Puppet,
Great choice of A/C. I have been very successfull with the F4U even against Spits, Niks and La-7's. It takes some restraint and time to master the thing but a well flown F4U can defeat most any adversary 1 on 1. The greatest challenge is multpile cons with different characteristics IE a FW190D-9 with a Zeke. You can't outrun one or turn the other.
Be patient, pick your fights and engage fast. The F4U will draw people to you thinking they have an easy kill but you can win or survive most situations.
I will post more later. The F4U-1 is best, never more than 50% fuel in it. And stay fast.