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

[f4u ausie]

Yes Hugh you are correct, a better landing technique is the answer but until then I would like to have a few flights before I write off the gear, also as I fly off a disused WW2 airfield which is very rough after 80 years but very nostalgic but a smooth run in is impossible. Thanks though for the info on your method of landing I will take note but as you will probably realise when you are coming in for a landing logic and memory of procedure go out of the window and panic sets in!

Wow flying off a dissued ww2 rway cool,,, as hell... ive seen some u tubbe vids on that.. greatstuff.. till then watch the english taming the corsair.... off carrier u will luv it

[Aros]

Elbee simply outstanding. Operation Ocean's 11 remains on schedule.

[Cycross]

Yes i drilled mine out to correct size.. if ya dont have a micrometer,, u can go to a tool store and they will mike it up 4 u ,, and give u correct size within thou... its needs tight fit or will wobble.. have fun

Thank you again f4u Ausie, really helps.

Meanwhile I also like to share a tip if not already mentioned before. I took out my box of other planes spares/spoils to try to mix and match, Voila found that the Avanti 80mm retract unit innards, while mechanically different, is a dimensional drop-in fit for the plastic shell. I found one with a straight jackscrew which I could swap over, salvaging me for however more landings before I need to change it totally for a brand new stock (on the way). Hope this helps somebody out there.

[Elbee]

Hey All, quick update, Painted the forward windscreen and cockpit cowl. Lookin' much better .

I thought I had seen a post with an STL file for the Corsair Wheel in this thread, but I couldn't find it anywhere, so I designed/printed a set.

I have posted those STL files for the 3.5" Robart wheel insert in the 3DP forum here at the Squawk.

Best as always, LB

[nuts-n-volts]

Elbee, and everyone, I have the FMS F7F Tigercat as well as this Corsair. I plan to use an extra pair of mains from the F7F as they are 84mm and look pretty scale. Check it out. The engines also are much more scale, same diameter and appear to be a drop in fit.

[Elbee]

nuts-n-volts, Very Cool Mod, Sir, I will check out those struts out for certain. Thank you for the tip. Best, LB

[RodgerC]

Has anyone tried to glue carefully profiled thin carbon plates on the side of the retracts to reinforce them? I am guessing this would require some trimming away a bit of foam from the retract cavity in wing. Or is the thin coat of JB weld strong enough (post #4862)?

[davegee]

Elbee, and everyone, I have the FMS F7F Tigercat as well as this Corsair. I plan to use an extra pair of mains from the F7F as they are 84mm and look pretty scale. Check it out. The engines also are much more scale, same diameter and appear to be a drop in fit.

Hi Nuts-n-volts: that is a very cool idea! Are these basically drop in replacements for the Corsair, landing struts as well as the wheels? In other words, are there any adjustments or cutting necessary to change out the stock struts with the FMS Tigercat struts? I looked at the website for the FMS Tigercat model. There are some scale looking support/drag links attached to the main strut. I assume you would just remove these parts before installing them on the Corsair? If you have a pic of how they look on your airplane, I'd love to see that.

Thanks,

Davegee

[nuts-n-volts]

I actually have just started with the Corsair and have the wheels and engines from the FMS F7F on order. I just know that these two parts are the right look and size, nothing more. The FMS has a complicated gear mechanism as in the retract units drive the linkage, not the struts. Very scale. I doubt very much one could get this to work in the Corsair as its pretty big. But, I haven't checked on this or if the struts themselves could fit.

I've always made it a habit to find other planes in the same scale to steal parts from... if they're better!

[davegee]

We’ll, I admire your “thinking outside the box” ideas! Perhaps it won’t work, but if it does, it will definitely look very cool. I have the Freewing Tigercat, enjoy flying it, but am very impressed with the look and engineering of the FMS version, especially the scale gear.The only thing that disappoints me is the non scale rivets, as both the Corsair and Tigercat had mostly flush rivets that had less drag. But still a very cool plane.

please update us with any tests you do on the Corsair and the Tigercat gear ideas.

[f4u ausie]

Has anyone tried to glue carefully profiled thin carbon plates on the side of the retracts to reinforce them? I am guessing this would require some trimming away a bit of foam from the retract cavity in wing. Or is the thin coat of JB weld strong enough (post #4862)?

Rodgerc i broke enuf of em...,,, to no were they brake... i was , new gear, epoxying razor blade.. trimed to suit... was not easy to trim razor blade.... i scuffed all epoxy area,, and still broke em... i even epoxied em in as i screwed them in... new ones that is.. but thenhad to replace the mount . The only thing i found that slowed the breakage rate was support under the other end to the 4 screws.. . That end naturally ,, with jack srew mounted there,, just wants to push into wing.. dont wana complicate,, but push gently on gear when down.. and imagine forces taking place. On all parts .. in short.. ye ye thicker plastic better still alloy frame,, and bigger jack screw.. would have been awsome.... then the next week point would have been the plastic mount!,,,,,,,...
Get better at smooth landings... in the end thats best

[Elbee]

f4u ausie, Amen Brother. Best, LB

[Pappy 883]

Corsair Consortium,

For those interested, I have posted my 3.5" Robart Corsair Wheel Insert STL Files in the 3D Printing forum here at "the Squawk".

Any questions about the design/prints, post those in the 3DP Forum. Thanks all, enjoy.

Best, LB

Outstanding work Elbee, I've been wanting this for decades lol.
joe h

[Elbee]

Outstanding work Elbee, I've been wanting this for decades lol.joe h

Hey Pappy, If you'll wait just a day or so longer, I will have a revised set posted. I didn't like my inner wheel, so I did some more research and found better pictures.

BTW, does anyone the correct wheel colors for the F4u-1a? I've seen, white, gray, light gray, blue, and aluminum while doing research. Were color differences a squadron thing or a variant thing or what?

Best, LB

[Elbee]

Corsair Guys & Dolls,

I have revised the design for the 3.5" Robart Wheel Hub Inserts originally posted.

Sorry, but these are really much betterer, also, new and improved,

Get yours today!

Download those from the Official 3DP Thread here at the Squawk.

Best, LB

[davegee]

Hey Pappy, If you'll wait just a day or so longer, I will have a revised set posted. I didn't like my inner wheel, so I did some more research and found better pictures.

BTW, does anyone the correct wheel colors for the F4u-1a? I've seen, white, gray, light gray, blue, and aluminum while doing research. Were color differences a squadron thing or a variant thing or what?

Best, LB

Hi LB: excellent job on those wheel details! I got the earlier and latest versions STL files that I sent to my guy doing the printing for me for my Corsair.

Regarding your question on what colors were the wheels, that is really a very good question! I have some books on the Corsair, with many period photos from WWII and Korea. The majority of -1As that I have seen look to be aluminum colored wheels. However, I have seen other photos when they went to the all-dark blue coloring scheme for the entire airplane later in the war, some of those planes are similarly painted in the dark blue wheel colors, too. I really don't have an answer for you, it's possible that to some degree colors might have varied between the various manufacturing plants like Chance Vought, Goodyear, and Brewster. But that's just a guess. I'm going to paint mine an aluminum color, that corresponds to the photos I have in my books more than the other colors. Mine is a -1A in the markings of VMF-215, and in particular one flown by top ace Lt. Bob Hanson, USMCR.

Best,

Davegee

[Aros]

Corsair Guys & Dolls,

I have revised the design for the 3.5" Robart Wheel Hub Inserts originally posted.

Sorry, but these are really much betterer, also, new and improved,

Get yours today!

Download those from the Official 3DP Thread here at the Squawk.

Best, LB

Simply beautiful work my friend!

[Elbee]

Thanks, Brother. When I get to the point of mounting the wheel hubs, I will do a back-side design, as well. Might even play around with a design for a bearing hub for the Flightline Corsair MG axle.

[Elbee]

Hi LB: excellent job on those wheel details! I got the earlier and latest versions STL files that I sent to my guy doing the printing for me for my Corsair. Regarding your question on what colors were the wheels, that is really a very good question! I have some books on the Corsair, with many period photos from WWII and Korea. The majority of -1As that I have seen look to be aluminum colored wheels. However, I have seen other photos when they went to the all-dark blue coloring scheme for the entire airplane later in the war, some of those planes are similarly painted in the dark blue wheel colors, too. I really don't have an answer for you, it's possible that to some degree colors might have varied between the various manufacturing plants like Chance Vought, Goodyear, and Brewster. But that's just a guess. I'm going to paint mine an aluminum color, that corresponds to the photos I have in my books more than the other colors. Mine is a -1A in the markings of VMF-215, and in particular one flown by top ace Lt. Bob Hanson, USMCR.Best, Davegee

Hey Dave, Thanks for the paint info, I have found similar results. I even found a picture that the wheel appears to have been brush painted white over the aluminum-colored wheel.

As for the design, I really enjoy doing those little designs that have some larger impact.

Paraphrasing Pappy 883 (Joe H.'s) earlier comment, I think we all have been waiting many years to upgrade Robart's great tire design with equally nice matching hubs.

So, this one's on me as giving a little something back. I never figured why I had not thought of it before now.

I have seen guys turn beautiful aluminum hubs back in the day, so now we can all have 'em.

Best, Steve

[davegee]

Hi Elbee: you mentioned above that you might play around with a design to make a good fitting axle bearing to fit the Corsair’s axle. Hugh Weidman and I had some discussions on that subject, as Robart doesn’t make a part that will smoothly fit the Flightline Corsair’s main axle. We both carefully routed out the inner diameter of the Robart bearing. It works but a clearly superior solution would be like a printed part that precisely fits the axle without the drudgery of trying to make it fit the axle by hand. If you do take that on someday, I know there would be a lot of modelers who would love the stl files to make some up.

cheers

dave

[Elbee]

Hi Elbee: you mentioned above that you might play around with a design to make a good fitting axle bearing to fit the Corsair’s axle. Hugh Weidman and I had some discussions on that subject, as Robart doesn’t make a part that will smoothly fit the Flightline Corsair’s main axle. We both carefully routed out the inner diameter of the Robart bearing. It works but a clearly superior solution would be like a printed part that precisely fits the axle without the drudgery of trying to make it fit the axle by hand. If you do take that on someday, I know there would be a lot of modelers who would love the stl files to make some up.

cheers

dave

I will come up with something. The downside is keeping things light and sufficiently strong. I have been messing with printing CF filament, though it isn't as strong as you'd think. I will also try PET-G and nylon-based filament. We'll see, until then, more when there is more. Best, Steve