F4U-5 Corsair Superprop!

No one does an warbird deep dive better than greg, no plane more worthy of one than the Corsair

I have degrees in applied psychology and industrial psychology which are geared toward human factors. I remember one story I was told in class, which may be apocryphal, about the placement of the flap lever and ejection seat lever next to each other in the early F-104 Starfighters. Supposedly this resulted in at least one accidental ejection during takeoff. If nothing else, the idea impressed upon me the importance of getting the cockpit layout right. This equally applies to repair and maintenance. I recall a tragic incident when I was an Air Force Major that cost two lives. An elevator control line was hooked up backwards because access to it was through a blind hole and done by feel. The T.O. (Technical Order) contained an error and the follow-on inspection was improperly done. The pilot also failed to conduct an adequate system check during pre-flight and only discovered he had a control problem during his takeoff roll. He was unable to correct it, crashed, and was killed. The subsequent investigation led to the planned court-martial of the mechanic. However, he committed suicide out of grief before the board could meet. Yes, human factors is far more important than many people realize.

I’m a retired airline pilot and when I was learning to fly in 1961 I remember a group of F4 U s rotting at Tamiami airport Had I bought one I’d be rich now but at 16 that would not have been possible

Hi Greg, very minor correction on one point. The piston-powered A-1 Skyraider also scored not one but two air to air kills against jets in Vietnam, once in '65 and again in '66. I believe the victims were MiG 17s or 19s. Love the video!

I love the comment about the Yak-9s: “Didn’t bother dropping ordinance before engaging” 😂

I'd love to see a series on the P-40 family.

My mother-in-law, Helen Minor Black-Thompson, was a "Rosie The Riveter" during WWII at the Goodyear Aircraft factory in Akron Ohio during the war years. She was a riveter on the tail sections of the F4U Corsair.

I wanted to add that the early access for Patreons is nice, but watching without ads is really, really nice. Thanks

I had the privilege of sitting in an F4U-5 cockpit back in 2007 at Oshkosh. I walked by the plane and stopped to admire it. The pilot was sitting under the nose under the shade. Since it was my absolute favorite plane, I was able to have a detailed conversation about it and he trusted me to sit in it. I acted casual about it, but I was ecstatic. My friend took a few pictures of me in the cockpit - check that one off my bucket list. Thanks for all the detailed videos you did on my favorite plane. I was born too late to fly one, but late enough to have access to amazing content like yours on the web.

The first thing you lose to the cold is your fine motor skills. A heater is an absolute necessity for fighter.

Wow that is the FIRST picture I've seen of a full WW2 hangar deck. Holy CRAP.

Thank you for (a) covering the importance of ergonomics, (b) how any design is a series of tradeoffs, and (c) how accidents accounted for many aircraft losses.

I had not realized how advanced the -5 was compared with the previous versions until I worked on a -5 for 2 years. A very impressive machine!!!

Just this morning I listened to a radio interview called "World of Aviation" They interviewed a guy who flew Rare Bear at Reno for 3-4 years. He raced there a total of 18 times. He said the Sea Fury was by far his favorite aircraft. He now owns one.

Fell for the F4U as a kid watching Black Sheep Squadron. I also have bee a Navy fighter fan F4U, F-4 Phantom and of coarse F-14 Tomcat!

An F4U was the first WWII warbird I ever saw in person, when I was maybe 4-5 years old. It was LOUD.

One of the greatest joys I get watching your videos is seeing all of these incredible photos I've never seen before.

17:05 case in point: Hawker Typhoon Between the wings blowing off, tails falling off, carbon monoxide poisoning, engine failures, accidents, etc. a lot of airplanes were lost. Another example, Mustang MkI/Ia. In the first 18months of combat operations with the RAF, only 8 were shot down by AAA, Flak, or enemy fighters. All of the rest lost were due to accidents, or hitting things at low altitude (trees, buildings, hills, telephone poles, wires, a fence...).

Here's another tidbit from a lifelong RC flier. Down thrust also helps a great deal with p-factor. Models often use down thrust and/or right thrust to keep things flying straight throughout the throttle range but I've learned, if there's a problem, to always add just down thrust first. It, obviously, helps with pitch up but usually reduces any tendency to yaw on takeoff or roll on a go-around as well. It also reduces the need to trim the plane during flight which, sadly, is something most RC fliers find overwhelming. Of course, despite my best efforts as an instructor, most of them never master the use of rudder and throttle. They set up for takeoff, slam the throttle to full, and pray the runway is wide enough to take off 90 degrees to the left or try to correct with large rudder input. If they don't snap roll as soon as the wheels leave the ground they don't touch the rudder at all and don't touch the throttle until they chop it to idle for landing. Then, often as not, the engine quits and they try a tight, aileron and elevator only, turn to the runway with disastrous results. Scale models of the Corsair, like the real ones, are always tricky at low speeds but without quite a bit of down thrust and perhaps some right thrust? It's a crash waiting to happen for the majority of pilots. It's not as bad as a plane with highly tapered wings, like a Spitfire or any Soviet fighter, in normal flight but requires a pilot somewhat above the norm. Cheers!

I remember getting excited about it being ba baa black sheep nite as a kid. I believe that show saved an encouraged the restoration of many wrecks. The f4u was not well known before the show