If I ever got a four seater fixed gear. It would be a Tiger, a 172, or a Musketeer.
Amy - skip the 172 - I have a chunk of time in it and they are just bigger 150's and boring in comparison (OK there is a lot of editorializing in that). Like Andrew I am in horror of the Musketeer. Factory - they come with two "U" shaped lead trimming weights which you move back and forth under the seats to get the plane in CG. There is a recipe for disaster if ever there was one!
Which from your choice of three leaves you with the Tiger - great plane - had a ride in the one tied down next to me once. Still if you are going for a Tiger - why not go for an RV. More modern design - better chance of long term support......
After all, the Spitfire only had about 90 minutes of fuel initially, I think.
Correct and there never really was a satisfactory resolution throughout the war because there was simply nowhere to put fuel. Final marks had large fuel tanks behind the pilot balanced by the ever larger Griffon engines in front of the pilot. But even then they had a pretty marginal aft CG and had to burn that tank off first before considering combat. It was a little easier in the Photo Reconnaissance variants - without armament - you could fill the torsion box leading edge of the wings, forward of the main spar with fuel.
