No backlighting on the instruments, they DID have radium on some of the numbers. Problem with the lighting in the Spitfire is that at night, the exhausts blinded the pilot a fair measure. So not good. The long nose hid the flare path on landing and more than one experienced pilot ended up with a face full of gunsight. If interested, have a look at this:
https://books.google.com.au/books?id=oh ... re&f=false
OK, trim. The trim Gauge has two divisions and two half divisions on BOTH the up and down side PLUS a centre mark. You want to wind the trim NOSE DOWN for takeoff until the gauge needle points to the FIRST mark in the bottom half of the gauge. The gauge is just below the Undercarriage Indicator on the left of panel. When taking off in the Spitfire the important points are:
1. Once the Merlin is started, the Stick stays IN YOUR STOMACH until you reach 60 MPH on the takeoff run.(where the ASI scale starts).
2. Once you start to accelerate beyond that, release the stick progressively and evenly until it returns to neutral. at around 90-100mph That is where the aircraft will take itself off.
3. NEVER push forward on the stick to raise the tail as you have only 7 1/2 inches ground clearance on the Airscrew in flying attitude. That is why nose down trim rather than pushing forward. (it also helps stop some of the pitch up change when the gear is raised.
Difference between ACCU - Feel and Sim
Accufeel is the equivalent of making you think you are in the jungle by making it hot and playing jungle noises at you.
Accusim is making you feel that you are in the jungle by getting today's temperature in PNG, adjusting the room to that, then "planting" digital trees all around you and calculating the amount of moisture that would come from them and the current cloud conditions, after calculating the current pressure altitude you are at, to arrive at the humidity..and spraying an appropriate mist of water into the room whilst simultaneously adjusting the light to the level that would be let in by the "digital trees". Then playing A2A actual sound recordings of the insects and birds which are active in the afternoon within the area you are currently passing through in the sim.
The former makes you feel like you are in "a" jungle. Which is fine if you never have been in a jungle or have been in 100 different ones and don't care which exactly you are supposed to be in now.
Accusim is designed to make you think that you are in "The Jungles" area of PNG, at 4500ft, half way up the Gorge near Kagi on that particularly hot day in June that you remember......
So with Accufeel you get a sense of what it is like to fly in an aircraft of the class you are flying. With Accusim you get feel what it is like to fly THE aircraft you are flying AND have to deal with all of its mechanical and control idiosyncrasies.
That is the best way I can put it, anyway. So make your decision on that kind of basis as to whether Accusim or Accufeel is right for you.
regards
Darryl