Messerschmitt Me 163 Pt.2 Plus Me 263 and More!

Me 163, 263, and the B2 Bomber's dirty secret

I hope you folks like this video. There just isn't a lot of really solid information on the 163, which means this video is a bit different from others on this channel. I have to interject my own opinions to fill in blanks a bit more than I would like.

On the subject of Rocket engines, I didn't say they are not effected by altitude, I said power doesn't decrease with altitude. I'm basing that on the following statement on the Wikipedia Rocket page: "At full throttle, the net thrust of a rocket motor improves slightly with increasing altitude, because as atmospheric pressure decreases with altitude, the pressure thrust term increases."

Regarding the B2, those comments seem to have hurt some people's feelings. First, I said the the B2 does NOT have a Lavatory. That IS correct. If anyone disagrees, I invite you to post a link showing that it does have Lavatory. I did not say there is no toilet. There is a non flushing type IN the cockpit behind the pilot's seat.

 The same pilot told me about the medication. that's supported here by a quote from Doctor Capt. Caleb JamesHere is the quote: "For especially long missions, James said doctors will prescribe medication “in the event that those members need that little bit of extra push to help them stay focused on the mission.”

So, I have a source for everything I said about the B2, in addition to the B2 pilot I talked to.

Hanna Reitsch. Since this isn't a political channel, I am not all that interested in using up video time discussing her political beliefs. I am focused on her aviation exploits. There is conflicting information about her crash. Some say it was a 163A, some a B. In either case, she never flew a B in powered flight.

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[mrodb]

Hanna Reitsch had her accident in an Me 163b, not in an "a". She had used her political power to try and finagle her way into the flight test program of the Me 163, and had been allowed to fly the Me 163b as a glider IIRC 4 times. She continued to try to assert her will to get into the real experimental flight test issues of the aircraft, so Späte came up with the idea to let her be a production type test pilot for new production run aircraft to confirm they handled like they were supposed to. This would get her out of the experimental test pilot's hair because they viewed her as being non-current (spending too much time away doing other things) and meddling in their jobs. The Kroneis factory had a contract for the first 70 production run Me 163b's, and Kroneis arranged for her to be his factory pilot. The accident happened on her very first factory acceptance flight. Trust me, I know the story better than most anyone out there. My father was was her tow pilot that day, and also the only Me 163 test pilot present, and also the only other Me 163 pilot to have landed an Me 163 with the take-off dolly still attached (so he knew what her problems were). I don't want to "hunt & peck" a book at this point, but suffice it to say that she just royally botched up the approach to the airport. The accident was her fault because the aircraft could have been landed safely with the dolly still attached. After she recovered from her injuries, she then took the regular 5 flight transition course for new Me 163 pilots coming from other aircraft. Those 5 flights were in the Me 163a model with the last one IIRC being under power. It was then that she went back to Späte demanding to be allowed to fly the Me 163b under power. Späte refused on the grounds that he now had a lot of combat pilots to train and could not afford her a "joyride". It was at that point that she got mad and never came back. My father also pointed out that shortly after that episode, Späte was transferred back to the Eastern front. My father felt that it just made no sense to transfer the commander away just as everything he had worked for was starting to come together. My father's gut feeling was that Hanna had exercised her power and vindictiveness. On another note, you rely entirely too much on Mano Ziegler's book. He sensationalized a lot in order to sell books, and didn't really have the intimate involvement to tell the whole story. He was sort of a peripheral player. There are a number of other books out there which are better from a historical perspective.

[roberthill]

Rockwell International used two F-106 Delta Darts as chase aircraft during the B-1b flight test program. I worked there, and watched them fly on numerous occasions at Sierra Highway and Avenue N in Palmdale CA. It was certainly cool to see those old F-106's flying out of US Air Force Plant 42 during the early days of the B-1b program.

The B-2, the entire outer wing, was twisted something like 7 degrees leading edge down. And during the modification program for the B-2, new inboard elevons were fitted that had the trailing edge twisted upwards, i.e. reflex airfoils. Reflex airfoils are another means of stabilizing a tailless aircraft, mainly for aircraft with minimum sweepback.

I used to fly a lot of radio control aircraft in my younger days. And have built many tailless aircraft, either with washout or reflex airfoils. The reflex airfoil changes the way the center of pressure and the center of gravity interact. Radio control aircraft I built with reflex airfoils would have this crazy tendency to bob the nose up-and-down when speed over a certain range was there. It was like the cp was arguing with the cg over who was right.

[MxPower]

Just wanted to add that the MK in MK 108 isn't Mk (or mark). It is M.K. as in Maschinenkanone. Really awesome videos. I really enjoy the channel.

[stonn]

Back in the eighties I worked at an aerospace company. Once I attended a professional dinner where I sat next to an engineer from Naval Air Station Oceana. He commented that although they tested Sidewinder air to air missiles without warheads, they still had a tendency to hit and destroy the target drones. As drones were expensive, they would routinely crank in an offset to the Sidewinder guidance system to ensure it would not hit the drone. He went on to say that this was not necessary with the Falcon missile, as it never hit the drone. The Falcon was refereed to as "the friendly missile".

[leoac]

This channel is a hidden gem.
I've been learning more about aviation aerodynamics with this channel than with a large number of other channels combined.
Thank you ever so much.

[thomasosterloh]

Interesting, I heard a lot about the 163 from my older brother who a tail gunner in a B17. He saw both the 163 and the 262, not mention the Messerschmidt and the Focke Wolf. He died about 15 years ago and I wish he was still so he could comment on the bombers point of view.

[horrovac]

No wonder this thing was so slow, with that tiny propeller they put on it!!!

[AdamTheEnginerd]

Guess I won't be sleeping for a while.

[martentrudeau]

Alexander Lippisch is one of the great aircraft designers in history, what a legacy he left behind.

[bradyelich]

The late, Captain Eric "Winkle" Brown, RN, had flown this plane after capture. He holds two records that will never be beaten: he flew the most types of aircraft, and he has the most carrier landings and takeoffs. He also holds many firsts: first to land twin engine plane on carrier - the Mosquito, and first to land jet on carrier.

[wojborkaganowicz]

My passion for aviation gave me more understanding of physics than the years of school. One of my new teachers was Mr. Greg. I listen with pleasure, thank you my friend!

[ThePinkus]

38:34 *quietly draws a line on the "Become a B2 pilot" entry on the to-do list

[andrewrichardt]

If you look at the plan view of the 263, you'll notice it has a "waistline" in the centre fuselage which indicates knowledge and application of the Area rule needed for supersonic flight.
You can see this applied on most supersonic fighters. Mirages, F106, F104, F4, F16 which only emerged in the late 50's, 60's and 70's

[cgrscott]

The "Cornfield Bomber" is the nickname given to a Convair F-106 Delta Dart, operated by the 71st Fighter-Interceptor Squadron of the United States Air Force. In 1970, during a training exercise, it made an unpiloted landing in a farmer's field in Montana, suffering only minor damage, after the pilot had ejected from the aircraft. The aircraft, recovered and repaired, was returned to service, and is currently on display at the National Museum of the United States Air Force.

[simonegiubilato]

The post war influence of german designs (and designers) is just unbelievably fascinating.
Would love to hear more about it (maybe on both sides of the iron curtain)!
Once again a fantastic video Greg!

[Activated_Complex]

C-Stoff fill point: About a foot from the T-Stoff fill point if the ground crew is attentive, about a mile if they’re not. Great video, very informative in particular about the challenges of operating this thing and turning it around. Which seems rather a common theme for rocket planes that use hypergolic fuels. Thanks again.

[curtisperry]

In 1972-73 I was a student at a University in Taipei studying Chinese. I lived just off 中山北路, not far from the "combat zone" near the JUSMAG compound. Your video shows a very different ambiance to the area than it had in 1972.😎

[billtaylor]

This is such a useful site although Greg always seems so well informed that if he said a plane was made of cheese I’d only want to know which one. Another great episode.

[realityquotient]

Interesting info about the changing CG in a Mustang. That explains a LOT about it's reputation during takeoffs. I'm not a full-scale pilot, I've flown a lot of R/C aircraft...many of which have been homebrew 'TLAR' (That Looks About Right) designs. Yeah, a CG that's too far aft can rapidly become a nightmare. Sure, a CG that's too far forward can get bad, but too far aft gets catastrophic a lot faster.

[cannonfodder]

I forgot all about that Coal Powered Interceptor until you reminded me. Man the solutions to the desperate fuel shortage.

Another informative video as always Greg, all that explanation about Aircraft CG and Lift and was very nicely explained as well. I would wager you would do well as a teacher on topics like these, since videos are testament to that since they are so well explained. Demanding watcher attention but not wallowing in its own terminology and jargon.