a few questions about the f4u

[crazierthanu]

Well, I've been flying the f4u a lot lately, and have a few questions.

1. Does lowering the gear in the f4u while in a slow fight make the plane more stable? If so, how?
2. Which f4u turns best, dives best, rolls best etc.
3. Is there anyone who would like to TA with me some time and teach me some moves in the f4u, I understand  there are a lot of good f4u sticks out there, so help would be appreciated.

Thanks to all in advance
 

[Soulyss]

Not a F4U jockey but here is the best I can come up with;

1.  No, the gear does not make it more "stable".  It won't lower your stall speed or keep the plane from departing if you do push it too hard.  What it does do is help you shed E faster than just retarding throttle and cross controlling.  Sometimes this can be desirable if you're trying to force an attacker out in front of you (although if you lose all your E it can also work against you).  With that in mind if you're dive bombing it helps prevent the build up of too much speed which means you can stay in your dive a little longer and pull out with less altitude loss. 

2.  I believe the difference in roll rate is not really an issue between the various models.  Not counting the perked F4U-4 the best turning Corsair is either going to be the F4U-1 or the F4U-1A, I think they are somewhat lighter than the -1D or -1C models.  With that in mind I would think that the -1D or -1C may accelerate somewhat quicker at first in the dive, but I believe this difference depends on how much fuel the -1 or -1A is packing as they have extra internal fuel tanks available. 

3.  I'd offer to help but I am in fact quite hopeless in the F4U (or nearly every other plane for that matter).  I'd send an email to trainers @ flyaceshigh.com (remove the spaces) to set up an appointment. 

[Lusche]

Until some F4U cracks drop in, some thoughts from someone rarely flying them

1. No. Lowering gear in a slow fight just produces drag, slows you down and kills your E. It's generally not advisable unless your in a very desperate situation and trying to force an overshoot. From the viewpoint of someone frequently fighting against F4U's I can only say I'm very happy when an already slow F4U drops gear... he'll be dead very soon

2. You may take a look at http://gonzoville.com/ahcharts/index.php where you can compare climb rates, acceleration, top speed and turning radii. Using the same airframe, all F4U's have about the same superb diving qualities.

[TequilaChaser]

Well, I've been flying the f4u a lot lately, and have a few questions.

1. Does lowering the gear in the f4u while in a slow fight make the plane more stable? If so, how?
2. Which f4u turns best, dives best, rolls best etc.
3. Is there anyone who would like to TA with me some time and teach me some moves in the f4u, I understand  there are a lot of good f4u sticks out there, so help would be appreciated.

Thanks to all in advance
 

• 1. NO, leaving the gear out when slow is only going to generate drag and bleed you to absolutely ZERO energy. one should only use the gear for Landing, and in extreme cases use when dive bombing, and  at certian times one might decide to use the gear to force an overshoot. But when performing the gear lowering to force overshoot, one should do it in a way that the underside of your F4U is unobservable to your opponent , if they see you lowering your gear...it is a dead give away and allows them to adjust......a profiecient F4U flyer can dump his speed just as quickly with Rudder/cross control rather than dropping gear.....
• 2. best non-perked F4U is a toss up...while some perfer the F4U-1 , most will say the F4U-1A is the overall best....when including the F4U4 in the bunch then it takes the top of the list....when diving the F4U4, F4U-1C and F4U-1D will accelerate a bit faster in most cases because they are heavier.......the F4U-1C is the weakeast in all the variants in regards to performance of roll, turning  mainly because of the cannons weight
• 3. as for Good Teachers of F4U platform....look for Widewing, mtnman, Saxman, AKDogg, SkyRock, myself, Badboy...but it is not about teaching CERTIAN F4U MOVES..it is about understanding the concept of fluid movement in performing maneuvers and how to instantaneously without thought adjust your attack to the current situation........there is no special tricks in any plane.it is about understanding the complete flight envelope of what your particular plane type is capable of and what it is not capable of doing...with this last statement it is a desire to learn and push your abilities as far as you possibly can......also never give up, always keep the mindset that I am going to win.....even if at a disadvantage.if you start thinking you are about to lose.then your mindset will faulter leading to your demise..........a true fighter pilot no matter if Real Life or in this cartoon world..never lets the thought of I am going to lose slip in to his thought process. He/She is of the Cocky atitude that nothing in this world is better than they are.......with that said.this does not mean to have an EGO persona Trip to start smack talking and being obnocsious............food for thought

dang, I type to slow....2 response before I could type it all out......hopefully mtnman, Widewing, and others will drop in and offer some more info.....

[crazierthanu]

Thank you very much guys, I had been flying the f4u lately and have been experimenting with the gears. I'm bracing myself for a load of information about to be flung at me from the various f4u jocks..............

[BaldEagl]

I've been flying the 1 and 1A the past few days.  I'm mostly hopelessly inept in the F4U's but I'm starting to get a bit of a handle on them.  It's been fun.

One thing I can say is that the zoom climb is simply astounding.  Probably better than any other AC in the game.  The other thing is I usually up most rides with 100% internal fuel.  I've dropped that to 75% in the 1/1A and it seems to help performance a lot.  They are also deceptively fast with alt.  I noticed that I was close to 400 mph in the 1 last night at 18K.

For the few days before this I was in some of the Jugs.  What I like about both the F4U's and the Jugs is that I can take down a con from 1K out and I'm still maintaining hit% in the 9's.  I'm finally getting a grip on those .50 cals as well.

I'll probably be moving to the Ponys this week.

I know that didn't help but you got me thinking since I've been flying them too.

[crazierthanu]

No prob eagle, I also love the 50 cals, it seems like those are the only guns I can actually shoot with and hit with. Maybe we could wing up some time 

[Big Rat]

I've been flying the -1 for about a year and a half now, and I think I have a pretty good handle on it.  The 4fu, is not an easy bird to learn.  While in a fight it is a very busy airplane, a lot of flap work is needed and you have to constantly think about your energy state.  None of the F4u's except the -4, accelerate well, but they all have a good top speed. In other words when you burn your E it takes a bit to get it back, more them most planes.   It is however big and heavy enough that it retains it longer then most.  The F4u's achilles heal is any sort of sustained fight in the verticle, it doesn't have the power to weight ratio of a plane like a spit 9 to keep getting it's nose up, but it willl zoom climb on an initial pass like a rocket.  But you better make your kill quick becouse your not going to keep your nose up there for very long.  The 4fu's best asset in my oppinion is it's ability to get into it's flaps extremely early (250mph), and with a notch of flaps at this speed can outturn almost anything.  This is where I try to get my quick kill (given the opponent sees me coming and is going to be a turn fight), I'll try to go into a fight around 300 mph which will quickly blead to under 250 on the initial merge turn. get my first notch of flaps in if nescessary, I'f I'm able to pull lead without it don't use them.  Only use as much as needed to get your shot.  Everytime you use a notch of flaps you have to sacrifice E for it, you sacrifice E for turn rate.  In other words in most fights after the inital merge I can probably get 3 notches of flaps out and get the first shot off, but If I miss or don't get a good hit in, I blew my load and am now on the defensive trying to get my nose down and my E back.  A good opponent seeing a Corsair with it's E bled will stay above it and not let it get it's nose down, and is pretty much able to pounce on it at will.  A corsair with an equal E state to it's opponent is always a very dangerous enemy, you just have to know use it's strong points and avoid it's weaknesses at all possible.  I'm normally in the TA about every night around 9:00 if you want some help.  Don't expect to master this bird in a few weeks, all of the good F4U sticks will tell you it takes a bit. A funny thing I learned about trying to learn the F4U is that the 109 G2 is a great trainer for the corsair.  This is what I came from and went to and the switch was realtively easy.  I tried this with another squad mate of mine and he said the same thing.  The only reason I can give for this is that you do a lot of flap work with a G2 in a turn fight as well and gets you in that habbit.  the E management of both planes is however very different.  Most of the instructors know who I am, and Ghosth can probably find me.    

 
BigRat

[crazierthanu]

Ok thanks big rat, Whats you game id?

[Big Rat]

Ok thanks big rat, Whats you game id?

Same without the space

 
BigRat

[Bosco123]

• 3. as for Good Teachers of F4U platform....look for Widewing, mtnman, Saxman, AKDogg, SkyRock, myself, Badboy...but it is not about teaching CERTIAN F4U MOVES..
  
  

Don't forget to include yourself TC, you are as good as anyone else.
All of the F4Us have a diffrent way of flying them, and some people fly ones over the others. I had this discussion with a squaddie the other night about the F4U1-D and the 1-A. Myself, I prefer to fly the F4U1-D, because to me, it feels diffrent from the 1A, I feel that the 1D is more stable in the are and easier to turn than the 1D. My squaddie prefers the 1A, just for the same reasons.
What I mean is, they all fly diffrent, you have to chose which plane you prefer over the others. Some people like the 1A or the -1, or some people like me, like the 1-D; It's all about how you have learned.
If you want to get used to some of the perked F4Us, the U4 is by far the best plane in the game, but again, its a touchy feely thing. The F4U1-C, flies just like the 1D, its just a little heavier, because of the cannons.
That sums up what I think of the F4U's, they are great planes and if you know how to fly one, you can be relay deadly in this thing. [/list]

[Anaxogoras]

As someone who flies against the F4U, it's the extremely high AoA nose-up maneuvers that really scare me.  No other aircraft in the planeset seems to be able to handle high AoA so well to remain a stable gun platform.

[Vudak]

Besides the P-38, there aren't many other planes that are as written about on these forums as much as the F4U's.  Just run a search with a few tag words in it such as Corsair and you'll come up with tons of great info.

One thing you'll notice in your studies, however, is the amount of information that seems completely contradictory.  Saxman and I, for example, have (judging by our posts), very different styles of flying and fighting in Corsairs, yet each of us have fun and success with them.  

Don't be put off by the "conflicting" advice...  It merely is a good sign that the Corsairs afford you a number of different options.  You can keep them fast, bring them slow, fight from high or on the deck.  She's one of those rare birds that really is at home in all types of situations, whether that be as a TnB, BnZ, or E fighting style.

If you really want to improve in it from a TnB perspective, my advice is to grab a bunch of squaddies, go to the DA with them, split into two fields, and tell everyone to pick their favorite plane.  Then practice turnfighting Zekes, Spits, Hurricanes, FM2s, 109s, etc.  

In other words, do everything many people say can't/shouldn't be done.  You'll hear people say, "Against a pilot who knows what they're doing..." Many times.  Don't worry about that there aren't many people who fit that bill in the MA.  

[crazierthanu]

Thanks again to everyone who posted here.
I think my favorite so far is the f4u-1, It just feels lighter than the other f4us and turns better. (plus the cockpit is just uber )
I'm going to the ma now to try some other f4u's, be back in a bit.

[Big Rat]

As someone who flies against the F4U, it's the extremely high AoA nose-up maneuvers that really scare me.  No other aircraft in the planeset seems to be able to handle high AoA so well to remain a stable gun platform.

Anaxogoras, I know exactly what your talking about .  If a corsair has any E left whatsoever, it can wait till the last second of any enemy making a pass on it and pull it's nose right into the attacker and try to give them a face full and blow their aim, so I can try and dive and get my E back without them being on my six.  I've had more then one person trying to figure out how I did that.  Normally a last ditch effort after my corsair has been bled of E and I have a higher E value opponent above me making passes.

 
BigRat