One of the most beautiful noises I've ever heard < on 7/20/2011 9:18 PM >
So, I got a new job recently at a municipal airport with a flight academy there. Today, during lunch this beauty was pulled out of a neighboring business's hanger to clear it's throat. I justify posting this in the Southern forums because I had to dodge all kinds of horrific armed guards, helicopters and electrified ticks or whatever is scaring the rookie forum at the moment. (I walked over and asked politely.) Actually, sarcasm aside, this plane was found abandoned in a back hanger of an abandoned airfield somewhere in the Midwest, and now it's finally back to life. I absolutely love classic Warbirds, so this was a really once in a lifetime experience for me. The video does it no justice, there's no way to really describe the sheer power that this aircraft and engine just drip with.
Watch till the end, he starts playing around near then.
She's a Vought F4U-1D Corsair, from what I'm told she flew in the Pacific theater from June 1945 until the end of the war, then went on to carry several pilots to great success in aerial racing. The average Corsair, the F4U, incorporated the largest engine available at the time: the 2,000 hp 18-cylinder Pratt & Whitney R-2800 Double Wasp radial. To extract as much power as possible, a relatively large Hamilton Standard Hydromatic three-blade propeller of 13 feet 4 inches was used. The craft is a F4U-1D, which means it had the new -8W water-injection engine. This change gave the aircraft up to 250 hp more power, which, in turn, increased performance. Speed, for example, was boosted from 417 miles per hour to 425 miles per hour. Not just that, this baby has been custom rebuilt, bolt by bolt, with a lot of nice upgrades along the way, so the plane is now pushing around 2,600HP, not the stock 2,225.
The Corsair entered service in 1942. Although designed as a carrier fighter, initial operation from carrier decks proved to be troublesome. Its low-speed handling was tricky due to the port wing stalling before the starboard wing. This factor, together with poor visibility over the long nose (leading to one of its nicknames, "The Hose Nose"), made landing a Corsair on a carrier a difficult task. For these reasons, most Corsairs initially went to Marine Corps squadrons who operated off land-based runways, with some early Goodyear built examples (designated FG-1A) being built with fixed, non-folding wings. The USMC aviators welcomed the Corsair with open arms as its performance was far superior to the contemporary Brewster Buffalo and Grumman F4F-3 and -4 Wildcat.
Moreover, the Corsair was able to outperform the primary Japanese fighter, the A6M Zero. While the Zero could out-turn the F4U at low speed, the Corsair was faster and could out-climb and out-dive the A6M. Tactics developed early in the war, such as the Thach Weave, took advantage of the Corsair's strengths.
This performance advantage, combined with the ability to take severe punishment, meant a pilot could place an enemy aircraft in the killing zone of the F4U's six .50 M2 Browning machine guns and keep him there long enough to inflict major damage. The 2,300 rounds carried by the Corsair gave just under 30 seconds of fire from each gun, which, fired in three to six-second bursts, made the F4U a devastating weapon against aircraft, ground targets, and even ships.
Re: One of the most beautiful noises I've ever heard <Reply # 1 on 7/20/2011 9:38 PM >
Awesome video & pics Capt. thanks for posting them. I too absolutely love those old warbirds. The bent-winged bird is one of my favorites. Even the ugly CAF "tramp stamp" in front of the windscreen doesn't mar her beauty too much. Thanks for posting these. Wish I worked at an airport
I was given a ride in the Cavanaugh Flight Museum's T-6 Texan for a birthday present this year. I need to get that ride scheduled ASAP!
Re: One of the most beautiful noises I've ever heard <Reply # 3 on 7/21/2011 4:07 AM >
I saw one just like this (in fact I suppose it might have been this one) at an airshow over Cedar Creek Reservoir on July 2nd. A real beauty. http://www.noelkernsphotography.com
Re: One of the most beautiful noises I've ever heard <Reply # 4 on 7/21/2011 4:39 AM >
Posted by Imbroglio I saw one just like this (in fact I suppose it might have been this one) at an airshow over Cedar Creek Reservoir on July 2nd. A real beauty.
In fact it was the same one. I shot pics of it taking off from Tyler that evening, along with the other demo craft. They all performed an air show at our airport the following day. I've always heard the Cedar Creek show is good. I've never been.
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Re: One of the most beautiful noises I've ever heard <Reply # 5 on 7/21/2011 11:40 AM >
Posted by Raticus
In fact it was the same one. I shot pics of it taking off from Tyler that evening, along with the other demo craft. They all performed an air show at our airport the following day. I've always heard the Cedar Creek show is good. I've never been.
Re: One of the most beautiful noises I've ever heard <Reply # 6 on 7/21/2011 4:00 PM >
Very nice! Reminds me of when I got to see my favorite, the B17 rev it's engines up. The Confederate Airforce brought one in for a week a few years ago and I didn't know about it until I heard the unmistakable sound of a low flying prop plane out my window. When I saw what it was, I looked it up on the internet and met it out on the tarmac at the airport. I even got to get inside and take a look around. Simply awesome. Tetanus for Breakfast! http://www.shatteredshutter.com
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