F4u-1

[AcId]

Originally posted by RatPenat
any secret to take off a hog with 2000 lbs bombs, rockets 100% fuel from a CV?

Here is what I do, without backing up.
In sequence:
%100 Throttle +WEP
As I roll when I get parrallel with the Superstructure I lower Full Flaps.
(it takes a bit for the flaps to go Full, which gives you a little extra speed than if you went Full Flaps before you start rolling)
At the end of the deck I hit "x" to turn off auto-takeoff.
when you roll of the edge she'll sink a bit, as soon as your off the deck raise gear immediatly or the wheels will hit the water.
The stall horn will be going mad, it's a fine line between keeping her in the air and stalling out, small carefull stick movements are necessary.
As you level and start to climb raise flaps a notch at a time until you get your speed up.

You should practice this offline or in the TA until it's second nature. Use the External view to see how close you get to the water  
Good Luck

[lazs2]

if you are a little hot on the landing speed in any of the hogs try pushing the stick forward like you are gonna drag the prop.   u can use a little brake.  as it gets slower pull back and plant the rear wheel and brake hard.

The -1 is about 5 mph faster than the D on the deck (if that) but accelerates so slowly that you will not be able to use the speed difference.   It stalls rough and has obstructed vision.   turn is slightly better and zoom climb is about the same.   Dive is the same (very good) as is roll rate.

Real dash ones climbed and excelerarted on a par with planes like the 51B, 190a5 and zero in side by side testing.  

a lot of the goodyear -1's didn't even have folding wings or tail hooks and were much lighter.

you don't really need to take more than 50% fuel in the -1.
lazs

[Don]

Yes, the F4u-1 and the F4u-1a were significant. Pappy Boyington scored his kills in them as did the rest of the Blacksheep. Then there were the Jolly Rogers of the US Navy that flew them as well; they thought it was the best fighter plane in the Pac. theatre.

[Don]

>>As far as the F4U-1 or -1D being "uber"... I don't think so. It is a good plane, but I think the F6F and P38 have it beat overall. <<

Not in performance it doesn't. And in  the MA it comes down to individual skill, barring weird conditions in the arena of course.

[Don]

>>any secret to take off a hog with 2000 lbs bombs, rockets 100% fuel from a CV? <<

Yeah, use full flaps and let them out just as you leave the deck. Very tricky to do, takes a lot of attention.

[Shuckins]

If you want to know how the F4U-1 stacked up against it's enemies you should read the first person accounts of the men who flew them in combat or in flight comparisons against captured enemy aircraft.

Captain Eric Brown of the RNAF is considered by many to be one of the best pilots of WWII and the post-war period.  He has logged tens of thousands of hours testing hundreds of combat aircraft.  The RNAF operated the Seafire, Wildcat, Hellcat, Corsair, and many other aircraft.  Brown tested them all, and flew some of them in combat.  Not being affiliated with any aircraft manufacturer, his comments about them can be considered relatively free of bias ( He can be forgiven, perhaps, for his preference for the Spitfire.  After all, he was only being patriotic!)

In his book "Duels in the Sky" Captain Brown offered the following comments about the F4U-1:

1.  The roll rate was exceptional, even at high speeds.  (He seemed to prefer the 190's roll rate, however.)

2.  Excelleration was brisk for such a large aircraft.

3.  The climb was disappointing, in light of the power available.

4.  It had a high top speed, which would be an asset in the environment of the Pacific.

5.  Turn-rate was poor at low speeds, requiring the Corsair to make high-speed attacks against its more nimble Japanese opponents.


In comparisons between the F4U-1 and the F6F-3 versus the FW-190A, Brown made the following comments:

F4U-1 vs. FW-190A:  "Having flown both aircraft a lot, I know which one I would prefer.  The FW-190 could not be bested by the Corsair."

F6F-3 vs. FW-190A:  "By 1943 the FW-190A was beginning to be a bit long in the tooth.  While the F6F-3 was a relative newcomer the superb technology designed into the FW by Kurt Tank was not outdated.  The Hellcat had broken the iron grip of Zeke in the East.  The Fw-190, however, was a far tougher opponent.  Risk to the Hellcat would be severe.  This would be a combat so finely balanced that only individual pilot skill could determine the outcome."


Regards, Shuckins

[joeblogs]

Originally posted by Don
>>any secret to take off a hog with 2000 lbs bombs, rockets 100% fuel from a CV? <<

Yeah, use full flaps and let them out just as you leave the deck. Very tricky to do, takes a lot of attention.

Alternative - full flaps down before you rev the engine, trim the elevator all the way up (on your gauge), 4 notches of right aileron.  

Wind up the throttle gradually and manage the torque as you move.  Remember the rudder gains effectiveness as you accelerate.  Kick in WEP half way down the deck.

When you leave the deck, the plane will try to roll left so be ready to give opposite aileron.  Don't let the nose rise and get your gear up immediately.  Raise your flaps gradually only as your speed rises.  No climbing at all until you are well over 100 knots.  No tight turns.  Turn the WEP off.  Re trim by kicking in and out of auto pilot.

Even an awful pilot like me can get off the deck w 2,000 lbs of bombs and all the gas I can carry 3 out of 4 times.

-Blogs

[CavemanJ]

Originally posted by Don
>>As far as the F4U-1 or -1D being "uber"... I don't think so. It is a good plane, but I think the F6F and P38 have it beat overall. <<

Not in performance it doesn't. And in  the MA it comes down to individual skill, barring weird conditions in the arena of course.

Put the sucker in reverse and back up the end of the deck.  The spawn point leaves a good third of the deck behind you.

[mrsid2]

Originally posted by Tac:
yeah, the only thing the f4u can do well is dive. If it turns it will find itself dead quite quickly. If it goes vertical same thing happens.

Interestingly Citabria likes to turnfight a6m's in it and actually outturn them in vertical. No wonder he likes the f4u-1.

[fdiron]

F4U retains energy very well, allowing you to dive on your opponent, aim, fire, climb away, and repeat.  The .50 cals allow for extremely long range deflection shots on opponents.  I've hit deflection shots out to 800 yards before in the hog, though 500 to 600 yards is the norm.  The F4Us huge ammo load allows you to 'spray and pray' with ease.

[lazs2]

eric brown was one man flying a few worn out planes.   We don't even know what version, prop etc. he was using.   His tests are very "seat of the pants" and have no side by side comparissons....   While his book is interesting and a fun read it still is not much for "testing" purposes.  U.S. tests against a 190a5 with several pilots showed that there was no move that the 190 coyuld do that both the -1 or hellcat could not follow but that the 190 could not follow either plane if they wished to evade. .  Navy tests against the 51b showed the Corsair to be superior in allmost every way.   There were also tests with the Corsair against captured and reconditioned (and running on high octane U.S. fuel) Zekes and 38's and 51's.   The main thing about all the comparisson tests is that they all pretty much say the same thing.  In side by side tests the pilots all wanted to be in the Hog in a combat situation.

The hog was a very good plane.   It would have been one of the best fighters of the war even if it didn't have the ability to carry thousands of pounds of bombs, take off from carriers, fire 6 fifty caliber guns for over 30 seconds and fly over 1300 miles without a refuel and take as much battle damage as any plane in the war.
lazs

[fdiron]

Very good information Lazs2.  If I recall correctly, the F4u was still in frontline service with some South American countries as late as the 1970s.  During the so called 'soccer war', F4Us actually shot down P51s.

The U.S. navy evaluated the P51 for carrier duty.  They found the P51 to only be superior to the F4U at extremely high altitudes.  The F4U accelerated faster, had a faster top speed and better turn rate at low to moderate altitudes (0-20k).

[J_A_B]

It might be noted that the Navy's testing wasn't exactly unbiased, in that the most commonly quoted comparison involves an overloaded P-51B up against a souped-up F4U-1A.   Later tests tended to use P-51D's against F4U-4's.   Since it was perfectly obvious that the P-51 would have made a lousy carrier plane, I think those tests were just another part of the Army-Navy rivalry.

Those tests aside, the F4U and P-51 were more or less equally matched overall, no doubt about that.   I too wonder about the F4U-1D's climbrate....I had always been under the impression that with the paddle prop its climb was between that of the F6F and P-38.

[AKEagle+]

What I like best about the F4UD in the AH FM is:

BIG ammoo load, so I can afford to spray n pray (take low % shots)  

The energy retention is really something to leverage

Turns well at speed!  You can take snap shots on a high speed bounce.

And what I really like is that I am 41/8 with it this tour

What blows my mind is that it has a less than a 1:1 K/D in the arena!

AKEagle+

[Gryffin]

Originally posted by Citabria
f4u1 is becoming one of my favorite planes in AH

I don't suppose you have some films of this plane in action that you would like to share? I am still trying to learn the F4U, mainly the -1D at the moment. I have a greater than 1:1 K/D ratio in it so far, but mostly bounces or cherry picking. I usually die if the fight turns into a 1 on 1.