Bf 109 K-4 Kurfürst

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MESSERSCHMITT!! — it is an obligatory line in any kind of WWII depiction, and many a bloody (forum) wars have been fought over whether it or the Spitfire is the more iconic aircraft. Almost as many wars have been started over whether or not it should be called the Me or the Bf 109. It's complicated…

The K-4 “Kurfürst” model depicted in DCS World was a late-war introduction to counter the updated Spits, Hurricanes, and Mustangs clogging the sky on the heels of the Italian and Normandy invasions, as a supplement to the Fw-190:s that had been introduced with the intent of replacing it.

Features

The Bf-109 K-4 was designed as an interceptor, with a later role expansion to bomber escort and lighter ground-attack tasks. As such, it has:

• An automated engine governor that relieves you of having to worry about balancing propeller RPM and pitch/thrust — just a single throttle to push around.
• A MW-50 Water-Methanol Injection system to boost the supercharger and squeeze more power out of the engine.
• Two 13mm wing-mounted cannons and a 30mm nose cannon, with in-cockpit ammunition counters.
• The ANF-2 homing receiver, to find your way back to the airfield.
• A narrow landing gear that makes landings… interesting.
• A ridiculously torque:y engine that will make itself known during take-off.

Comes with the built-in Bf 109 Challenge campaign.

Flying the Bf-109 K-4

The Bf-109 K-4 is very stable aircraft, which is a good thing since the only trimming option is on the elevators — rolling and yawing has to be managed by the pilot at all times. It is capable of attaining speeds where compressibility-induced loss of control and high-speed stalls become an issue, but will generally make enough noise to warn the pilot of what is about to happen. At the lower end of the spectrum, the Bf-109 is reasonably resistant, and easy to recover from, low-speed stalls and again usually gives ample warning.

The only two major problems are starts and landings. On take-off, the Bf 109 has a very strong desire to violently flip over to the left, stall, and crash upside-down, and also to rapidly pitch up, stall and crash on its tail. Both needs to be countered with forceful yet precise stick input. On landing, the narrow landing-gear arrangement will make it very sensitive to any kind of side slip, bank angle, or uneven loading and will once again happily flip over if proper airflow and brake balance is not maintained down the entire length of the runway.

Cockpit overview

Shooting something

Links and files

• Vehicle Size Chart for sight adjustments.
• Chuck's Bf.109K-4 Kurfürst guide.
• DCS: Bf 109 K-4 Kurfurst in the DCS shop.

More information

• Messerschmitt Bf 109 on wikpedia.
• Bunyap's Test Flight - DCS: Bf 109 K-4 Kurfürst video series.
• Taming taildraggers — an essay, Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3.