Official FlightLine F4U-1A Corsair 1600mm (63") Wingspan

[downwindleg]

Looking good davegee! I'm a big fan of the tricolor scheme.;)

[davegee]

Looking good davegee! I'm a big fan of the tricolor scheme.;)

Me too! I always liked this earlier scheme to the all dark blue look, but I understand that the tricolor paints didn't hold up very well in the Pacific island environment

[Aros]

Love it! My goodness this shot looks like the real thing! :Cool:

[davegee]

Just for grins, but because I am so impressed with the engineering of Chance Vought designing this magnificent fighter, I added a couple scratchbuilt detail parts. The first two photos show the trim and balance tabs that were on the elevators. The neat thing about this, is that the elevator/horizontal stabilizer units were all identical, and could be used for either side, left or right. You can imagine the difficulty getting spare parts in the Pacific islands, so this helped out, I'm sure. The last photo shows the wedge shaped stall strip, which fixed the problem of eliminating the nasty left rolling tendency when just above stall approaching the carrier. This little 6 inch wedge on the right wing helped make the right wing stall at the same time as the left, hopefully about an inch above the deck! Some of you are already familiar with these ingenious designs, but for those who aren't, you can appreciate how sharp Chance Vought and his team of engineers were almost 80 years ago!

[Elbee]

I took some pics of my F4U-1A Corsair today at the field. Got a few flights in after having to replace a flap servo and a retract due to a bad landing. Today was much better, but still figuring out the landings on this plane. Flies beautifully, though! I painted mine up in the colors of one of the planes the top ace in the Corsair (25 kills) flew, Lt. Robert "Killer Bob" Hanson, USMCR. He flew with a bunch of real hotshot aces in VMF-215 in the Solomon Islands before he was killed in action on what would have been his last mission before going home.

DG, She is outstanding. LOVE the weathering you've done. Great pictures as well. Need your address so I can send my kit over to you, could you have it done by Memorial Day? LOL LOL Bravo Zulu, Sir. Best, LB

[davegee]

DG, She is outstanding. LOVE the weathering you've done. Great pictures as well. Need your address so I can send my kit over to you, could you have it done by Memorial Day? LOL LOL Bravo Zulu, Sir. Best, LB

The weathering is always a big part of the process, even for a foamie IMHO, on iconic planes like the Corsair that fought in the Pacific islands back in WWII. I'm a bit busy getting our house to sell right now, but thanks for the thought! Have fun with yours, it's a great plane, if I can only get the landings down a bit better!

[Aros]

Love the trim tab detail and stall strip! Fantastic scale additions that wouldn't require too much work I imagine...I may have to do that myself!

[davegee]

Love the trim tab detail and stall strip! Fantastic scale additions that wouldn't require too much work I imagine...I may have to do that myself!

Yeah, for a foamie, pretty simple stuff. I sliced through the trim tab a cut about 1/3 of the length of the tab, and bent and crimped some 1/16 " aluminum tube at an angle and glued on the parts. Pretty simple. The stall strip is basically a v-shaped piece of styrene, cut to about .75" long, painted and glued on about 1 inch outboard of the guns on the leading edge of the right wing. Small, details, but make it look more detailed.

One other cool item that's not part of this conversation, but a tribute to Chance Vought and his design of the Corsair. The outer wing panels had fuel tanks that could be used first on longer missions before they had drop tanks installed. When these tanks were drained and they now burned out of the main fuselage tank, they still had residual gas fumes in them that could be exploded by an incoming shell or bullet. What they did was have a bottle of CO2 in the cockpit that they would open to port CO2 gas into these empty tanks to inert them to keep that from happening. Very cool thinking, in my opinion!

[downwindleg]

Just for grins, but because I am so impressed with the engineering of Chance Vought designing this magnificent fighter, I added a couple scratchbuilt detail parts. The first two photos show the trim and balance tabs that were on the elevators. The neat thing about this, is that the elevator/horizontal stabilizer units were all identical, and could be used for either side, left or right. You can imagine the difficulty getting spare parts in the Pacific islands, so this helped out, I'm sure. The last photo shows the wedge shaped stall strip, which fixed the problem of eliminating the nasty left rolling tendency when just above stall approaching the carrier. This little 6 inch wedge on the right wing helped make the right wing stall at the same time as the left, hopefully about an inch above the deck! Some of you are already familiar with these ingenious designs, but for those who aren't, you can appreciate how sharp Chance Vought and his team of engineers were almost 80 years ago!

Yeah I didn't really understand how those tabs worked.:Confused: Thought they functioned like any other trim tab 'til I saw one in action at an air museum years ago. Ordinarily the rod is connected to a trim wheel in the cockpit so that the pilot can trim the plane to fly straight and level at any given throttle or altitude setting but on a Corsair the rod coming from the trailing edge of the horizontal stabilizer is fixed in place with a hinge at the tab so, as the elevator comes up, the trim tab is forced down and vice versa. This has the effect of minimizing the force needed on the stick during tight maneuvers because the tab is "helping" the pilot. I believe they had those on all control surfaces in addition to regular trim tabs. No hydraulics or fly by wire back then.:Cool:

[apmech1]

Yeah I didn't really understand how those tabs worked.:Confused: Thought they functioned like any other trim tab 'til I saw one in action at an air museum years ago. Ordinarily the rod is connected to a trim wheel in the cockpit so that the pilot can trim the plane to fly straight and level at any given throttle or altitude setting but on a Corsair the rod coming from the trailing edge of the horizontal stabilizer is fixed in place with a hinge at the tab so, as the elevator comes up, the trim tab is forced down and vice versa. This has the effect of minimizing the force needed on the stick during tight maneuvers because the tab is "helping" the pilot. I believe they had those on all control surfaces in addition to regular trim tabs. No hydraulics or fly by wire back then.:Cool:

Yes, they refer to those as balance tabs or servo tabs they help reduce the force required at higher speeds.

Anti-servo tabs are used to to put stronger resistance against the control stick at higher speeds to prevent over controlling at higher speeds.

Some aircraft have control tabs. The stick controls the control tab to aerodynamically drive the control surface. The md-80 has those. The elevator is free floating and has no linkage to the control column. That is why when the arcraft is on the ground you sometimes can see one elevator nose down and the other nose up. The control column is connected to the control tab not the elevator. I work on crj 200,700 & 900s, those elevators are hydraulically controlled by the control column. So when I saw an md-80, I thought it was broke.. lol

[Hardway]

LOL:Confused::Sick2::Scared::Scared::Scared: Top secret stuff!!!!

[davegee]

Yeah I didn't really understand how those tabs worked.:Confused: Thought they functioned like any other trim tab 'til I saw one in action at an air museum years ago. Ordinarily the rod is connected to a trim wheel in the cockpit so that the pilot can trim the plane to fly straight and level at any given throttle or altitude setting but on a Corsair the rod coming from the trailing edge of the horizontal stabilizer is fixed in place with a hinge at the tab so, as the elevator comes up, the trim tab is forced down and vice versa. This has the effect of minimizing the force needed on the stick during tight maneuvers because the tab is "helping" the pilot. I believe they had those on all control surfaces in addition to regular trim tabs. No hydraulics or fly by wire back then.:Cool:

Right. On the Corsair, each stabilizer/elevator assembly unit is identical, and so you can install wherever you need it. There is no specific left or right stabilizer/elevator unit, which came in pretty handy to repair damaged units in the remote Pacific islands in WWII. The trim tabs are identical on both elevators, basically each one is split into two units, one about 1/3 the size of the other one. The small one is the balance tab. It operates in the opposite direction to the elevator movement through mechanical linkage. The larger tab on each elevator in the trim tab, and they operate together up or down depending on the pilot's input on the elevator trim wheel. The aileron has one trim tab, on the left wing only, as I recall. There wasn't one on the right wing, and this was pretty true of other fighters or larger planes of the day, it seemed to be by convention it was set up this way. There is also a rudder trim control surface for trimming out rudder pressures. I'll attach a photo of a real Corsair and you can see the elevator control (bigger tab) and balance tabs (smaller tabs)

[downwindleg]

Hey davegee, I could be all wrong but I believe the larger trim tab is the balance tab and the smaller one is the trim tab. As you can see from the picture you provided, the larger rod goes back to the fixed position. If I hadn't seen it in person, I wouldn't know that. It's just another testiment to the aerodynamic engineering that went in to this plane. And I repeat, what a great job you did in adding that detail. May have to do that myself if the plane survives the maiden.:) BTW there is a liferaft in that tailcone for what it's worth.:Cool:

[davegee]

Yes, they refer to those as balance tabs or servo tabs they help reduce the force required at higher speeds.

Anti-servo tabs are used to to put stronger resistance against the control stick at higher speeds to prevent over controlling at higher speeds.

Some aircraft have control tabs. The stick controls the control tab to aerodynamically drive the control surface. The md-80 has those. The elevator is free floating and has no linkage to the control column. That is why when the arcraft is on the ground you sometimes can see one elevator nose down and the other nose up. The control column is connected to the control tab not the elevator. I work on crj 200,700 & 900s, those elevators are hydraulically controlled by the control column. So when I saw an md-80, I thought it was broke.. lol

I used to fly a DC-8 back in the day. The controls were hydraulically boosted with the exception of the elevator, which the pilots controlled with a trim tab through the yoke. That then moved the elevator in the correct direction. On one occasion, a DC-8 was in line behind other planes for takeoff at JFK, I think, and a rock got thrown up onto the gap between the elevator and the stabilizer, forcing it into a full up elevator position. The pilots weren't aware of this until take off and rotation, when they discovered to their horror they had no control of the elevator. The plane pitched up dramatically, stalled, crashed, and the crew was killed. It was a freighter so there were no passengers on board. A fix for this was then decreed that at 80 kts on the takeoff roll, the pilot flying would move the control column full forward and back to be sure it was not impeded in any way. This made the plane do a slight rise and fall sensation as it accelerated down the runway, but it was no big deal.

[davegee]

Hey davegee, I could be all wrong but I believe the larger trim tab is the balance tab and the smaller one is the trim tab. As you can see from the picture you provided, the larger rod goes back to the fixed position. If I hadn't seen it in person, I wouldn't know that. It's just another testiment to the aerodynamic engineering that went in to this plane. And I repeat, what a great job you did in adding that detail. May have to do that myself if the plane survives the maiden.:) BTW there is a liferaft in that tailcone for what it's worth.:Cool:

Hi Downwind leg: I had to research it a bit myself since it has been a long time since I made a large 1/5 scale Corsair rc plane that had these work somewhat. I found some pictures going through the sequence yesterday, but of course now I can't find them! But I did find one that hopefully shows what I am talking about. Take a look at the attached photos, you'll see the elevator is in the full down position on the ground, and the balance tab is in the full up position, which is mechanically connected to do this per elevator movement. The larger trim tab inboard of it is fairly lined up with the elevator position, whatever the pilot's control wheel input in the cockpit is set at. Unfortunately, you can't see the left side elevator set up, but it would be identical to the right. If you look at the second photo, it shows better both balance tabs' position full up with the elevator in the full down position. The inner, larger trim tabs are set at whatever position is commanded by the pilot's control wheel in the cockpit. Let me know what you think.

[Elbee]

Hi Downwind leg: I had to research it a bit myself since it has been a long time since I made a large 1/5 scale Corsair rc plane that had these work somewhat. I found some pictures going through the sequence yesterday, but of course now I can't find them! But I did find one that hopefully shows what I am talking about. Take a look at the attached photos, you'll see the elevator is in the full down position on the ground, and the balance tab is in the full up position, which is mechanically connected to do this per elevator movement. The larger trim tab inboard of it is fairly lined up with the elevator position, whatever the pilot's control wheel input in the cockpit is set at. Unfortunately, you can't see the left side elevator set up, but it would be identical to the right. If you look at the second photo, it shows better both balance tabs' position full up with the elevator in the full down position. The inner, larger trim tabs are set at whatever position is commanded by the pilot's control wheel in the cockpit. Let me know what you think.

I might be behind the discussion here, but the logic is sound as the arm length appears fixed, therefore up elevator would provide a down tab position and vice versa. I read the Corsair book "Whistling Death" by Boone Guyton Vought's Test Pilot for the Corsair Project. The Navy had asked for a higher dive speed and he had stated the flight controls became heavy, obviously, during high speed testing. I don't recall without looking it up, but this 'balance tab' could have been their solution providing some relief since I think Corsairs had no hydraulic assist. Correct me if I am wrong here. Best, LB

[davegee]

I might be behind the discussion here, but the logic is sound as the arm length appears fixed, therefore up elevator would provide a down tab position and vice versa. I read the Corsair book "Whistling Death" by Boone Guyton Vought's Test Pilot for the Corsair Project. The Navy had asked for a higher dive speed and he had stated the flight controls became heavy, obviously, during high speed testing. I don't recall without looking it up, but this 'balance tab' could have been their solution providing some relief since I think Corsairs had no hydraulic assist. Correct me if I am wrong here. Best, LB

I think you're probably correct in your thinking. I don't know how much these would help in high speed dives where compressibility is occurring approaching the transonic flight envelope, but I would think it would help relieve some of the stick forces and possibly help gain control of the plane out of the dive. Not sure on that, but that would be my take on it. Of course, in normal flying and dogfighting in the airplane, the balance tabs would help relieve some of those forces, too, I would think.

[downwindleg]

Hi Downwind leg: I had to research it a bit myself since it has been a long time since I made a large 1/5 scale Corsair rc plane that had these work somewhat. I found some pictures going through the sequence yesterday, but of course now I can't find them! But I did find one that hopefully shows what I am talking about. Take a look at the attached photos, you'll see the elevator is in the full down position on the ground, and the balance tab is in the full up position, which is mechanically connected to do this per elevator movement. The larger trim tab inboard of it is fairly lined up with the elevator position, whatever the pilot's control wheel input in the cockpit is set at. Unfortunately, you can't see the left side elevator set up, but it would be identical to the right. If you look at the second photo, it shows better both balance tabs' position full up with the elevator in the full down position. The inner, larger trim tabs are set at whatever position is commanded by the pilot's control wheel in the cockpit. Let me know what you think.

O.K. my bad on that. When you said larger, I thought you meant the larger control rod and linkage rather than the width of the surface. Turns out we were actually agreeing with each other.:Cool:So nice when two adults can have a meaningful discussion, in the interest of learning, without the adversarial part. I doff my Seahawk hat to you sir.

[F4ucorsair]

i watched a u tube vid ..it was fist flight after full resto..the pilot ,as they do,did walk around,,, stopping at the elevator tab u guys have pointed out .. he definetly said it was to lighten the control surface load .. when the tail goes up it goes down .. and when it goes down it goes up i think it was an 1980s or 90s video didnt make sence at the time .. but just a light apposing force too lighten the effort

[F4ucorsair]

Love it! My goodness this shot looks like the real thing! :Cool:

is this plane . in pik 1600 flightline birdcage?? wow i am new to hobby , but job well done.. i too luv this livery .. if u saw pik only,, u would think its real.. good camera work also,, im sure