Anatomy of the Spitfire Cockpit
View of the rudder pedal. The double foot support was not meant to provide yet another adjustment to increase the pilot's comfort - it really was an early form of high-G protection for the pilot. By moving his feet higher, the ability of the body to sustain high-G manoeuvres without passing out increased. This innovation was a novelty introduced with the Spitfire and the Hurricane, another sign of a quantum leap in performance which these fighters represented compared to earlier designs.