Chance Vought F4U Corsair Clear Canopy

Item#: MPF4U1CC

MSRP Price: $349.99

Factory Direct Price: $249.99

The F4U incorporated the largest engine available at the time, the 2,000 hp (1,490 kW) 18-cylinder Pratt & Whitney R-2800 Double Wasp radial. To extract as much power as possible, a relatively large, 13 ft, 4 inch (4.06 m) Hamilton Standard Hydromatic three-blade propeller was used. To accommodate a folding wing, the designers considered retracting the main landing gear rearward, but for the chord of wing selected, it was difficult to fit undercarriage struts long enough to provide sufficient clearance for the large propeller. Their solution was an inverted gull wing, a similar layout to the one used by Germany's Stuka dive bomber, considerably shortening the length of the main gear legs The anhedral of the wing's center-section also permitted the wing and fuselage to meet at the optimum angle for minimizing drag, without the need for wing root fairings. Offsetting these benefits, the bent wing was more difficult to construct and would weigh more than a straight one.

The performance of the Corsair was impressive. The F4U-1 was considerably faster than the F6F Hellcat and 13 mph (21 km/h) slower than the P-47 Thunderbolt, the two other fighters powered by the R-2800. But while the P-47 achieved its highest speed at 30,020 ft (9,150 m) with the help of an intercooled turbosupercharger,[26] the F4U-1 reached its maximum speed at 19,900 ft (6,100 m), and used a mechanically supercharged engine.

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