Grumman Avenger & F4u Corsair (image heavy)

[Camo68]

I went to an air show at a small airfield the other day and thought I'd share a couple of highlights

 

First highlight was the Avenger - It looks an ungainly beast on the ground and is huge when you stand next to it, as tall as a house.

 

 

 

But once it is in the air it is surprisingly nimble and very maneuverable

 

 

 

And the other highlight was my favourite carrier fighter from WW2

 

 

 

This one is in Honduran Air Force colours

 

 

 

 

 

 

A sexy beast from any angle!

 

 

 

The noise from these beasts and the backwash from the props as they taxied down the runway were icing on the cake.

 

If you get a chance go and see these planes in real life.

 

 

 

[Aivris]

The F4U Corsair is such a beautiful aircraft. Those wings!!!

[HT_LEGO_TANKER]

Thanks for the photos

 

Interestingly the US Corsair was primarily a land based fighter in the pacific, only the British Navy flew the Corsair as an active carrier based fighter and ground attack aircraft. Post WW2 it was adopted by the USN for carrier work.

 

A potent and beautiful aircraft, the gull wings to allow clearance of its massive propeller. In the pacific it had a 11:1 kill ratio.

 

 

 

[Camo68]

All tucked up and ready for the hanger

 

 

 

 

 

[HermanBix]

Thanks for the photos

 

Interestingly the US Corsair was primarily a land based fighter in the pacific, only the British Navy flew the Corsair as an active carrier based fighter and ground attack aircraft. Post WW2 it was adopted by the USN for carrier work.

 

A potent and beautiful aircraft, the gull wings to allow clearance of its massive propeller. In the pacific it had a 11:1 kill ratio.

 

 

 

 

The British had about a 9- month head start when it comes to flying F4Us off of carriers. It looks like VMF-124 and VMF -213 were the first to operate Corsairs on carries when they went aboard the USS Essex in December of 1944. Soon to be followed by VMF-112 & VMF-123 on the Bennington, VMF-216 & VMF-217 on the Wasp, VMF-221 & VMF-451  on the Bunker Hill and VMF-221 & VMF-452 on the Franklin. Following gives interesting discussion as to how British Navy started carrier operations prior to the US Navy with the Corsair.

 

  " It was the British who finally worked out a method of landing the Corsair on their carriers in spite of the visibility problems caused by the long nose. Instead of the normal downwind-crosswind-final approach method, the British simply turned downwind, then made a slow, continuous curve which aligned the Corsair with the deck only at the last second before the aircraft touched down and trapped. This method allowed the pilot to keep the Landing Signals Officer in view right up to the moment the plane was over the fan-tail where the LSO gave the sign to either "cut" or make another attempt.

 

    To alleviate the problem of oil and hydraulic fluid smearing the windshield, the Brits simply wired shut the cowl flaps across the top of the engine compartment, diverting the oil and hydraulic fluid around the sides of the fuselage. Numerous other simple, effective alterations were devised to alleviate the dreadful stall characteristics, landing bounce and tailhook problems (among others), and these modifications were incorporated into the production line. In 1944 the US Navy decided to again try landing the F4U on carriers, and this time succeeded. It turned out to be an extremely wise decision."

[Captain_Dorja]

I've never seen an Avenger in person before, but I do like that aircraft. It has the real rugged "form follows function" look which I love in things like that. I can say I've had the pleasure of seeing an F4U in flight before. Be still my beating heart!

[dmckay]

The Avenger is big.  Seen a couple at airshows.  President Bush #1 flew it. Youngest naval pilot ever.  Got shot down in Pacific and was rescued by a boat that is able to go underwater. Rescue was filmed.  May be on Youtube.  Nice pics OP.  Corsair also did good work in the Korean War. Juiced up fast climbing Corsairs were used by the navy in late WWII to climb fast and intercept Kamikaze attackers. 

[HermanBix]

I've never seen an Avenger in person before, but I do like that aircraft. It has the real rugged "form follows function" look which I love in things like that. I can say I've had the pleasure of seeing an F4U in flight before. Be still my beating heart!

 

Was at an airshow in Shreveport Lousiana and they had an Avenger, Helldiver and Dauntless at the event. Was able to go in the Avenger, pretty neat.

[_Luna]

The Avenger is big.

 

Yes it is. Surprisingly so the first time you get close to one.

This is my local museums Avenger.

Heres one with some people for a sense of scale.

 

And as a bonus since this is an Avenger Corsair thread, this is my local museums Corsair.

[Captain_Dorja]

What freaks me out is seeing a B-17 or a B-25 next to an F-15. It's hard to imagine a B-17 as being a relatively small aircraft...

[dmckay]

 

Yes it is. Surprisingly so the first time you get close to one.

This is my local museums Avenger.

Heres one with some people for a sense of scale.

 

And as a bonus since this is an Avenger Corsair thread, this is my local museums Corsair.

 

Very cool.  I live not too far from Wright Patterson Air Base in Ohio.  GREAT and has the air force museum.  Tons of stuff.  Takes a day to see it all. Got one of the few ME 262's still in existence and it's a beauty.  Also got a Focke Wolf Dora. Real rare.

[Captain_Dorja]

Oh man I want to go to the USAF Museum so bad.

[_Luna]

 

Very cool.  I live not too far from Wright Patterson Air Base in Ohio.  GREAT and has the air force museum.  Tons of stuff.  Takes a day to see it all. Got one of the few ME 262's still in existence and it's a beauty.  Also got a Focke Wolf Dora. Real rare.

 

Been out there twice. Very cool place.

I might go again once the new hanger is built.

[dmckay]

Oh man I want to go to the USAF Museum so bad.

 

It is "awesome" as the kids say today.  Smithsonian In DC  is pretty good but there is NO comparison.  Dayton AFM also has Bock's Car...the Nagasaki A-bomb strike plane. Spooky to see knowing what it did.  Pristine and sits quietly a corner of the museum....most folks have never heard of it....just the Enola Gay.  Got an original Spad 13 and Spad 7, SE 5, Camel, etc etc.  Spits, Hurricane, 2

P-47's. Yada yadda blab...and so forth.  Beautiful P-40! BF 109.  Couple of Mustangs.  Pristine.  Ya.

Been there at least 10 times.

[Camo68]

 

It is "awesome" as the kids say today.  Smithsonian In DC  is pretty good but there is NO comparison.  Dayton AFM also has Bock's Car...the Nagasaki A-bomb strike plane. Spooky to see knowing what it did.  Pristine and sits quietly a corner of the museum....most folks have never heard of it....just the Enola Gay.  Got an original Spad 13 and Spad 7, SE 5, Camel, etc etc.  Spits, Hurricane, 2

P-47's. Yada yadda blab...and so forth.  Beautiful P-40! BF 109.  Couple of Mustangs.  Pristine.  Ya.

Been there at least 10 times.

 

I find it really interesting to see the planes and enjoy museum visits but seeing them flying adds another dimension. Do they take them out?

 

They had a Sopwith Pup & a Sopwith Snipe flying at the show - the first time I had seen either of these in the air.

 

Oh and a bizarre Mustang. Can you tell what's different about it?

 

 

 

[EroSun]

 

Spoiler

 

 

 

 

Just for some size comparisons for WW2 to now lol.   F-15 is 63' 9" long with a 42' 10" wingspan and sits 18' 6" high... a B-17G is 74' 4" long, with a 103' 9" wingspan and sits 19' 1" high.  P-51 for an idea of generally how big WW2 fighters were..... 32' 3" long, 37' wingspan, 13' 4 1/2" high (if one of the prop blades was vertical lol).  The Avenger..... 40' 11.5" long (why not just go the extra .5 Grumman lol), 54' 2" wingspan, 15' 5" height  (big plane still smaller then modern single seat fighter lol).

[dmckay]

 

I find it really interesting to see the planes and enjoy museum visits but seeing them flying adds another dimension. Do they take them out?

 

They had a Sopwith Pup & a Sopwith Snipe flying at the show - the first time I had seen either of these in the air.

 

Oh and a bizarre Mustang. Can you tell what's different about it?

 

 

 

Canopy looks large.  Is it a 2 seat plane? Is that the deal? OR is it smaller than a real P-51?  Kinda looks it.

[dmckay]

 

I find it really interesting to see the planes and enjoy museum visits but seeing them flying adds another dimension. Do they take them out?

 

They had a Sopwith Pup & a Sopwith Snipe flying at the show - the first time I had seen either of these in the air.

 

Oh and a bizarre Mustang. Can you tell what's different about it?

 

 

 

 

You saw a Snipe?  Rare bird and late WWI.  It was a hell of a plane.  William Barker (Canadian ace) had a hell of a legendary dogfight in his Snipe late in 1918. Few saw active service. 

[Camo68]

Canopy looks large.  Is it a 2 seat plane? Is that the deal? OR is it smaller than a real P-51?  Kinda looks it.

 

Got it, it is a 70% scale model of a P51.

 

 

You saw a Snipe?  Rare bird and late WWI.  It was a hell of a plane.  William Barker (Canadian ace) had a hell of a legendary dogfight in his Snipe late in 1918. Few saw active service. 

 

Not sure of the history of this one but it took 9 years to restore

 

[dmckay]

 

Got it, it is a 70% scale model of a P51.

 

 

Not sure of the history of this one but it took 9 years to restore

 

 

Great.  Great pic.  It was the final evolution of the Sopwith line. Check out William Barker's solo fight in late 1918 in this plane against several German fighters. Wiki or somewhere. William Barker.....Canadian ace.