The wildcat had split flaps deployed using a vacuum generated by the engine and stored in a tank. Back pressure on the flaps is provided by springs, and dynamic pressure from the slipstream.
The flap switch is located on the left hand side panel, behind and to the left of the throttle quadrant.
If I under stand the diagram in Francis Dean's America's 100k, the flap switch is an all or nothing affair. When in the flaps up position, the circuit is exposed to the outside atmosphere so there is no vacuum to drive the flaps. When in the flaps down position, a vacuum is created, pulling the flaps down. There's no way to support a partial vacuum with a system like this.
What's more, the flaps don't deploy at speeds above 150 IAS, well below corner velocity. Now deploying the flaps might save you from a stall, but it would be a despiration move.
It's been some time since I've flown this plane in AH, but my hazy recollection is that it is modeled with multiple position flaps.
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Originally posted by joeblogs
Well I know they were pneumatic rather than hydraulic with electric actuators as on the F6f.
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