02Me262LeadingEdgeSlats

The leading edge slats are spring loaded in the open position. The faster the Me 262 goes, the more they retract until they are flush with the leading edge of the wing. They are a slick automatic way of providing more lift at low speeds. The Bf 109 used the same form of spring loaded leading edge slats. They could be a liability in low speed maneuvers if the aircraft was close to the slat transition speed and one wing had a higher relative air speed than the other or if the springs weren't set exactly the same for each side. One slat could retract first causing the wing to drop and possibly spin the aircraft into the ground