In article ,
George Ruch wrote:

hobo wrote:

In article ,
"Geoffrey Sinclair" wrote:

Corsair propeller diameter 13 feet 4 inches, ground clearance
9.1 inches, engine R-2800-8.

The corsair used a 3-blade prop. Why didn't they use a smaller 4-blade
prop if ground clearance was such an issue?

Check again, please: http://www.warbirdalley.com/f4u.htm

The link you provided has no textual information regarding the prop, but
there is a picture, dated 2001, of a surviving Corsair with a 4 blade
prop. This prop may not be the original factory issue.

When this question was first posted the first website on the Corsair I
found was this:
http://www.nasm.si.edu/research/aero...t/voughtf4.htm

This is the Smithsonian's website and has a photo of a Corsair with a 3
bladed prop and this text: "The R-2800 radial air-cooled engine
developed 1,850 horsepower and it turned a three-blade Hamilton Standard
Hydromatic propeller with solid aluminum blades spanning 13 feet 1 inch."

This website was my sole source for the claim that the Corsair had a 3
blade prop. Perhaps a 4 blade was later added, but it seems odd that a 3
blade was ever used if ground clearance was so pivotal to the whole
design.
--