot's joy is the Spitfire- even Adolf Galland, when asked by Goering what he needed, said "I should like an outfit of Spitfires for my squadron."
@@TheSoundsage He was just yanking Herman's chain. See "The Most Dangerous Enemy". A bunch of romantics against an integrated air defence; a tactical airfarce (sic) tasked with a strategic mission. Swap the fighters, Jerry would still have been toast. It was a bloody pointless exercise as well. We did not say they could not come; but we did say they could not come by sea.
I’m just finishing up A&P Schwerin and working as a mechanic. I love these videos because of all the similarities I see in general aviation aircraft. Thank you Greg
The elliptical planform came out of Prandtl’s analysis determining the minimum induced drag for a given span. This yielded an elliptical Spanwise Lift Distribution (SLD) and was basically correct; however, Prandtl himself recognized that an aircraft is a tradeoff between weight and drag. So, he used the same lifting line theory and changed the optimization from minimum induced drag for a fixed span to minimum induced drag for a fixed root bending moment. This yielded a parabolic SLD. This parabolic SLD had about 15% greater span and even lower induced drag than the elliptical SLD. The really interesting thing is that even though the Spitfire had an elliptical spanwise chord distribution, it did not actually have the “optimal” elliptical SLD. Why? Because if an elliptical wing has no twist, then every section along the span is just as likely to stall at the same angle of attack as any other, meaning that the smallest asymmetry would make roll-upon-stall behavior unpredictable. Supermarine gave the Spitfire washout to ensure a progressive stall from root to tip, maintaining both dihedral effect and roll control. This meant that the Spitfire was not only forgiving during low speed maneuvering, giving it’s pilots the confidence to go there, but also allowed for a lighter structure because the actual SLD was closer to the ideal parabolic. Interestingly, both the Bf 109 and FW 190 had unpredictable behaviors near stall, putting their pilots in a less comfortable position.
I've been waiting for this video. It was worth the wait. IMO this is your best episode. The FW 190 was my favorite fighter of WW2. Didn't get the publicity of the 109. As an electrical engineer I agree with Mr Tank's philosophy of using electrical vs hydraulic systems. Your P 51 schematic of the hydraulic system demonstrates the complexity of hydraulics ... the system looks horrifying for performing maintenance. Plumbing, seals, pumps .. potentially flammable liquid. Give me electric systems anyday. The radial engine with the unique cooling .... the visibility .. the very looks of this fighter makes it one of the best. Thank you for this video. Bravo to your demonstration and teaching skills.
I have the impression that a radial engine draws the centre of gravity forward and hence the wing forward for support. If so, the aircraft will be shorter and the pilot will have a slightly wider view.
Well done, Greg, as usual. Excellent background information, and - since my Dad was an F6F combat pilot - I couldn't help noticing the similarities between the design philosophies of Kurt Tank and Leroy Grumman: make the plane pilot-friendly, rugged, easy to maintain, straightforward to operate, and so on. While a few Hellcats did fly a handful of missions over southern France after D-Day, to my knowledge, the FW190 and the F6F never met in combat. My amateur's hunch is that any dogfights between the two would have been very interesting, and more than "interesting" for the pilots involved.
@@smithy2389 You're likely correct, at least in the main. The FW190 weighs about 500 lbs. more (empty) than the F6F, but the climb rate is significantly better (I'm guessing the FW190 is much more aerodynamic). On the other hand, the F6F's wing loading (37.7 lb/sq ft) is significantly less than the FW190's (49 lb/sq ft), so its roll rate and turn performance might have been (I'm neither pilot nor aeronautical engineer) just a bit better than the 190's - enough to keep it in the game for at least a little bit if the fight was under 20,000 feet. Yes, the Navy hardware imposes a weight penalty, not least of which is that missions generally covered longer-distances, so more fuel was required. Hellcats carried 150-gallon external fuel tanks so often that they eventually became standard equipment, in addition to 250 gallons internally. The Fw190 A-8 (the only model I have easy access to figures for) carried 169 gallons internally - obviously not intended for long over-water flights. After his combat tour in 1944, Dad flew the F4U-4 during the last year of the war, training for the invasion of Japan that never took place. The Corsair was about 50 mph faster than the Hellcat, with a climb rate of about 4,400 ft/sec., so it was a better climber than either the FW190 A-8 or the F6F, and I've read (no direct experience here) that it had the best roll rate of any WW 2 fighter (Greg may have alluded to that in his video on the Corsair). Blah, blah, blah. As I said, you're likely correct, and we'll never know…
HiWetcam the 190 supercharger was more sophisticated because it was a variable speed unit enabling full throttle from sea level to 20,000ft. Greg has already gone through German supercharging. The merlin 60 used a two stage supercharger with aftercooler. That is why those aircraft had excellent high altitude performance. The Hellcat had a single stage supercharger and was optimised for low altitudes used in Pacific theatre. In terms of roll rate the Corsair had best roll rate of any allied fighter but the FW-190 was always regarded as the king (although a lot would depend on airspeed).
HiWetcam F6F-5 was in service two years after the A5. So not a fair comparison. You’re right about the supercharger my bad but when compared to the F6F-3 it doesn’t make much difference.
Thankyou for covering one of my favourite planes, love the horse anlage, it reminded me of one about the typhoon. It has the temperament of a stallion and the handling of a cart horse.
I always wondered why Tank designed the 190 with so many electrically actuated features. As a “converted” electrical engineer, this makes perfect sense and demonstrates his forward thinking.
Your videos are fantastic. As a aircraft enthusiast born in 85 I watched endless aircraft documentaries on TV, built models and read books. Your in depth analyses give so much more insight and I appreciate them very much. Keep up the good work!
Keep up your sidetracks, they are what make this channel unique and interesting👍The fact that your videos are long and well researched because they are based on extensive reading has actually motivated me to start reading up on the stuff I used to live on (history and philosophy) once upon a time. Now I don't know how many channels really motivate people instead of just getting them their pastime kicks, but yours sure as hell is one of them....!!!
I live in Columbia, SC right next to our local airport Owens Field. The other week I saw an FW190 in the back corner of one of the hangers. I couldn't believe it. I've been waiting on the door to be open again so I can ask the owner if he'll give me a tour. I'm watching this video so I can have an idea about how it works and impress the owner with my "vast" knowledge of his aircraft haha!
I absolutely appreciate all the time and effort that goes into these thoroughly researched videos. I’ve always been fascinated by WWII aircraft and the technical detail you give these magnificent warbirds is just fantastic. Great work as always. Cheers
All else aside, Greg, the Fw-190 is one of the most beautiful and intimidating-looking fighters of any time, and they painted it so well. And the Panther tank was designed by Hans Flugzeug. I once saw a ceremonial smooth-bore artillery piece at Edinburgh Castle that had a plate on it that said "Camera" :D
well, it doesn't matter for me the accent, but I love the amazing content of this site after 40 years of aviation history, I never saw somebody like Greg, explaining the engineering side of the planes that I love so much. By the way, I'm in America,but I was born in Argentina and also I'm Italian and lived in Europe for 3 years, so I'm used to all accents.
It is true that Prandtl developed the theory of the elliptical wing, based on minimum induced drag considerations. But he actually was disappointed that this theory did not solve the problem he really wanted to address: how birds and insects fly, and how to build aircraft in a similar fashion. His minimum induced drag research was published in 1922, but he would also develop the "normal distribution (bell-shaped)" lift theory based on minimum structural considerations, which helped greatly with the design of tailless flying wings. This would be published in 1931, I believe. It is important to note that the elliptical wing is only "ideal" if minimum induced drag is the consideration. The normal distribution actually is better for minimum total drag, IIRC. Great video, great channel, wish this existed when I was an aero student.
Kurt Tank was the most legendary aeronautical genius of the WW2. His right hand man Hans Multhopp was taken to Britain as prisoner along with all the documents of FW 190. Multhopp’s experience and engineering skills have been extensively exploited by the British..
Thank you Greg for making this video! It is one of my favourite planes and I appreciate the effort you put it to give us information that we do not usually hear/ is harder to find. More of this would be wonderful!
@@GregsAirplanesandAutomobiles As an early aerospace student this videos are part of the inspiration for me. Its very interesting to look at the solution people develop at these times where the competition is high. I like the breakdown and analysis these provide
Man!This narration is as beautiful as the subject matter!Its like a genial, genteel professor has taken me aside to explain the finer points of a rugged, practical yet refined WW2 war horse of an airplane. Thank you!
Greg, Outstanding Presentation! It is great to watch the segment with a high level of technical description as well as pilots' perspective. as a pilot myself I greatly appreciate the knowledge and pictorial representation of the key points that are discussed. I thought I knew quite abit about the 190 series but I realize there is still much to learn about Tanks' approach to designing a very "user friendly" high performance airplane.
I tend to put your videos aside, Greg, until I can give them my FULL attention and never have I been quite as rewarded for doing so as with this video. What I most enjoyed was the time you took to establish the *context* of the 190 so thoroughly. As one commenter noted, never has 38 minutes passed quite so fast and left me keenly wanting more. Yeah, we're all geeks on this channel in a fundamental sense for being so enthralled by a subject that's becoming ever more esoteric. But that's a legitimate source of pride 😉
HiWetcam : Well, no it is the cheapest, and the less comfortable and flies to second grade airports, and it is worst than Easyjet...well popular tough...
Excellent Greg. I vastly appreciate the time and effort you put into these vids. The content is superb. I have learned so much and my admiration for all things in aviation..has increased. Good day and I look forward to the next vid in the series.
Dammit Greg, I will be busy at school when this premieres. That all said, I will be eager to watch this long awaited video. From the description alone I am eager to see what you make of Kurt Tanks philosophy that resulted in a remarkable fighter that.
I've always found the Fw 190 an interesting type, especially given it's performance whilst having a radial engine and the aerodynamic profile associated with that. Thanks for another thoroughly researched and informative video.
The difference in drag between radial engine aircraft with their profile and the drag of an in-line engine aircraft like a P51 or a Spit is less then you'd think it is, I saw the drag numbers on a P47 and a P51 from the NACA tests and wherein it's been a while and I can't quote what they were I was shocked to see how close they actually were.
If not for the FW-190, 200+ engineless Ki-61 frames would have stayed on the ground. Instead, with a Mitsubishi Ha-112-II radial engine, the Ki-100 became a successful Imperial Japanese Army interceptor. th-cam.com/video/1efXdEUjC_w/w-d-xo.html
People tend to overstate the drag difference between an inline engine and a radial engine, after all the fastest prop plane during this era (both prototype and production) was the XP-47j. It only had the same amount of power as the P-47M and P-47N yet was able to hit 505MPH (not that shy of an ME-262). Really the factors of airplane speed are such that you really can't put so much weight into just one factor.
@@doc7000 One thing that people don't realize about in-line engine planes is that they have to have some sort of scoop for their radiator which causes drag, people only look at the nose of the plane and think that's the end story but it isn't. And before anyone even goes there that whole "meredith effect" thing is a myth, the NACA reports from test flights show that. Another myth is the "laminar flow wing", NACA tests showed that the benefits from it were not only negligible but what little benefits did come from it are completely negated by any imperfections in the wing such as from manufacturing and even bug strikes completely cancelled what little effect it had.
@@dukecraig2402 There were some attempts to do away with the radiator scoop and use "evaporative cooling" - but it never made it onto a combat aircraft as far as I know - and of course then the jet engines came in.
once again Greg, you have managed to answer most questions that have been nagging me concerning most systems covering my favorite fighter. An all around aircraft serving the needs (right place, right time) of the typical fighter pilot, and doing it quite well.Thank you.
Video is about the Focke Wulf 190 10 minutes in and its talking about the wing shape of the Spitfire and the He-112 Theres still 20 minutes left And theres a second part of it God ive been looking for a channel like this for years.
hello Greg, thank you for your brilliant work. on the elliptical wing look for the Brothers Siegfried & Walter Günter ; they used this design since the mid 20´s . Pilot of the Fw190 in the Video was sympathic Alsacian Marc Mathis; died in 2015 test flying a homebuild aircraft of his friend Gruß Linus
And an odd aside on the Frise balanced ailerons. They were used on the Piper Warrior I, which was intended as a training airplane. They were too effective in countering adverse yaw, and the Warrior II reverted to conventional ones so the student could learn to use the rudder!
Link been Facebook posted :) the man who makes these videos is a very good teacher he keeps the technical details as simple as possible but not to simple and will try to push your understanding curiosity farther
I really enjoy your videos. They usually send me off tracking down more details, and long roads I did not know I wanted to be on. Kurt Tank was a genius, and his designs were most impressive of WW2. Can only imagine what he would have done if leadership of the time would have left him alone. Much like the Horten brothers.
Greg, I enjoy every one of your uploads, both aircraft and automobiles. But, I've really been looking forward to this FW-190 series. It's always been one of my favorite single seat, piston driven, fighters. Thanks for all of your time and effort! Semper Fi, TreeTop
The correct English translation would be destrier. Not exactly a draft horse as it is not bred to pull anything but a heavy riding horse bred to carry a knight in armor at speed on a battlefield or on a tournament ground.
Impressive on both info & presentation fronts. I learned more about “der Würger” in this video than from anywhere else - can’t wait for part 2! Only Greg can keep me interested in flap, aileron & rudder control systems
Greg, thanks a lot for another very interesting, well researched video. Recently you featured the Ta-152, now the Fw-190 in multiple parts - both being my favorite birds it's a joy to follow your channel. But allow me one bit of criticism. I wish your videos would be louder somehow (the former sound engineer in me advices to bring the microphone closer to your mouth which will bring your voice up and reduce ambient noise plus room reflections) and, in the case of this very video more consistent in volume (after 35:40 it becomes nicely loud again). Luckily your good narrator's voice is very, very intelligible which balances it out a bit. Again, thanks for the good videos and the channel.
King Fonk Greg’s mentioned before he’s not dealing with the best audio setup, especially given that he records a lot of these while traveling... and he needs to travel light.
Hi Greg, Firstly thanks again for yet another brilliantly detailed video. I love the mix of fact and informed opinion. I’m impressed by the variety and quality of source material. And finally I very much enjoy your delivery, both in coherency and with the occasional dash of dry humour. On that last point of coherency I’ve noticed on most of your videos your voice seems to be a bit quieter (audio at a lower level) than most of the others on TH-cam. Occasionally the audio levels jump around a bit too. So I did a little bit of measuring, because I record audio for a living, and in this video your voice averages about -29LKFS which is about 5dB below the standard for the USA. This isn’t the end of the world and is easily fixed by just turning the volume up a bit. However later in the video between 23:39 and 34:41 the level drops to -39LKFS which is very quiet. Anyway the long and short of this is I’d like to help you tweak your recording/production process so the audio quality is up there with the excellent quality of the content. I’m fairly certain this shouldn’t cost you any money as there are plenty of tools available for free on most platforms. And of course, only if you’re cool with me doing this. What are you recording your voice overs with? (Inbuilt microphone on phone, tablet, laptop or is it an external microphone) What video editing software/app are you using to put together the videos? If you’d rather do this in private instead of getting a public tutorial I’m happy to do that too. Alternatively I guess I could make my own TH-cam tutorial on levelling and normalising audio… How hard can it be? ;-) Regards Grant Audio Engineer Sydney, Australia
Hi Grant. Normally I record on my cell phone, the last three videos have been recorded on an Ipad, which doesn't seem to work as well, but I left my cell at home, so until I get home, it's Ipad or nothing.
Greg's Airplanes and Automobiles Thanks for the reply Greg. Will put my thinking cap on and investigate the best ways to get consistent levels on iOS devices. Do you use iMovie to edit your videos?
And do you put the photos and film in the timeline first and then do the voiceover or do you do the voiceover and then drop the photos/video in afterwards?
@@GregsAirplanesandAutomobiles Hullo again Greg, I've done a 5min tutorial on voiceover microphone technique on a phone/tablet. th-cam.com/video/IyliQEmSUqM/w-d-xo.html To sum it up, get close the mic, but there is a little more detail than that. Recorded totally on my phone apart from one bit on my iPad for a comparison. And totally edited in iMovie. Having listened to myself I really do need to work on not saying "aaaah" while waiting for my brain to catch up with my mouth. I'm sure you know the feeling. Anyway I hope it helps and I'm looking forward to part 2 of the Butcher Bird.
I absolutely love your videos and I really appreciate how you work things out. I would really love it more if you could improve your sound quality. Not easy when you're recording in hotels between trips, but some consistency and compression will go a long way. I usually get to hear these videos in the morning and with the kettle or microwave found, you're too easily drowned out. Keep up these! They really are fantastic
Ever since I built the FW-190 Airfix model, I have been fascinated by the apparent paradox of it simplicity, the poor performance of its rated specifications, and the many Allied and Axis reports of its superb performance. If ever there was a plane the belied its specifications, it was the 190. Thanks, Greg, for finally making everything make sense.
Judd Peterson, son of Major Richard 'Pete' Peterson of the 357th FG flying various P-51 versions. In your video of the comparison between P-51 and Me109 performance, I commented on a dogfight my father had with an Me109 in which they got tangled in a counterclockwise, Lufberry chase circle, and he successfully utilized the lowering of his flaps to create greater lift in his P-51 and cut the radius of the circle smaller. That allowed him to gain on the Me109 and ultimately catch him in the circle and down the enemy plane. During later debriefings to learn and share how to get out of a Lufberry chase successfully, there was further discussion about how to deal with an enemy fighter pilot who might be employing the same flap strategy. During this discussion, one conclusion was that, if the enemy plane were a FW190, then you wouldn't have to worry about their similar use of the flaps for better lift in a Lufberry chase circle. Because the FW190 has "split flaps" which do not modify the aerodynamic shape of the upper face of the wing, they cannot generate increased lift and, therefore, cannot be used in a tight Lufberry chase circle to shorten the turning radius by increasing lift. Something my father was advised of during those debriefings.
I can see why it's called that. In flight simming, you can usually set up a control sensativity curve for your joystick that accomplishes the same thing. Never started messing with it till trying to fly extra 300s in FSX or play competitively in War Thunder sim mode. Anyway, it looks like a graph with an exponential curve (like, Y=X²) when you set it up to deflect a lot less close to the deadzone, and not ramp up till the stick is near the end of its limits. Planes like the extra 300 in FSX, or the fighters in War Thunder sim mode, really need this. Otherwise, aiming guns will be a chore of constant over correction, snap rolling too far on accident, and pulling back on the stick to turn immediately stalling you out.
Thank you Greg that was fantastic I really enjoyed the research and knowledge you uncovered about Kurt Tanks engineering design philosophy behind the FW190. I felt that wonderful glow you get when you learn something new, I for one will certainly appreciate the engineering in that aircraft than I ever did before, together with Kurt Tanks design work. I,m looking forward to part 2 Greg, cant wait !!
Once again, thank you, SIR Greg. There was a lot of stuff I had never known before, and I used to think of myself as an expert on these things. How wrong was I.
So much research and work was put in this video. Made it interesting and fascinating. Great job, sounds like a lot of the design features are somewhat still in use. Bravo to the plane designers.
Thank you very much for the in-depth video. I've never been a fan of the Fw-190 series, I've always thought they looked awkward. However, I never understood why, exactly, they excelled, particularly on the Eastern front, which this video did a good job of explaining. I look forward to following this series
The engine cowl design development is a fascinating story and is one of features of the Fw-190 that was copied in other designs like the hawker sea fury. A special video on the Fw-190 cooling spinner design and subsequent cowl design development?
graham hufton The bearcat also shares some passing resemblance to parts of the 190. Could be inspiration, could be they thought of it already and saw a plane using it and decided “k, now we know it works, don’t gotta test it too much”
@@spindash64 Wildcat>Hellcat>Bearcat, Grumman's own special sauce. I'd be interested from the under-cart perspective, rate of descent and what-not, if you could carrier qual an FW. Probably a more likely carrier fighter than the Seafire.
@@stevewatson1640 That’s true. For what it’s worth, the P-51D actually underwent carrier trials, and while it wasn’t a perfect fit, the USN was satisfied enough to consider the ETF-51D project for more serious production before the capture of Iwo Jima made the idea unecessary. The 190, meanwhile, definitely seems a solid carrier plane basis, and if the Kreigsmarine ever got the Graf Zeppelin, a modified 190F probably would have been the backbone of their AirPower: Resilient engine that can run high power at low speeds without overheating Rugged landing gear that can survive multiple rough deck landings Short wingspan allows for multiple 190s to be fit into a carrier, even if folding wings weren’t part of the design Really, its worst traits for Carrier landings would be worse forward visibility than the 109, and rather hard stalls. And both of those could be dealt with, especially since the 190 was burly enough to survive a hot landing
@@spindash64 The Mustang is listed as such in "The Pentagon Paradox", I didn't know about the Iwo Jima detail though. "Forget it, it's a 'Frank' mightn't have been a thing around Okinawa with P51s on flat tops! Thanks for the info.
Imo the Fw-190, Yak-3, & Corsair, are my two favorite looking planes of the type. I think perhaps because most books I had growing up were full of mustangs, spitfires, and lightnings and wanted more. So when I saw the sleek Yak, the angular Corsair, and the Brutish fw 190, I fell in love. Also love the Condor, I really wish it had been an airliner and allowed to develop.
Another supurb production Greg. Thank you! By far the most informative, engaging, perceptive work i've seen - online or in print. You provide what to me are fresh perspectives and new detail in your videos, even though I've had a life-long interest in the more technical apects of aviation
Greg's, thanks a lot for this great and technical video. Really different from another videos around the internet. And thanks too because you english is crisp and clean, so a non native english speaker like me can watch without missing a word. I just subscribed, and wow, that's a lot o good material to "digest".
While I just sell car parts, IMHO, Electrical systems has a slight advantage over hydraulics. Hydraulic systems are an enormous pain when they go wrong, at least compared to electric. They spill hydraulic fluid all over the place, special high pressure hoses and pipes and fittings need replacing. That, and spilled hydraulic fluid costs money, but "spilled" electricity is costs almost nothing and is easily manufactured on the spot. While electrical components are just as specialized as hydraulic ones, they are smaller, cheaper, easier to make and replace, and far more common. Electricity has standards that are more universal, amperage and voltage; two components may require different specs, but understanding what goes where and how is far easier than the hassle of hydraulic fluid compatibilities and different measurements of pressure and viscosity. The upside to hydraulics is that it is FAR more intuitive than electricity. Pump builds pressure and velocity, more of these makes more power, end devices use this pressure and velocity and return slower and lower pressure fluid back to the pump. Resistance is caused by too small of a pipe or a blockage, and leaks are announced by drips and sprays and emptying reservoirs. Repair, while more expensive and time consuming once found, is far easier to find and understand and can be easily discovered before function is effected. Electricity on the other hand, its faults are usually only discovered when something suddenly stops working or catches fires or sparks and shocks are found.
@HiWetcam Yeah... then there are some things that just work better with hydraulics. IDK if it's the power density, the longer design history, or the ease with which hydraulics can be made to self dampen.
I worked in subsea robotics for many years as a Hyd tech /supervisor - I have worked on both types in the same application as a general rule hydraulics have a level of reliability far better than the elec equivalent --also for the same power hydraulics were generally reckoned to be aprox 1/8 of the size.
@@martynrowse5638 In ROVs you can pump hydraulics down the umbilical as much you want for as long as you want to compensate for leaks and loss of power. But electrical is always more compact and reliable. An HPU is many times bigger and heavier than an electrical motor which does the same job.
What a geat channel - easily explained concepts for non-aeronautical engineers like me. I learnt a lot about the FW-190 that I didn't know, and I now appreciate this aircraft a lot more, after viewing this concise video. Thanks!! 👍 .....now where's Part 2?
Part 2 and Part 3 are up on this channel. However Part 3 isn't named Part 3. Just go to the channel's home page and look through the titles in order, it will all make sense.
Nice video! I've always been confused when I read about how Spitfires were outclassed by Fw190 when it first appeared. Goes to show the importance of reliable and stable gun platforms.
@Wallace Because, bar the engine, it WAS the earlier mark. The VIII was supposed to be the 'proper job', but it was realised that the best was the enemy of the good enough. And its IX, not 9, that's even worse than Me 109 for Bf 109. :-)
AdamTheEnginerd yea the RAF we’re still sending waves of spitfire mk Vs over the channel in “circus” raids against JG 2 and JG 26 fw 190s even when the spitfire mk 9 was being introduced which only helped increase the kill tally’s for some Luftwaffe pilots e.g Josef Priller, Hans assi Hahn, Josef wurmheller etc.
@@alexanderthegreat1356 were they supposed to pull 30+ squadrons of ix's out of their arses? 'Introduced' doesnt mean in universal service in all squadrons
I never thought I'd hear the 190's performance described as "generally mediocre;" so I'm charged up to hear about that in part 2. Thanks Greg for another remarkable video.
A lot of the claims about it's performance are in relations ship to early Yaks and the Spitfire Mk V. As newer enemy planes came out, the tables turned a bit, so on average, yes, the 190's performance was about average among front line fighters.
@@GregsAirplanesandAutomobiles Mmm, maybe, maybe not. While there is some merit to the fact that the performance of later war Allied aircraft was improved - I think a lot of those tables being turned on the 190s was more due to the fact that by 1944/45 German pilot training was nowhere near the quality of the pre-war and early war standards. That and the fact that the Germans were being numerically overwhelmed on all air fronts. As I believe Stalin said "Quantity has a quality all its own."
Brilliant Greg, just brilliant. I have watched this several times and learn something new every time. The electrical control system is impressive and seems to have made a big impact. The 190 was obviously a pilot friendly machine. Thanks for all the hard work you put into the videos. The P47 series was just awesome and now the 190! Thanks, Greg.
Correct. It's pronounced "deenst-pferd." In German, both letters of the "pf" are pronounced, so the sound is "pf" - exactly as it's spelled. Sounds strange to us because it's not a sound used in English. So it's "pf," both pronounced, with the "ferd" part pronounced like the name "Ferdinand." "Dienst" is also found in another important term from WWII - "Sicherheitsdienst," the SS intelligence service, AKA the SD.
@@davegrenier1160 your pronounciation advice only makes sense if you prononce ferdinand in the german way if you could do that you wouldn´t need the pronounciation advice. ferdinand in english is pronounced quite differently not like the german pferd at all. i emphatise though since there´s no pf sound in english you just have to listen for examples online dict.cc usually has prononciation examples for almost every word
@@symmetrie_bruch As a German I would write it for English native speakers "deensed fared" since we here in the north (I'm from Bremen, the city the FW was assembled and now parts of the Airbus) dont pronounce the "pf", we just say "f" In conclusion: in the city they made the FW 190 they said: "deensed fared" and it means a horse as how the police or cab drivers use it. A "work(ing)" horse, if you will.
Been hoping you would get around to the 190. It is one of my favorite WarBirds and much under appreciated - just my $0.02. In this segment you have already answered some of the long standing questions I have had - the use of electronics in an age where most everyone used cables and/or pneumatics. Looking forward to the next onr.
I think you've covered plenty of stuff I've never seen or read before already. Enjoy your work a great deal mate, well done again. Thorough,detailed and interesting.👍
When I was a young person, fascinated with anything airplane, tank, ship, etc. the FW-190 mostly caught my attention due to the apparent ramp-up in firepower from the Bf-109. Will you address the decision to use both MG-FF and MG-151 20mm cannon?
This is the type of gentle and obviously historically informed American accent that British people like me love.
Usually I have to turn to British people to find someone nice to listen too! But Greg is excellent
@@Rift45 He sounds just like American Chess Grandmaster Hikaru Nakamura.
British people like our accents? I always thought it was just us Americans liking British accents ;)
Tulsa accent. T-Town, USA.
What does historically informed mean? I m a linguist so I'm curious.
I absolutely love the analogy of a racing horse and a cavalry horse. Having spent some quality time living on a tank in combat I gained a great appreciation for machines that are simple to maintain/repair, have redundant capabilities, and are generally overbuilt. It's one thing to say something has great capabilities; it is an entirely different thing when it has to work all day, everyday. I'll take the latter every time.
Agreed. That's why i love Russian design phillosophy.
"Build it rugged, tough, redundant and simple."
An American fighter plane is almost certain to catch fire and explode if it does a gear up "belly landing."
A Russian fighter plane can slide on its belly from one end of the runway to the other at 200 knots, spark like hell. But it will not catch fire. It will not explode. And it's pilot wil unstrap himself (american fighter pilots are strapped in and out by others) pop open the canopy, step out, and walk away in time for lunch.
EDIT:
here's a video of almost exactly that. A Russian plane goes on a takeoff roll, then retracts his gear without pulling up.
Click this link and skip to 5:00.
th-cam.com/video/814kuAcpemY/w-d-xo.html
As a usmc LAV25 crewman. I totally agree with you.
@@davecrupel2817Would you like to retract your comment now that we’re seeing how your famous Russian equipment is performing in the invasion of Ukraine. The stuff is utter garbage. Seems like you drank the propaganda koolaid they tried so hard to spread about their gear.
The FW 190's silhouette has the most beautiful form follows function feel to it than any other fighter of the war. Even standing still, the thing screams "attack!"
When I saw it's cockpit cutout in a Berlin museum, I was amazed at it's ergonomics. While we are used to seeing plane cockpits like spaceships, fw190 looks like it's a car, everything looks clean, in its place, not too many buttons and dials. Basically like a BMW car from 90s
As a licensed A&P mechanic in my mid-sixties, I really appreciate this video. My father, a B-17F ball turret gunner in 43-44, shot one down. Thanks!!
Your grandfather had a healthy set of balls. Those ball turret gunners were a very brave group of men..
We need to remember what they went thru..
@@johngault7329 , my dad :).
@@jameshajjar9040 what did he say of those days?
This is the best airplane analysis I have yet to hear. There is much 'feeling' to what the airplane represents, it's design philosophy and the minute description of really vitals for an aircraft, a very balanced approach between detail, focus and general characteristics. Hopefully part two will be of a similar quality.
Thanks TPath3, I hope you like Part 2, and I'm working on Part 3. I think you would also like my Turbo vs. supercharging videos, and my P-47 series.
This aircraft, and my grandfathers description of it flying past his ball turret (B-17G), are one of many things that inspired me to become a pilot. This is one of the finest, if not the finest material on the 190 I’ve come across. Great work.
Again thanks for the shout-out and giving proper credit. If you have trouble with downloading footage, let me know. I could just send you some raw footage if needed.
Your videos deserve being shared more (with the appropriate credit, of course!)
Thanks Paddy.
Thanks to both of you! It is good to see gentlemen work together. I'm looking forward to part two where you might discuss the engine and it's advanced control systems....or the 190's diverse armament...fighter bomber, wilde sau, escort fighter, interceptor, its flight characteristics, its weaknesses and...and...and...I hope this will be a ten part series!
@PaddyPatrone I had watched some of your videos, but only came to know your channel because this Greg's video. Excellent channel. And... Subscribed!!!
@@waynebrinker8095 Totally agree
The word was "Dienstpferd", which translates directly to duty-horse or service-horse. Your reliable good friend that gets the job done and needs only little care. Love your content by the way.
Kurt Tank was a common sense designer. He used what materials that were afforded to him such as the BMW engine, and sub contracting the airplanes components to be built by different manufacturers. He came up with one of the wars best fighters, and was a vary good multi roll aircraft also. It didn't get the nickname Butcher bird by being a slouch. Once again thanks for the great video, I think it's great how you go into such great detail about the subject at hand. I can't wait for part 2.
Prandtl is famous in fluid dynamics and aerodynamics and his contributions are well known in academia and the aircraft industry. His other contribution is the introduction of the concept of boundary layer theory which is used to estimate drag.
I was flabbergasted by the speed at which the 38 minutes passed.
That makes me happy to hear. I get a bit worried about video length.
@@GregsAirplanesandAutomobiles Don't.
@@GregsAirplanesandAutomobiles most people I know like long vids. Just make them the way you think they will be the best product in the end
I watch your videos, and Drachinifel's, and a few others, for long form content like this. I basically treat these videos like full length documentaries. They've basically replaced my interest in documentaries, as I've already seen so many that I already know the basics on a lot of subjects... And a lot of traditional documentaries rarely delve any deeper than the basics, the suface level, generalizations, etc. Shows that try to squeeze all of WW2 in 40 or 50 minutes. Also, after I started learning subjects more in depth, I started noticing a lot more pop history documentaries that basically spread misconception.
Now that I'm a lot more interested in the nitty gritty details, I love watching channels like this. I also really appreciate the research guys like you do. I did a similar amount of research into early jet engines, when I wanted to know which was better: British, or German, or the Meteor vs ME-262 (One of the more muddied subjects). It was a lot of hard work tracking down original primary sources online about performance, and figuring out what it really means, rather than rants from opinionated gamers. I even thought about making a similar series to yours years ago on the subject to dispel myths and cover actual data. I can't imagine how much reading and researching you must do to pump out this much detailed content.
@@GregsAirplanesandAutomobiles it seems that you are in the right track with your format.
I am sure that quite a few will actually schedule a time slot in their lives to watch your video. I know I do that, as it would be a waste to just having it running in the background.
I second all said about mainstream documentaries. They often just push established buttons to create sensation and add very little new information.
The FW190 has always been my favorite German WW2 Fighter!
Many thanks for posting this video and I am looking forward for part 2.
Greetings from Guatemala!
Shared this with my girlfriend(biology and high school maths teacher.) She was fascinated and impressed with delivery and content.
The awkward german word noted translates to duty horse. The word Dienst (pronounced deenst) is duty and in german you make from two nouns one if they relate to each other. In english your duty wagon is a staff car and in german it’s a Dienstwagen. Felddienstanzug is 3 nouns tied together. Feld Dienst Anzug or field duty uniform/ dress. The american BDU or battle dress uniform would be Kampfanzug oder Gefechtsanzug in german.
Only just started watching Greg's work, and this is *really* good stuff.
Top notch content produced here.
Awesome video with technical details. I love it! Thank you very much. Loving fw190-D
Man this guy should have a podcast just like his channel, this stuff is so in depth, keep up the good work dude.
Kurt Tank's philosophy is the reason why the FW-190 is my favorite ride in WW2 flight sims. The Spitfire and BF-109 may have been an engineer's pride, but the FW-190 was designed from the ground up to be a pilot's joy.
Insert "military pilot's"
Mine is the P-47 but it didn't have nearly the level of automation that German planes had.
The Kommandogerat, the unit for engine management and control is a jewel in terms of concept and execution.
The plane that is almost universally regarded as a pilot's joy is the Spitfire- even Adolf Galland, when asked by Goering what he needed, said "I should like an outfit of Spitfires for my squadron."
@@TheSoundsage He was just yanking Herman's chain. See "The Most Dangerous Enemy". A bunch of romantics against an integrated air defence; a tactical airfarce (sic) tasked with a strategic mission. Swap the fighters, Jerry would still have been toast. It was a bloody pointless exercise as well. We did not say they could not come; but we did say they could not come by sea.
I’m just finishing up A&P Schwerin and working as a mechanic. I love these videos because of all the similarities I see in general aviation aircraft. Thank you Greg
Very good to hear about the mindset and intentions of the designer, one of the more interesting and oft neglected aspects of design.
This guy is so homely and humble.Stumbled onto this by accident and now I'm hooked!
The elliptical planform came out of Prandtl’s analysis determining the minimum induced drag for a given span. This yielded an elliptical Spanwise Lift Distribution (SLD) and was basically correct; however, Prandtl himself recognized that an aircraft is a tradeoff between weight and drag. So, he used the same lifting line theory and changed the optimization from minimum induced drag for a fixed span to minimum induced drag for a fixed root bending moment. This yielded a parabolic SLD. This parabolic SLD had about 15% greater span and even lower induced drag than the elliptical SLD. The really interesting thing is that even though the Spitfire had an elliptical spanwise chord distribution, it did not actually have the “optimal” elliptical SLD. Why? Because if an elliptical wing has no twist, then every section along the span is just as likely to stall at the same angle of attack as any other, meaning that the smallest asymmetry would make roll-upon-stall behavior unpredictable. Supermarine gave the Spitfire washout to ensure a progressive stall from root to tip, maintaining both dihedral effect and roll control. This meant that the Spitfire was not only forgiving during low speed maneuvering, giving it’s pilots the confidence to go there, but also allowed for a lighter structure because the actual SLD was closer to the ideal parabolic. Interestingly, both the Bf 109 and FW 190 had unpredictable behaviors near stall, putting their pilots in a less comfortable position.
I've been waiting for this video. It was worth the wait. IMO this is your best episode. The FW 190 was my favorite fighter of WW2. Didn't get the publicity of the 109. As an electrical engineer I agree with Mr Tank's philosophy of using electrical vs hydraulic systems. Your P 51 schematic of the hydraulic system demonstrates the complexity of hydraulics ... the system looks horrifying for performing maintenance. Plumbing, seals, pumps .. potentially flammable liquid. Give me electric systems anyday. The radial engine with the unique cooling .... the visibility .. the very looks of this fighter makes it one of the best. Thank you for this video. Bravo to your demonstration and teaching skills.
I have the impression that a radial engine draws the centre of gravity forward and hence the wing forward for support.
If so, the aircraft will be shorter and the pilot will have a slightly wider view.
Great video, Greg. Cheers from the Pacific West Coast of Canada.
Well done, Greg, as usual. Excellent background information, and - since my Dad was an F6F combat pilot - I couldn't help noticing the similarities between the design philosophies of Kurt Tank and Leroy Grumman: make the plane pilot-friendly, rugged, easy to maintain, straightforward to operate, and so on. While a few Hellcats did fly a handful of missions over southern France after D-Day, to my knowledge, the FW190 and the F6F never met in combat. My amateur's hunch is that any dogfights between the two would have been very interesting, and more than "interesting" for the pilots involved.
Ray Schoch the FW-190 would have won thanks to better climb, speed and roll rate. Not having to lug around naval gear helps.
@@smithy2389 You're likely correct, at least in the main. The FW190 weighs about 500 lbs. more (empty) than the F6F, but the climb rate is significantly better (I'm guessing the FW190 is much more aerodynamic). On the other hand, the F6F's wing loading (37.7 lb/sq ft) is significantly less than the FW190's (49 lb/sq ft), so its roll rate and turn performance might have been (I'm neither pilot nor aeronautical engineer) just a bit better than the 190's - enough to keep it in the game for at least a little bit if the fight was under 20,000 feet. Yes, the Navy hardware imposes a weight penalty, not least of which is that missions generally covered longer-distances, so more fuel was required. Hellcats carried 150-gallon external fuel tanks so often that they eventually became standard equipment, in addition to 250 gallons internally. The Fw190 A-8 (the only model I have easy access to figures for) carried 169 gallons internally - obviously not intended for long over-water flights. After his combat tour in 1944, Dad flew the F4U-4 during the last year of the war, training for the invasion of Japan that never took place. The Corsair was about 50 mph faster than the Hellcat, with a climb rate of about 4,400 ft/sec., so it was a better climber than either the FW190 A-8 or the F6F, and I've read (no direct experience here) that it had the best roll rate of any WW 2 fighter (Greg may have alluded to that in his video on the Corsair). Blah, blah, blah. As I said, you're likely correct, and we'll never know…
HiWetcam the 190 supercharger was more sophisticated because it was a variable speed unit enabling full throttle from sea level to 20,000ft. Greg has already gone through German supercharging.
The merlin 60 used a two stage supercharger with aftercooler. That is why those aircraft had excellent high altitude performance. The Hellcat had a single stage supercharger and was optimised for low altitudes used in Pacific theatre.
In terms of roll rate the Corsair had best roll rate of any allied fighter but the FW-190 was always regarded as the king (although a lot would depend on airspeed).
www.wwiiaircraftperformance.org/fw190/ptr-1107.pdf
HiWetcam F6F-5 was in service two years after the A5. So not a fair comparison. You’re right about the supercharger my bad but when compared to the F6F-3 it doesn’t make much difference.
Thankyou for covering one of my favourite planes, love the horse anlage, it reminded me of one about the typhoon. It has the temperament of a stallion and the handling of a cart horse.
I always wondered why Tank designed the 190 with so many electrically actuated features. As a “converted” electrical engineer, this makes perfect sense and demonstrates his forward thinking.
Just look what it did for the B-787: lots of batteries, lots of fires.
Luv the way ya say Have a Great Day at the end . . I will because of watching this
awesome video greg, learned a lot man thanks for your work on it.
Thanks GS. I love your channel, and I noticed you added some WW2 dogfighting, nice work.
Your videos are fantastic. As a aircraft enthusiast born in 85 I watched endless aircraft documentaries on TV, built models and read books. Your in depth analyses give so much more insight and I appreciate them very much. Keep up the good work!
Keep up your sidetracks, they are what make this channel unique and interesting👍The fact that your videos are long and well researched because they are based on extensive reading has actually motivated me to start reading up on the stuff I used to live on (history and philosophy) once upon a time. Now I don't know how many channels really motivate people instead of just getting them their pastime kicks, but yours sure as hell is one of them....!!!
I live in Columbia, SC right next to our local airport Owens Field. The other week I saw an FW190 in the back corner of one of the hangers. I couldn't believe it. I've been waiting on the door to be open again so I can ask the owner if he'll give me a tour. I'm watching this video so I can have an idea about how it works and impress the owner with my "vast" knowledge of his aircraft haha!
hope you got to see that FW 190/owner
I absolutely appreciate all the time and effort that goes into these thoroughly researched videos. I’ve always been fascinated by WWII aircraft and the technical detail you give these magnificent warbirds is just fantastic. Great work as always. Cheers
Having just finished building a 1/32 scale model of the FW190 I found this video fascinating.
So thank you sir.
All else aside, Greg, the Fw-190 is one of the most beautiful and intimidating-looking fighters of any time, and they painted it so well.
And the Panther tank was designed by Hans Flugzeug. I once saw a ceremonial smooth-bore artillery piece at Edinburgh Castle that had a plate on it that said "Camera" :D
well, it doesn't matter for me the accent, but I love the amazing content of this site after 40 years of aviation history, I never saw somebody like Greg, explaining the engineering side of the planes that I love so much. By the way, I'm in America,but I was born in Argentina and also I'm Italian and lived in Europe for 3 years, so I'm used to all accents.
It is true that Prandtl developed the theory of the elliptical wing, based on minimum induced drag considerations. But he actually was disappointed that this theory did not solve the problem he really wanted to address: how birds and insects fly, and how to build aircraft in a similar fashion. His minimum induced drag research was published in 1922, but he would also develop the "normal distribution (bell-shaped)" lift theory based on minimum structural considerations, which helped greatly with the design of tailless flying wings. This would be published in 1931, I believe. It is important to note that the elliptical wing is only "ideal" if minimum induced drag is the consideration. The normal distribution actually is better for minimum total drag, IIRC. Great video, great channel, wish this existed when I was an aero student.
justcarcrazy also the Spitfire has wash-out which sort of ruins Prandtl purist approach.
Kurt Tank was the most legendary aeronautical genius of the WW2.
His right hand man Hans Multhopp was taken to Britain as prisoner along with all the documents of FW 190. Multhopp’s experience and engineering skills have been extensively exploited by the British..
Thank you Greg for making this video! It is one of my favourite planes and I appreciate the effort you put it to give us information that we do not usually hear/ is harder to find. More of this would be wonderful!
Thanks Zayn, there will be much more of it.
@@GregsAirplanesandAutomobiles As an early aerospace student this videos are part of the inspiration for me. Its very interesting to look at the solution people develop at these times where the competition is high. I like the breakdown and analysis these provide
Man!This narration is as beautiful as the subject matter!Its like a genial, genteel professor has taken me aside to explain the finer points of a rugged, practical yet refined WW2 war horse of an airplane. Thank you!
Greg, Outstanding Presentation! It is great to watch the segment with a high level of technical description as well as pilots' perspective. as a pilot myself I greatly appreciate the knowledge and pictorial representation of the key points that are discussed. I thought I knew quite abit about the 190 series but I realize there is still much to learn about Tanks' approach to designing a very "user friendly" high performance airplane.
Thanks Rich.
I tend to put your videos aside, Greg, until I can give them my FULL attention and never have I been quite as rewarded for doing so as with this video. What I most enjoyed was the time you took to establish the *context* of the 190 so thoroughly. As one commenter noted, never has 38 minutes passed quite so fast and left me keenly wanting more. Yeah, we're all geeks on this channel in a fundamental sense for being so enthralled by a subject that's becoming ever more esoteric. But that's a legitimate source of pride 😉
That he111 masquerading as an airliner.
For one row of long thin people.
Who exit via the belly.
Classic airliner design...
Well, it does get them quicker to the ground and you can service several airports in one flight without having to land. Typical German efficiency. ;)
I believe Ryanair could be interested, faster and cheaper turnover in the airports...;-)
Would have been a better airliner than the Do-17 "Flying Pencil!"
HiWetcam : Well, no it is the cheapest, and the less comfortable and flies to second grade airports, and it is worst than Easyjet...well popular tough...
@@hermannalberts6038
We really loved flyBe, real shame about them
can’t wait to learn more a bout that engine, i’ve always found that the control system (what little info is out there about it) is very interesting
Excellent Greg. I vastly appreciate the time and effort you put into these vids. The content is superb. I have learned so much and my admiration for all things in aviation..has increased. Good day and I look forward to the next vid in the series.
Loving this channel!
Dammit Greg, I will be busy at school when this premieres.
That all said, I will be eager to watch this long awaited video. From the description alone I am eager to see what you make of Kurt Tanks philosophy that resulted in a remarkable fighter that.
Hi Cannon, I'll be sure to check the comments well after the premier so if you have a question, I'll be here for you.
I'm watching it right now
I've always found the Fw 190 an interesting type, especially given it's performance whilst having a radial engine and the aerodynamic profile associated with that.
Thanks for another thoroughly researched and informative video.
The difference in drag between radial engine aircraft with their profile and the drag of an in-line engine aircraft like a P51 or a Spit is less then you'd think it is, I saw the drag numbers on a P47 and a P51 from the NACA tests and wherein it's been a while and I can't quote what they were I was shocked to see how close they actually were.
If not for the FW-190, 200+ engineless Ki-61 frames would have stayed on the ground. Instead, with a Mitsubishi Ha-112-II radial engine, the Ki-100 became a successful Imperial Japanese Army interceptor. th-cam.com/video/1efXdEUjC_w/w-d-xo.html
People tend to overstate the drag difference between an inline engine and a radial engine, after all the fastest prop plane during this era (both prototype and production) was the XP-47j. It only had the same amount of power as the P-47M and P-47N yet was able to hit 505MPH (not that shy of an ME-262). Really the factors of airplane speed are such that you really can't put so much weight into just one factor.
@@doc7000
One thing that people don't realize about in-line engine planes is that they have to have some sort of scoop for their radiator which causes drag, people only look at the nose of the plane and think that's the end story but it isn't.
And before anyone even goes there that whole "meredith effect" thing is a myth, the NACA reports from test flights show that.
Another myth is the "laminar flow wing", NACA tests showed that the benefits from it were not only negligible but what little benefits did come from it are completely negated by any imperfections in the wing such as from manufacturing and even bug strikes completely cancelled what little effect it had.
@@dukecraig2402 There were some attempts to do away with the radiator scoop and use "evaporative cooling" - but it never made it onto a combat aircraft as far as I know - and of course then the jet engines came in.
Who would dislike this video? To me, this is some of Greg’s best work. Looking forward to part 2.
Someone expecting video game cheats.
Spitfire fanboys
once again Greg, you have managed to answer most questions that have been nagging me concerning most systems covering my favorite fighter. An all around aircraft serving the needs (right place, right time) of the typical fighter pilot, and doing it quite well.Thank you.
Best channel on youtube. Love the in depth analysis explained so clearly, must take a lot of time to present this content... it's appreciated.
Video is about the Focke Wulf 190
10 minutes in and its talking about the wing shape of the Spitfire and the He-112
Theres still 20 minutes left
And theres a second part of it
God ive been looking for a channel like this for years.
I love your explanations, detail, and sensitivity to the personalities involved in these machines.
hello Greg, thank you for your brilliant work.
on the elliptical wing look for the Brothers Siegfried & Walter Günter ; they used this design since the mid 20´s .
Pilot of the Fw190 in the Video was sympathic Alsacian Marc Mathis; died in 2015 test flying a homebuild aircraft of his friend
Gruß Linus
I duff my cap to that man, must of been in he's 90s. RIP Mr mathis
Here from Greg, who recommended you and rightly so. Subscribed immediately after I saw the 109 DB605 low passes. What a sound!
And an odd aside on the Frise balanced ailerons. They were used on the Piper Warrior I, which was intended as a training airplane. They were too effective in countering adverse yaw, and the Warrior II reverted to conventional ones so the student could learn to use the rudder!
Now that you say that, I always felt the Warrior had an odd feel compared to some of the other Pipers, that may have been it.
Love these type of details.
Link been Facebook posted :) the man who makes these videos is a very good teacher he keeps the technical details as simple as possible but not to simple and will try to push your understanding curiosity farther
Can't wait for part 2. Always love Greg's videos, so many interesting tid bits and insights.
I really enjoy your videos. They usually send me off tracking down more details, and long roads I did not know I wanted to be on.
Kurt Tank was a genius, and his designs were most impressive of WW2. Can only imagine what he would have done if leadership of the time would have left him alone.
Much like the Horten brothers.
A genius in the service of total evil. Be thankful he and the rest weren't allowed to just get on with it.
Greg, I enjoy every one of your uploads, both aircraft and automobiles. But, I've really been looking forward to this FW-190 series. It's always been one of my favorite single seat, piston driven, fighters. Thanks for all of your time and effort! Semper Fi, TreeTop
14:23 "Dienstpferd" could be translated as service/duty horse. And thanks for all the great content its really enjoyable. Greeting from switzerland
"Labor horse". In english, this is usually expressed as "workhorse" -- a 'jack of all trades' or multi-role aircraft.
You beat me to it i should have read a bit further before posting, Gruezzi aus Hirzel, 8816
Dienstpferd means an all-purpose, every-day, multi-tool horse in contrast to a fancy full-blood racing horse or a toy for rich-mans daughters.
But they didn't design their tanks like that fortunately
The correct English translation would be destrier. Not exactly a draft horse as it is not bred to pull anything but a heavy riding horse bred to carry a knight in armor at speed on a battlefield or on a tournament ground.
Impressive on both info & presentation fronts. I learned more about “der Würger” in this video than from anywhere else - can’t wait for part 2! Only Greg can keep me interested in flap, aileron & rudder control systems
Greg, thanks a lot for another very interesting, well researched video. Recently you featured the Ta-152, now the Fw-190 in multiple parts - both being my favorite birds it's a joy to follow your channel.
But allow me one bit of criticism. I wish your videos would be louder somehow (the former sound engineer in me advices to bring the microphone closer to your mouth which will bring your voice up and reduce ambient noise plus room reflections) and, in the case of this very video more consistent in volume (after 35:40 it becomes nicely loud again). Luckily your good narrator's voice is very, very intelligible which balances it out a bit.
Again, thanks for the good videos and the channel.
King Fonk Greg’s mentioned before he’s not dealing with the best audio setup, especially given that he records a lot of these while traveling... and he needs to travel light.
11:00 Royal Romanian Air Force! That one in particular is from the 5th Fighter Group! Never thought I'd see them here!
Hi Greg,
Firstly thanks again for yet another brilliantly detailed video. I love the mix of fact and informed opinion. I’m impressed by the variety and quality of source material. And finally I very much enjoy your delivery, both in coherency and with the occasional dash of dry humour.
On that last point of coherency I’ve noticed on most of your videos your voice seems to be a bit quieter (audio at a lower level) than most of the others on TH-cam. Occasionally the audio levels jump around a bit too. So I did a little bit of measuring, because I record audio for a living, and in this video your voice averages about -29LKFS which is about 5dB below the standard for the USA. This isn’t the end of the world and is easily fixed by just turning the volume up a bit. However later in the video between 23:39 and 34:41 the level drops to -39LKFS which is very quiet.
Anyway the long and short of this is I’d like to help you tweak your recording/production process so the audio quality is up there with the excellent quality of the content. I’m fairly certain this shouldn’t cost you any money as there are plenty of tools available for free on most platforms. And of course, only if you’re cool with me doing this.
What are you recording your voice overs with? (Inbuilt microphone on phone, tablet, laptop or is it an external microphone)
What video editing software/app are you using to put together the videos?
If you’d rather do this in private instead of getting a public tutorial I’m happy to do that too. Alternatively I guess I could make my own TH-cam tutorial on levelling and normalising audio… How hard can it be? ;-)
Regards
Grant
Audio Engineer
Sydney, Australia
Hi Grant. Normally I record on my cell phone, the last three videos have been recorded on an Ipad, which doesn't seem to work as well, but I left my cell at home, so until I get home, it's Ipad or nothing.
Greg's Airplanes and Automobiles Thanks for the reply Greg.
Will put my thinking cap on and investigate the best ways to get consistent levels on iOS devices.
Do you use iMovie to edit your videos?
And do you put the photos and film in the timeline first and then do the voiceover or do you do the voiceover and then drop the photos/video in afterwards?
@@GregsAirplanesandAutomobiles Hullo again Greg,
I've done a 5min tutorial on voiceover microphone technique on a phone/tablet.
th-cam.com/video/IyliQEmSUqM/w-d-xo.html
To sum it up, get close the mic, but there is a little more detail than that.
Recorded totally on my phone apart from one bit on my iPad for a comparison. And totally edited in iMovie. Having listened to myself I really do need to work on not saying "aaaah" while waiting for my brain to catch up with my mouth. I'm sure you know the feeling. Anyway I hope it helps and I'm looking forward to part 2 of the Butcher Bird.
As usual, great in depth technical analysis! Nice to see a full size replica 190 flying as well. Can't wait to see Ep, 2!
I absolutely love your videos and I really appreciate how you work things out. I would really love it more if you could improve your sound quality. Not easy when you're recording in hotels between trips, but some consistency and compression will go a long way. I usually get to hear these videos in the morning and with the kettle or microwave found, you're too easily drowned out. Keep up these! They really are fantastic
Wonderful job great amount of ybinhehd
Ever since I built the FW-190 Airfix model, I have been fascinated by the apparent paradox of it simplicity, the poor performance of its rated specifications, and the many Allied and Axis reports of its superb performance. If ever there was a plane the belied its specifications, it was the 190. Thanks, Greg, for finally making everything make sense.
Judd Peterson, son of Major Richard 'Pete' Peterson of the 357th FG flying various P-51 versions. In your video of the comparison between P-51 and Me109 performance, I commented on a dogfight my father had with an Me109 in which they got tangled in a counterclockwise, Lufberry chase circle, and he successfully utilized the lowering of his flaps to create greater lift in his P-51 and cut the radius of the circle smaller. That allowed him to gain on the Me109 and ultimately catch him in the circle and down the enemy plane. During later debriefings to learn and share how to get out of a Lufberry chase successfully, there was further discussion about how to deal with an enemy fighter pilot who might be employing the same flap strategy. During this discussion, one conclusion was that, if the enemy plane were a FW190, then you wouldn't have to worry about their similar use of the flaps for better lift in a Lufberry chase circle. Because the FW190 has "split flaps" which do not modify the aerodynamic shape of the upper face of the wing, they cannot generate increased lift and, therefore, cannot be used in a tight Lufberry chase circle to shorten the turning radius by increasing lift. Something my father was advised of during those debriefings.
Greg this is so fascinating plesse make some more on other ww2 aircraft and engines and maybe some tanks. Thankyou and love your work
20:31 in model airplanes we call this feature "Exponential" done by computer mixing. Amazing that the Germans had that in the FW-190
I can see why it's called that. In flight simming, you can usually set up a control sensativity curve for your joystick that accomplishes the same thing. Never started messing with it till trying to fly extra 300s in FSX or play competitively in War Thunder sim mode.
Anyway, it looks like a graph with an exponential curve (like, Y=X²) when you set it up to deflect a lot less close to the deadzone, and not ramp up till the stick is near the end of its limits. Planes like the extra 300 in FSX, or the fighters in War Thunder sim mode, really need this. Otherwise, aiming guns will be a chore of constant over correction, snap rolling too far on accident, and pulling back on the stick to turn immediately stalling you out.
Not an unusual feature.
@@hatman4818 y=x^2 is not exponential
Thank you Greg that was fantastic I really enjoyed the research and knowledge you uncovered about Kurt Tanks engineering design philosophy behind the FW190. I felt that wonderful glow you get when you learn something new, I for one will certainly appreciate the engineering in that aircraft than I ever did before, together with Kurt Tanks design work. I,m looking forward to part 2 Greg, cant wait !!
Once again, thank you, SIR Greg. There was a lot of stuff I had never known before, and I used to think of myself as an expert on these things. How wrong was I.
So much research and work was put in this video. Made it interesting and fascinating. Great job, sounds like a lot of the design features are somewhat still in use. Bravo to the plane designers.
Ooooooo the 190, this will be a blast to listen to as I get home from school
Only after your homework!
@@spottydog4477 Spottydog 4477 still lives! Waiting for a release from you. Great stuff.
@@thebobs9343 ahaha - Thanks, yes I must do something...all the best!
Thank you very much for the in-depth video. I've never been a fan of the Fw-190 series, I've always thought they looked awkward. However, I never understood why, exactly, they excelled, particularly on the Eastern front, which this video did a good job of explaining. I look forward to following this series
The engine cowl design development is a fascinating story and is one of features of the Fw-190 that was copied in other designs like the hawker sea fury.
A special video on the Fw-190 cooling spinner design and subsequent cowl design development?
graham hufton
The bearcat also shares some passing resemblance to parts of the 190. Could be inspiration, could be they thought of it already and saw a plane using it and decided “k, now we know it works, don’t gotta test it too much”
@@spindash64 Wildcat>Hellcat>Bearcat, Grumman's own special sauce. I'd be interested from the under-cart perspective, rate of descent and what-not, if you could carrier qual an FW. Probably a more likely carrier fighter than the Seafire.
@@stevewatson1640
That’s true. For what it’s worth, the P-51D actually underwent carrier trials, and while it wasn’t a perfect fit, the USN was satisfied enough to consider the ETF-51D project for more serious production before the capture of Iwo Jima made the idea unecessary.
The 190, meanwhile, definitely seems a solid carrier plane basis, and if the Kreigsmarine ever got the Graf Zeppelin, a modified 190F probably would have been the backbone of their AirPower:
Resilient engine that can run high power at low speeds without overheating
Rugged landing gear that can survive multiple rough deck landings
Short wingspan allows for multiple 190s to be fit into a carrier, even if folding wings weren’t part of the design
Really, its worst traits for Carrier landings would be worse forward visibility than the 109, and rather hard stalls. And both of those could be dealt with, especially since the 190 was burly enough to survive a hot landing
@@spindash64 The Mustang is listed as such in "The Pentagon Paradox", I didn't know about the Iwo Jima detail though. "Forget it, it's a 'Frank' mightn't have been a thing around Okinawa with P51s on flat tops! Thanks for the info.
Imo the Fw-190, Yak-3, & Corsair, are my two favorite looking planes of the type. I think perhaps because most books I had growing up were full of mustangs, spitfires, and lightnings and wanted more.
So when I saw the sleek Yak, the angular Corsair, and the Brutish fw 190, I fell in love.
Also love the Condor, I really wish it had been an airliner and allowed to develop.
Another jewel of a video.
Many thanks, Greg.
Another supurb production Greg. Thank you! By far the most informative, engaging, perceptive work i've seen - online or in print. You provide what to me are fresh perspectives and new detail in your videos, even though I've had a life-long interest in the more technical apects of aviation
im hype for this. enjoy listening to these while playing flight sims. keep up the good content greg!
"Talk to me Goose!!!"
War Thunder?
Bojan Ivanisevic because I want to get shot down by red starred ufos all day. 😂
@@bojanivanisevic1072 lol flight sim
Greg, your videos are wonderful. Always with info and not too much opinion. I will watch every video I see that you make....
Fw 190, F4F Wildcat, F4U Corsair. gotta love the radials, the unsung heroes of wwii.
Greg's, thanks a lot for this great and technical video. Really different from another videos around the internet. And thanks too because you english is crisp and clean, so a non native english speaker like me can watch without missing a word. I just subscribed, and wow, that's a lot o good material to "digest".
While I just sell car parts, IMHO, Electrical systems has a slight advantage over hydraulics. Hydraulic systems are an enormous pain when they go wrong, at least compared to electric. They spill hydraulic fluid all over the place, special high pressure hoses and pipes and fittings need replacing. That, and spilled hydraulic fluid costs money, but "spilled" electricity is costs almost nothing and is easily manufactured on the spot. While electrical components are just as specialized as hydraulic ones, they are smaller, cheaper, easier to make and replace, and far more common. Electricity has standards that are more universal, amperage and voltage; two components may require different specs, but understanding what goes where and how is far easier than the hassle of hydraulic fluid compatibilities and different measurements of pressure and viscosity.
The upside to hydraulics is that it is FAR more intuitive than electricity. Pump builds pressure and velocity, more of these makes more power, end devices use this pressure and velocity and return slower and lower pressure fluid back to the pump. Resistance is caused by too small of a pipe or a blockage, and leaks are announced by drips and sprays and emptying reservoirs. Repair, while more expensive and time consuming once found, is far easier to find and understand and can be easily discovered before function is effected. Electricity on the other hand, its faults are usually only discovered when something suddenly stops working or catches fires or sparks and shocks are found.
Those are great points.
@@GregsAirplanesandAutomobiles I appreciate it. Especially since it ended up being... longer than intended.
@HiWetcam Yeah... then there are some things that just work better with hydraulics. IDK if it's the power density, the longer design history, or the ease with which hydraulics can be made to self dampen.
I worked in subsea robotics for many years as a Hyd tech /supervisor - I have worked on both types in the same application as a general rule hydraulics have a level of reliability far better than the elec equivalent --also for the same power hydraulics were generally reckoned to be aprox 1/8 of the size.
@@martynrowse5638 In ROVs you can pump hydraulics down the umbilical as much you want for as long as you want to compensate for leaks and loss of power. But electrical is always more compact and reliable. An HPU is many times bigger and heavier than an electrical motor which does the same job.
What a geat channel - easily explained concepts for non-aeronautical engineers like me. I learnt a lot about the FW-190 that I didn't know, and I now appreciate this aircraft a lot more, after viewing this concise video. Thanks!! 👍
.....now where's Part 2?
Part 2 and Part 3 are up on this channel. However Part 3 isn't named Part 3. Just go to the channel's home page and look through the titles in order, it will all make sense.
Nice video! I've always been confused when I read about how Spitfires were outclassed by Fw190 when it first appeared. Goes to show the importance of reliable and stable gun platforms.
I'm getting to the engines, I just didn't want to start there. The 190A models will generally outperform the Spit mk 5, but not the 9s.
@Wallace Because, bar the engine, it WAS the earlier mark. The VIII was supposed to be the 'proper job', but it was realised that the best was the enemy of the good enough. And its IX, not 9, that's even worse than
Me 109 for Bf 109. :-)
AdamTheEnginerd yea the RAF we’re still sending waves of spitfire mk Vs over the channel in “circus” raids against JG 2 and JG 26 fw 190s even when the spitfire mk 9 was being introduced which only helped increase the kill tally’s for some Luftwaffe pilots e.g Josef Priller, Hans assi Hahn, Josef wurmheller etc.
@@alexanderthegreat1356 were they supposed to pull 30+ squadrons of ix's out of their arses?
'Introduced' doesnt mean in universal service in all squadrons
Great job Greg and I'm looking forward to part 2! I bet you raised some blood pressure with the wing discussion.
I never thought I'd hear the 190's performance described as "generally mediocre;" so I'm charged up to hear about that in part 2. Thanks Greg for another remarkable video.
A lot of the claims about it's performance are in relations ship to early Yaks and the Spitfire Mk V. As newer enemy planes came out, the tables turned a bit, so on average, yes, the 190's performance was about average among front line fighters.
@@GregsAirplanesandAutomobiles Mmm, maybe, maybe not. While there is some merit to the fact that the performance of later war Allied aircraft was improved - I think a lot of those tables being turned on the 190s was more due to the fact that by 1944/45 German pilot training was nowhere near the quality of the pre-war and early war standards. That and the fact that the Germans were being numerically overwhelmed on all air fronts. As I believe Stalin said "Quantity has a quality all its own."
Brilliant Greg, just brilliant. I have watched this several times and learn something new every time. The electrical control system is impressive and seems to have made a big impact. The 190 was obviously a pilot friendly machine. Thanks for all the hard work you put into the videos. The P47 series was just awesome and now the 190! Thanks, Greg.
"Dienstpferd", literally "service horse" - or "work horse", if you will.
Correct. It's pronounced "deenst-pferd." In German, both letters of the "pf" are pronounced, so the sound is "pf" - exactly as it's spelled. Sounds strange to us because it's not a sound used in English. So it's "pf," both pronounced, with the "ferd" part pronounced like the name "Ferdinand."
"Dienst" is also found in another important term from WWII - "Sicherheitsdienst," the SS intelligence service, AKA the SD.
@@davegrenier1160 your pronounciation advice only makes sense if you prononce ferdinand in the german way if you could do that you wouldn´t need the pronounciation advice. ferdinand in english is pronounced quite differently not like the german pferd at all. i emphatise though since there´s no pf sound in english you just have to listen for examples online dict.cc usually has prononciation examples for almost every word
Symmetrie Bruch
So F-urd as the English way, and F-ehrd or Fayrd as the German way?
@@spindash64 yup pretty much but like i said listening for yourself is usually the way to go www.dict.cc/?s=pferd
@@symmetrie_bruch As a German I would write it for English native speakers "deensed fared" since we here in the north (I'm from Bremen, the city the FW was assembled and now parts of the Airbus) dont pronounce the "pf", we just say "f"
In conclusion: in the city they made the FW 190 they said: "deensed fared" and it means a horse as how the police or cab drivers use it. A "work(ing)" horse, if you will.
Been hoping you would get around to the 190. It is one of my favorite WarBirds and much under appreciated - just my $0.02. In this segment you have already answered some of the long standing questions I have had - the use of electronics in an age where most everyone used cables and/or pneumatics.
Looking forward to the next onr.
My favorite WW2 fighter, in all its forms all the way to the Ta152. Difficult to find a more versatile platform that Kurt Tank's masterpiece.
I think you've covered plenty of stuff I've never seen or read before already. Enjoy your work a great deal mate, well done again. Thorough,detailed and interesting.👍
Wake up from after work nap: Greg video waiting on me.
Why cant everyday be like this?
Awesome Greg. Loved it. Totally insightful. Congratulations 👏🏻✅😊👍
When I was a young person, fascinated with anything airplane, tank, ship, etc. the FW-190 mostly caught my attention due to the apparent ramp-up in firepower from the Bf-109. Will you address the decision to use both MG-FF and MG-151 20mm cannon?
I'll get to it.
It'll be the MG34/MG41 thing, same as the DB601/BMW801 thing; not enough to go round. For all his belligerence Fritz is rather crap at managing wars
Awesome content Greg, truly one of the most in depth and enjoyable channel on YT! Thank you, sir:)
Welp, sleep is for the weak anyways. Gona wait patiently. It's *always* worth it when it comes to Greg.
Thanks Asif.
Love these videos. So informative without any kind of bias.