The Me 262 was a stunning design triumph,
and the influence of the plane can still be seen in contemporary combat
aircraft. Swept wings, automatic slats, modular construction ...
all were leading advances for the time. More than any other
aircraft of its day, the 262 was a fighter of absolutely unrivalled
potential.
Still, despite this fortuitous blend of
brilliance and chance, the Me 262 suffered from some well-known, and
potentially catastrophic, weaknesses. The engines, landing gear
and brakes were all decidedly failure-prone, and these systems often
caused the losses that the Allies could not.
One of the most overlooked aspects of the
Me 262 Project lies in the extraordinary engineering and design work
that has gone into integrating authenticity with safety. In our
desire to create a worthy duplication of the original aircraft, we have
developed a number of ultra-low profile improvements which will greatly
enhance operator and flight safety. In the case of the J-85
replacing the Jumo 004, this is a rather overt matter; however,
several other critical improvements have been quietly incorporated into
the design to insure that these jets do not suffer the same fates as
so many of their predecessors.
We have attempted to do this in a manner
which reflects the natural evolution of the airframe, as opposed to
simply adopting convenient solutions which could compromise our commitment
to authenticity.