As a couple of you know, the other day I used the F2G Super Corsair in a troll about our "next plane".
Of course I hooked many a Luftwaffe fan, and even a few others who complained about AH having too many US planes. (Ever get those hooks out? Damn them barbs must hurt
)
But the part that really suprised me was that I suggested that it be a "non-perk" aircraft, and even wiggled this little bit of bait around.
After all, it was merely a 430mph aircraft at 16,000 ft. Very slow and low for a 1945 American Fighter
And when no one bit on that, I about fell out of my seat in shock. The only thing I could figure out, was that most of you were not familiar with the F2G Super Corsair.
So here are some very basic Facts, Figures, and more Information on the F2G:
The F2G Super Corsair, or the "CornCob Corsair", began as a project of the Goodyear Corp. where they used a standard FG1 Corsair (Goodyear produced F4U-1D), and mated it with the new R-4360 engine, plus a bubble canopy. There were some rudder modifications to handle the increased torque of the new engine, but otherwise the airframe was very similar to the classic F4U-1.
The Navy originally ordered around 400 of these planes, but with the abrupt end to the war, the contract was cut down to 5 of the land based varients (F2G-1's), and 5 of the carrier varients (F2G-2's). So, along with the original 8 prototypes, there was a grand total of 18 produced (none saw combat).
So you ask, "Whats so special about this plane? It actually performed worse than the F4U-4 that came along about the same time. Only 430mph max at 16,000ft".
Let me tell you that max speed numbers can be
very deceiving.
The R-4360 Engine produced around 3,500 hp with water enjection at Sea Level (WEP), where the old R-2800 produced between 2,200hp to 2,500hp. Without a major increase in airframe weight, thats a 60% increase in power!!
While I told you that the F2G had a max speed of 430mph at 16,000 ft, what I didn't tell you was that the plane has a sea level max speed of
400 mph!! At SL, thats 20 mph faster than the fastest plane in AH (Typhoon,380mph) and 33mph faster than the second fastest (P51, 367mph). Thats also faster than the Tempest V, the Tigercat, the Bearcat, and I believe the Sea Fury as well (sea level).
And climb rate? It has an initial climbrate of 4,400 ft/sec approximately the equivalent of the 109G10.
And if you use its power/weight ratio and climbrate as an indicator, its acceleration should be close to the G10.
So basically you have an aircraft thats 20mph faster than its fastest competitor (where it counts in the arena), excellent climbrate, excellent acceleration, plus the classic F4U's handling attributes and high speed characteristics.
True its at its best under 20,000 feet, but thats where the fighting in the arena takes place.
In my opinon it would definitely be one of the best possible arena aircraft that was ever made.
So you can have your Tempest, your Spit XIV, your Ta152 or Dora, even your Bearcat.
Me? I will take the old Super Corsair.
------------------
Vermillion
**MOL**, Men of Leisure
"Real Men fly Radials, Nancy Boys fly Spitfires"
[This message has been edited by Vermillion (edited 08-17-2000).]
