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

[e4dragongunner]

I realize that its not ideal as I have also rebuilt my gear.
I have a full set of replacement parts doors as well as gear.
forces me to really pay attention to landings and touching down just right.

[f4u ausie]

Most of us had that early in the process.. I agree they r not great. 2 wheel landing looks nicer. But I found 3 point broke way less gear. U can repair them depending on the problem.. they crack the case. Bend the worm drive.. I reinforced the case with automotive 2 part plastic glue from new helps alot If U do that make sure U scratch up the case with some 80 grit for adhesion... Awesome flyer. Mine is semi retired now. But has around 500 flights

[Captain Moron]

Is it my bad flying or rather my bad landings but it is costing me fortune in retracts for this Corsair.Even a soft landing seems to rip out the retracts on this bird..Any one else haveing the same proplem ?.I do fly off grass but the grass js like a bowling green .Taken to belly it in to save on the cost of replacing the retracts🫤

[chabd]

That's a great period video taken in 1945. By that time the landing sequence for getting aboard the boat in one piece had been pioneered by the Brits before and additions like the stall strip on the right wing helped both wings to stall at the same time (instead of its nasty tendency to stall the left wing first and a deadly torque roll off the fantail of the ship), just before they touched the deck for a safe "trap." I believe they got the airplanes down to an approach speed of about 80 knots with full flaps, did a continuing 180 degree turn to the deck from a left downwind leg, and kept the LSO (Landing Signals Officer) in sight all the way to the deck. It was very tricky, but you can see when done properly, it was possible to get this aircraft on the deck somewhat safely, although there were a lot of crackups in late WWII and Korea.

Brits devised this method of approach for Seafires in '42, I think. Another first is we were the first to use the Corsairs on carriers. The Seafire, though a good fighter, could not really take carriers ops as the undercarrige wasn't robust enough and it didn't really have the endurance, so we used the Corsairs, Hellcats and Avengers. All good aircraft.

[Grossman56]

Thanks, I was going for authenticity and this is pretty unique. We actually used some 'pink' zinc chromate on our DC3, couldn't figure out why it was this color, now we know.

[f4u ausie]

That pink chromate looks awesome in the wheel wells grossman

[Grossman56]

For those who need to know.

Grossman56
(Dangerous Dan)

[Elbee]

f4u ausie Aros

Amen, Brother(s).

Best, LB

[Aros]

Short of the gear which needs to be strengthened, this is by far the best EPO Corsair on the market. Truly a wonderful flyer. Congrats!

[f4u ausie]

It flies really well. But it it could have done with larger diameter wheels 🛞. Looks like your grass not to short. Hence. I'm glad to see the new p51 with 95 mm wheels

[ianl1201]

Well, at last a decent spell of weather in the Netherlands. After a second failed maiden attempt last week with another nose over and rudder repair again, today was finally the day!! She flies and flies beautifully! To prove it wasn't a fluke I flew two more packs so it seems I have figured out how to get her in the air at last. Very happy

[Grossman56]

Gather around ye bent wing brethren and heed my words!
Thou must have Godly patience when replacing thy retracts. Thou must also have a long servo extension wire to pulleth the cable through the Valley of Darkness.
Thou must separate the wings as Moses parted the Red Sea. Thou must also unscreweth the cable connector at the root of the wing.
On the back of said connector is stated the Five Commandments:

AILERON ooo
FLAPS ooo
ooo
GEAR DOOR ooo
RETRACT ooo
LIGHTS oo
oo
FAIL TO HEED, CRASH INDEED!!!
Placeth the metal plate over thy retract when in retracted position, changeth your tires before mounting the retract (If not using Robart tires??? Sacrilege!! Punishable by bouncing landings!)

Printeth these words of wisdom and placeth it in thy Corsair manual. They come at the cost of many a blasphemous word !

Grossman56
(Dangerous Dan)

[Grossman56]

Anyone have info on the connector board in the wings? In what order are they plugged in? If I recall, the landing gear retracts are the second set of pins from the foreword edge? This should really have been included in the manual.

Grossman56
(Dangerous Dan)

[Grossman56]

And how about the retracts? About to replace mine with the bigger pins version. An extension through the wings from the blue box with a short cable on the end of the retract would have been a better way to go.

Grossman56
(Dangerous Dan)

[Aros]

What a effortless flying warbird , A++ i had only flown it a few times last year, I installed a new 3d printed pilot that i had painted recently , HRB 5000 6s , wow so smooth , only mod were dave Brown foams , plug in outboard wings would be way better , it takes up to much space with the wing on , Pray for V2 version

Couldn’t agree more. It’s such a pain to have to take the wing off every time for transport. Outboard wings that clip on and off without screws would be heavenly.

[Elbee]

davegee,

Outstanding.

Best, LB

[davegee]

The seat was also raised 6 inches starting with the F4U-1D. Which is why she got the bubble canopy, the birdcage had zero head clearance. The raised seat allow for a better view over the nose and gave the pilot excellent SA when in combat.

I believe that the first bubbletop canopy and the raised seat started with the F4U-1A. They also added about 6.5 inches height to the tailwheel strut for better visibility, too.

While we're on the subject, I have a minor bone to pic with MRC. I want to state emphatically that their 1600mm Corsair is a fantastic flyer, and looks great. It has been one of my favorite warbirds for 5 years, now and I hope to have many more flights on it. However, I wish MRC would have been a little more accurate in designating the names of these two different airplanes, namely the "birdcage" and "bubbletop" Corsairs.

MRC designates the birdcage Corsair as a "F4U-1A." If you want to be picky, it should really be just a "F4U-1." This is the one that the Marines first took to the fight in the Pacific, and flew from Pacific island bases before the plane was deemed safe to land on carriers. That came later, with later models.

MRC calls the bubbletop "F4U-1D." That is also not quite correct. The -1D was now a fighter- bomber, and had factory installed bomb racks (2) in the center fuselage section, and rocket racks or stanchions mounted on the wings. But I'll concede it looks very similar to the F4U-1A that MRC sells.

The F4U-1A in some cases added a Brewster bomb rack to attach a single bomb or extra fuel tank under the center of the fuselage. Elbee scratch designed and built an Excellent Brewster bomb rack that is 3D printed and has a simulated 500 pound bomb hung on it. I had his permission to print one of his designs to my Corsair and it can easily be mounted and removed with magnets.

My sources for the above information include: F4U CORSAIR in detail and Scale by Bert Kinzey. There are several great books on the history of the Corsair, too. I know MRC will never change these technical but correct points, but that's the way I see it, anyway. I'll attach a couple of pics of Elbee's printed Brewster bomb rack and 500 pound bomb installed. Got about a dozen flights with this installed, works great, comes on and off with tiny rare earth magnets.

Cheers

Davegee

[Couchbr]

That's a great period video taken in 1945. By that time the landing sequence for getting aboard the boat in one piece had been pioneered by the Brits before and additions like the stall strip on the right wing helped both wings to stall at the same time (instead of its nasty tendency to stall the left wing first and a deadly torque roll off the fantail of the ship), just before they touched the deck for a safe "trap." I believe they got the airplanes down to an approach speed of about 80 knots with full flaps, did a continuing 180 degree turn to the deck from a left downwind leg, and kept the LSO (Landing Signals Officer) in sight all the way to the deck. It was very tricky, but you can see when done properly, it was possible to get this aircraft on the deck somewhat safely, although there were a lot of crackups in late WWII and Korea.

The seat was also raised 6 inches starting with the F4U-1D. Which is why she got the bubble canopy, the birdcage had zero head clearance. The raised seat allow for a better view over the nose and gave the pilot excellent SA when in combat.

[vrosi1963]

What a effortless flying warbird , A++ i had only flown it a few times last year, I installed a new 3d printed pilot that i had painted recently , HRB 5000 6s , wow so smooth , only mod were dave Brown foams , plug in outboard wings would be way better , it takes up to much space with the wing on , Pray for V2 version

[davegee]

Thanks Dave, I really appreciate that. I had spent a couple of hours working with the weathering powder and given it a bit of a dusty Solomon Islands look, but wanted to use the WBPU to seal everything and also as I saw from several references that the carrier based aircraft still had a sheen to the paint. The WBPU taking away the weathering powder is a happy accident and I think means I've ended up with the right look for a carrier based Corsair

I found this on YT which is a great source of reference for VMF-351

https://youtu.be/1LJIeiI2zNc?si=USh6BjwWiWySzyqE

That's a great period video taken in 1945. By that time the landing sequence for getting aboard the boat in one piece had been pioneered by the Brits before and additions like the stall strip on the right wing helped both wings to stall at the same time (instead of its nasty tendency to stall the left wing first and a deadly torque roll off the fantail of the ship), just before they touched the deck for a safe "trap." I believe they got the airplanes down to an approach speed of about 80 knots with full flaps, did a continuing 180 degree turn to the deck from a left downwind leg, and kept the LSO (Landing Signals Officer) in sight all the way to the deck. It was very tricky, but you can see when done properly, it was possible to get this aircraft on the deck somewhat safely, although there were a lot of crackups in late WWII and Korea.