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Old October 1st 07, 05:50 AM posted to rec.aviation.military.naval
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Default F4U corsair mods to make it suitable for carrier landings.

On Sep 30, 2:24 am, Orval Fairbairn wrote:
In article ,
(Andrew Robert Breen) wrote:



In article om,
wrote:
When tested by the USN it was found that the Corsair was not suitable
for use on carriers:
1 Long nose obscured sight of the deck
2 oil leaks over cockpit glass
3 undercarriage oleos would bottom out and bounce the aircraft of the
landing wire
4 Abrupt stall.


The royal Navy overcame 1 via a curved semi-circular approach and 2 by
wiring the cowling shut over the windows.


How were all of the other problems solved to allow carrier opperations?


In the Corsair I the solution to 3. and 4. was to "be more careful
landing". Corsair II had modified valving in the oelos, still needed care
around the stall. Above is partially from Norman Hanson's "Carrier Pilot",
partially directly from Norman himself (years ago).


They also lengthened the tailwheel oleo strut, so the "at rest" attitude
of the aircraft approximated the landing attitude.


An extended tail yoke was something that incidentally also belatedly
solved the landing and takeoff problems of late model Me 109s. (Some
Me 109G-10 and all Me 109K). Near its three point attitude the
circulation caused by the propeller prop caused one wing to stall
before the other. An extended yoke also increases ground visibility.
A contra rotating prop probably would also have helped solve the
problem as well as eliminate gyroscopic precession which also tends to
otherwise cause a swing on takeoff.