F4U-1 question

[StarOfAfrica2]

Something I am curious about.  Fuel tanks.  I've always been of the impression that if you empty the wing tanks first, you reduce the wing load and thus make the plane more maneuverable.  So, lately when flying the F4U-1 I try to empty the wing tanks first, then the Main tank last.  Only I have found that it causes some strange stall behavior doing this.  The default "automatic" setup starts on the main, then alternates between wing tanks and the main tank.  

Where is the main tank located?

By leaving it to last, am I adversly affecting my CG?  Or are the strange stalls my imagination?

Am I correct in my assumptions on the wing loading issue, or am I full of it?  

Thanks!

[Ecliptik]

Burning the wing tanks first does not reduce wing load.  Wing load takes into account the weight of the entire airframe, not just the wings.  Typically the aim of emptying the tanks in a certain order is to manipulate the aircraft's center of gravity and keep it balanced.  IIRC, ideally the center of gravity should be kept at the wings, such that the lift vector passes through it and no moment is created about the horizontal axis.  Usually weird stall behaviour results when this is not the case.

[Ecliptik]

... double post

[frank3]

I think the main-tank is located behind the cockpit (like with almost all fighters)

[justin_g]

Main tank in the F4U is in front of the cockpit. Wing tanks are in the leading edge of the wing.

Since the wing tanks are more towards the nose of the plane than the main tank, draining fuel from them would make the plane more "tail-heavy"(CoG moves back) than using the same weight of fuel from the main tank.

A "tail-heavy" weight balance usually makes stall behaviour worse. (Eg: P-51 with full rear tank)

[Bodhi]

F4u-1 series has one main tank FWD of the Cockpit and two small Leading Edge Wing tanks.  These are omitted in the later F4u's.

It is a 200 gallon for the one forward of the cockpit.

This tank had frequent leak issues and that is why you see the white tape lines forward of the cockpit in this area to prevent the fuel leaking back onto the windscreen.

[Patches1]

Historcally, the F4U-1 had a nasty left wing stall. To compensate for that, pilots would first drain their left wing tank. Later models of the F4U had the wing tanks removed and a wedge installed on the right wing to prevent the nast left wing stall.

The main fuel tank on the F4U is in front of the cockpit which is the reason the cockpit is so far aft in the F4U.

[Greebo]

In RL draining the wing tanks would lower the aircraft's polar moment of inertia in the roll axis, which ought to improve roll rate response. However I don't know if this is modelled in the game or whether it would be enough weight to be significant.

[Bodhi]

The bags alone have significant weight, while it would register, I doubt it makes a huge difference.

[StarOfAfrica2]

It definitely rolls faster with the wing tanks empty, but the problem is the darn thing seems to stall out sooner when trying vertical maneuvers and falls off to one side or the other, going into a nasty spin (unless I counter it quick with opposite rudder, but then I'm fighting the stall instead of the enemy plane and I die fairly soon after).  It seems to want an even balance between the three tanks to stay "stable".  Guess i should stop playing with how the plane uses the available tanks and let the computer manage my fuel for me.

[Patches1]

The F4U-1 is a perk generator if flown well.

It sounds to me like you are pulling too hard on the stick and trying to climb too fast...thus bleeding off energy.

The F4U series requires a gentle touch on the stick; if you hamfist it...you bleed Energy very quickly...and can end up in a nasty stall resulting in an unrecoverable (for those unfamiliar with the F4U) spin.

Think "straight lines" when flying the F4U...and think ahead of your opponent. Stay fast and "be" where he wants to be by using the F4Us roll ability....and the verticle...with gentle inputs on your stick.

Use your DT to climb to altitude after burning up your left wing tank and your right wing tank to 1/4...then...go back to your DT.

The rest of the flight is up to you.....

[frank3]

Let me just.....put that tank-control on automatic again

[StarOfAfrica2]

Originally posted by Patches1
It sounds to me like you are pulling too hard on the stick and trying to climb too fast...thus bleeding off energy.

The F4U series requires a gentle touch on the stick; if you hamfist it...you bleed Energy very quickly...and can end up in a nasty stall resulting in an unrecoverable (for those unfamiliar with the F4U) spin.

Think "straight lines" when flying the F4U...and think ahead of your opponent. Stay fast and "be" where he wants to be by using the F4Us roll ability....and the verticle...with gentle inputs on your stick.

Use your DT to climb to altitude after burning up your left wing tank and your right wing tank to 1/4...then...go back to your DT.

The rest of the flight is up to you.....

Understood, and I try to fly it with a very light touch.  But I can most definitely notice a difference if I drain the wing tanks first and leave the main tank till last.  It falls off much more easily and departs into spins even with a feather touch.  If I let the computer handle the fuel management, it remains much more stable.  I was merely wondering if this was how it should be.  I rarely fight with the DT on, unless I am confident of a quick kill or an easy maneuvering advantage.