Talked to a friend of mine yesterday, he is co-owner of a -5 and flies a -4 and FG-1D amongst other warbirds. Anyways, we got to talking about the performance of the Corsair when it was low and slow and he said that the aircraft is very responsive even with it's flaps fully deployed and down around 80. The kicker though is that he does not like to "explore" to much of the envelope at that speed because the departure is so abrupt and usually ends up with you on your back if you stall it. That said, I brought up the question here, and he pointed out the one thing I have said before and what several have said here, "You only have one life and one bird in the real world". That answer sums it up.
He went on to summarize the amount of times people come up at airshows and ask these types of questions regarding performance and why there is a lack of data on subjects like extreme slow speed performance. He said it is a really simple set of answers that he gives: a: it's super freaking dangerous, especially in an aircraft where intentional stalls are prohibited, b: most guys did not like to slow up in combat as it gave the japanese a chance and that they preferred methods of slashing attacks were preferred, and c: the reality that if you screw up, you will die, is a far better motivator to not do stupid things in combat like go slow and turn with aircraft designed to do such.
Just thought I'd add this since Krusty said that cartoon lives and no real death was not really a factor in why people take more chances in here.
