Hehe I love it when people pull isolated facts out of thin air, out of context, and then generalize it to something else entirely.
The Corsair, on final approach, full flaps, is going about 80 mph! The (long) nose is going to be angled up, and yes, it's going to be difficult to see past it. Luckily, these planes had rudders! And could fly in a slip! And could SEE the deck! The reason they were kept off of carriers was (1) tricky low-speed handling, (2) early problems with landing gear, arresting hook, and tire failures leading to too many bolters and too many repairs, and, most importantly, (3) the Navy did not have the SUPPLY capability to support BOTH the Hellcat AND the Corsair at sea. The (somewhat political) decision was made to use the existing land-based supply infrastructure to support the Corsair (hence few Hellcats being assigned to land bases) and to commit the fleet supply infrastructure to the Cat.
As to the Hog's FLIGHT visibility, look at the cockpit sometime. Take particular note of the mounting point for the gunsight combining glass, near the TOP of the windscreen. Then note that the pilot's seat could be raised. Then look at a picture of how high the pilot sits. That setup was designed specifically to let him look (and aim) out over the nose.
Now, if they ever model the F4U-1 ("birdcage"), those features weren't incorporated, so that plane should have some pretty serious visibility issues...
Just settin the record straight...
--jedi
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