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bobhegf
March 23rd, 2009, 14:21
What was strange about the F4U?:typing:
DauntlessDriver546
March 23rd, 2009, 15:32
It had bent wings... guess 1.

It didn't score more kills than the Hellcat... guess 2.

It was not allowed to serve on a carrier until late in it's war service period... guess 3.
Rami
March 23rd, 2009, 15:33
It was the first Allied fighter to top 400 MPH?
Talon
March 23rd, 2009, 15:57
Actually the F4U served on British carriers before the USN adopted it for carrier use.The USN pilots had problems landing on carriers with it it was mainly used from land bases.The landing gear also had to be strengthened.

Why did the F4U have Gull wings?


Talon
DauntlessDriver546
March 23rd, 2009, 16:00
The F4U had gull wings because the propeller was huge. If the Corsair, as originally designed, had straight wings, the prop would hit the ground. So they bent the wings in at the point where the landing gear came out to give some clearance to the huge prop.
Talon
March 23rd, 2009, 16:23
The Original design and prototype had straight wings with the huge prop and very long landing gear.


Talon
merlin2
March 23rd, 2009, 16:28
The cockpit is unusually far back.
Pen32Win
March 23rd, 2009, 18:24
The unusual Tailhook/Tail Wheel design....All of the Above....
OBIO
March 23rd, 2009, 18:52
It had turn signals?

It was the only US plane to come equipped with an ash tray?

It was the last plane built using lead based paint?

It had chrome lug nuts?

It didn't have a full-size spare tire?

It was originally going to be called the Buzzard?

It had a glove box full of old catchup packets and improperly refolded maps?

It was difficult to parallel park?

Okay, I give up...what was strange about the F4U?

OBIO
Allen
March 23rd, 2009, 18:59
It had turn signals?

It was the only US plane to come equipped with an ash tray?

It was the last plane built using lead based paint?

It had chrome lug nuts?

It didn't have a full-size spare tire?

It was originally going to be called the Buzzard?

It had a glove box full of old catchup packets and improperly refolded maps?

It was difficult to parallel park?

Okay, I give up...what was strange about the F4U?

OBIO


I'll go with that.
Rami
March 23rd, 2009, 19:02
Obio,

You have a very odd sense of humor. I love it! :costumes:
bobhegf
March 23rd, 2009, 19:13
OBIO, you have come up with the best points to date.All have hit some of the things that made it different then the others.What I have in mind was used in ground support.:typing:
Blue Devil
March 23rd, 2009, 19:18
Cup-holders...

...Obio, ...the cup-holders...


...It also didn't have a cockpit floor.
whitehawk_2009
March 23rd, 2009, 19:59
What I have in mind was used in ground support.:typing:

Oooo, oooo, I know! The main gear were used as dive brakes!


The Original design and prototype had straight wings with the huge prop and very long landing gear.

Is that true? I've never heard that.

What's so unusual about the tailhook/tail wheel design?

WH
bobhegf
March 23rd, 2009, 20:17
Whitehawk :applause:got it on the head.You had two handles,one was a divebrake and would only lower the main gear the other was the landing gear handle which lowered the main gear as well as the tail wheel.:typing:
Blue Devil
March 23rd, 2009, 21:26
Whitehawk :applause:got it on the head.You had two handles,one was a divebrake and would only lower the main gear the other was the landing gear handle which lowered the main gear as well as the tail wheel.:typing:

Well, ...

...Can ya name another WWII 400 MPH windmill fighter that had'em? (DiveBrakes)...


Sayin' the Corsair had'em is kinda like sayin'...

...Cowpokes have horses because they're good for ropin', ...and growin' roses...

I think(know) it was a case of lemonade out'O lemons.

The gear drag was so high to meet the CarQual Vx/min. spec., ...they said WTF(Gee wizz, Skippy), ...and then disabled the tail wheel b/c it couldn't take the Q stress at dive speed.


Aside from that, ...

You are absolutly correct in your observation and analysis.

Thank you for the interesting Q, ...and A's.


Please continue...
bobhegf
March 23rd, 2009, 22:01
All I know is what I see on TV LOL.:typing:
Blue Devil
March 24th, 2009, 13:00
All I know is what I see on TV LOL.:typing:

Did ya know about the floor, ...or, ...lack of one?

(amusing anecdote to follow...)
hewman100
March 25th, 2009, 08:26
The floor doesn't make it unique as far as WW2 fighters go, neither did the Hurricane because of the tubular framework.
SPman
March 25th, 2009, 16:10
But - in the Hurricane, can you stand on the "floor" and still slide the canopy shut - I've done it in the plane in my avatar........
hewman100
March 26th, 2009, 02:49
No, you can't stand to close the canopy in a Hurri,unless you happened to be Douglas Bader without tin legs. But the point made was that the Corsair has no floor was unique wasn't it?

My definition of floor was a solid level surface beneath the pilot that doesn't allow you to see the construction of the aircraft between him/her and the outer skin.
tbearflying
March 26th, 2009, 02:58
The early Corsairs had a problem of landing on a carrier because they bounced when they hit the deck. I knew an engineer at AVCO Lycoming who was instrumental in solving the problem. The old AVCO plant (as Vought-Sikorsky Aircraft) manufactured Corsairs during the war and flew them directly out of Stratford, CT. The engineer I knew solved the problem by designing a contour on the hydraulic piston that produced a variable rate orifice. Thus when the Corsair hit the deck the initial response was a soft impact followed by the normal damping effect of a shock absorber with the weight of Corsair on the deck. Then the Corsairs successfully returned to their mission of carrier landings.
Cowboy1968
March 26th, 2009, 04:10
Even in later marks they still bounced, but this wasn't the problem that kept them off US Carriers. It was the visibility during landing. If you ever watch a Hellcat come down you see that she bounces too. The placement of the cockpit on the Corsair made visibly hard in a a straight in landing run to the flight deck, but once the US adapted the British method of a wide left turnig approach to the deck the visibility problem was "solved" to a point and the Corsair gained its carrier certification.

According to my grandfather's notes, the worst plane for bouncing waw the F8F Bearcat, and he made 213 traps in a Bearcat, before he was moved over to the FH-1 Phantom.
Blue Devil
March 26th, 2009, 08:37
...But the point made was that the Corsair has no floor was unique wasn't it?

No.

The topic sentence of this discussion is "What was strange about the F4U?"

You are correct in your definition of a "floor", ...and I didn't know that about the Hurri, ...Thanks.


I do know a(1) thing or two(2) about the U-bird though...

My Dad broke a wrist-watch band while flyin' one.

The watch dropped to the fuselage and began rattlin' round down there.
He at first thought it probably was no big deal, ...until he imagined a control linkage jam on final. He spent about ten(10) minutes stunt-show flyin' negative-G and inverted until he was able to "fly" the watch back into his lap.

First thing he did after landing was to put a stainless-steel band on it. (it weights about a pound)
SPman
March 26th, 2009, 19:47
No.

He at first thought it probably was no big deal, ...until he imagined a control linkage jam on final.
Strange, that was the first thing I thought, when I first sat in a Corsair.......
Blue Devil
March 26th, 2009, 20:23
Strange, that was the first thing I thought, when I first sat in a Corsair.......

Me too...


It wasn't his first time in one...

He had more time in the F4U than most babies have in diapers...