A question for the Bf-109 experts

Marc the leading edge slats should fit flush with the wing when in the full closed postion with no step. When the plane was parked the ground crew would usally push them all of the was back agianst the wing and they would lock in the up position but not always. To release them you just had to give them a good tug and they would unlock and roll down to the full extented position. Either way would be acceptable but they always look cooler hanging down plus you can add a little detail buy making the tracks that they slide up and down on.

                                                                                      Soulcrusher 

 I am no expert to be sure but the ones from Frank's DOR GB and The Battle of Britian GB have said exactly what Soul Crusher relayed.  The Slats were on rollers and the ground crews kept them pushed in flush to the wing while on the ground. I believe Luftwaffle had a big conversation about it if you wanted to shoot him a PM.

Marc, it looks like there may be about a skin thickness step in the wing where the aft end of the slat nests, looking at these two photos.  IMHO, most aircraft models overstate the step in this area when the slats are separate.

Marc,

Here are a couple of more photos from the 109 Lair, hope these help!

 

Marc, my understanding is that these devices were spring-loaded to a certain tension, so when the airspeed was low enough they would deploy, thus generating more lift. To have them extended on the ground would be accurate, as they could be locked, but photos show this was not always done.

I think ya'll are missing his question...when deployed, do the trailing edges taper flush against the leading edge of the wing, or is there a step?  Funny how this question turned into wether or not they stayed open or closed on the ground, and how they worked......Daywalker's pics seem to indicate they were fairly flush to the wing...

wing_nut wrote:

Ok 2 questions.  Would they alway be open (extended?) on the ground?

I was covering part 2

Thanks for the info and photos guys.  I see that I have some work to do.  I shudder to think what the step in the kit scales out to be