Tom Fey wrote:
There was a concern regarding contra-prop "stroboscopic effects", "mesmerizing", "annoying", and "blinding" upon the pilot raised at the Fighter Conference at Patuxent River in October 1944. In general, the pilots noticed the stroboscopic visual effect of the blades crossing predominantly at low revs, but adapted to it. Steve Hinton who flew the Griffon powered contra-prop RB-51 air racer, has stated that "vision flicker vertigo" is a concern under certain conditions, especially landing into a low sun.
He also got a bit of a twinkle in his eye when talking about flying the contra-prop Spitfire XIX! Whatever the risks I think they were more than outweighed by the additional safety and performance obtained with regard to alleviating the torque issue.
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