.......Some of the things that we discussed, and which Mike's flight model simulates so well, is that when you are making banks or turns in the B-24, you have to lead with the rudders due to the amount of adverse yaw caused by the long wings. When comparing flying the B-24 to the B-17 and B-25, the B-24 was said to be the most unstable of the three, but it is much more responsive on the controls than the B-17. The B-24 has been described to me as being a "neutrally stable" aircraft. A crucial aspect of flying the B-24 is "getting on the step", like a boat, when transitioning from climb to cruise. If you fail to get the nose down and on the step you can lose up to 20 mph and just be mushing along in a nose-high attitude. Since there is no published VMC, Collings (and probably the CAF as well) use 130mph as the number. An item I learned from another Collings pilot, and which I also first noticed with Mike's B-24 flight model, is that the B-24 requires a flat approach for landing, as the flaps don't support a steep approach. Another of the important aspects in operating a B-24 that I was told was of the nose gear being a weak point and that it can cause a shimmy if it is left on the ground too long into the takeoff roll. On the takeoff roll, it was described to me that you want to hold some light back pressure on the elevator to help the nose wheel to come up (after 60 mph), and then hold that pressure allowing the aircraft to fly off on its own, around 110mph. I usually dial in about 3.5-degrees nose up trim prior to takeoff, and then begin taking some of it out after getting the gear up (a process I have seen at play in operating the Collings B-24). On landing, you want to hold the nose gear off, which also helps in aerodynamic braking, and lower it gently, then start building the brake pressure up to slow down to taxi speed.
