The cockpit was set amidships, making it difficult to see over the long front fuselage, but otherwise visibility was good. One of its greatest advantages over the Camel was its superior performance at altitude, making it a much better match for the Fokker D.VII when that fighter arrived at the front. Aviation authors Donald Nijboer and Dan Patterson describe the S.E.5 as "arguably the best British-built fighter of World War I". The S.E.5 was powered by various engines, initially adopting a Hispano-Suiza 8 V8 engine. The Hispano-Suiza engine was advanced for the era, incorporating such features as an aluminium cylinder block with steel liners, dual ignition and forced lubrication that aided cooling; especially compared with contemporary rotary engines, it had the advantage of being easy to operate by most pilots. An expansion tank for the cooling system was integrated into the leading edge of the upper wing's centre section. The S.E.5 was relatively easy to fly, albeit with the exception of an excessive amount of adverse yaw. The yaw could be compensated for by balanced application of the aileron and rudder, whilst adjustment of the elevator trim made it possible to fly in a 'hands off' manner. The S.E.5 was armed with a single synchronised .303-inch Vickers machine gun in contrast to the Camel's two, but it also had a wing-mounted Lewis gun fitted on a Foster mounting, which enabled the pilot to fire at an enemy aircraft from below. This armament configuration was much appreciated by the pilots of the first S.E.5 squadrons as the new hydraulic-link "C.C." synchronising gear for the Vickers machine gun was unreliable at first. The Vickers gun was mounted on the forward left dorsal surface of the fuselage with the breech inside the cockpit, at a slight upwards angle. Typically, spare magazines for the Lewis gun would have been placed within most of the free space in the cockpit including the forward areas, such as the instrumentation panel. The standard instrument panel included a compass, altimeter, tachometer, oil pressure indicator, airspeed gauge, radiator temperature dial, fuel air pressure indicator, fuel selector, and air exchange; these were somewhat difficult to view due to their low-set position in the cockpit. According to "Dodge" Bailey, Chief Test Pilot of the Shuttleworth Collection, the S.E.5's cockpit was "the best of the bunch from the era".