Corsair Q, Re: FG-1 wings

[famvburg]

Had a Corsair in at my FBO yesterday. I'll keep its ID anonymous. Anyway, it's got "F4U-1D" stenciled on the stab, but the pilot says it's an FG-1. The FAA registration confirms that. However 2 things I've always heard was that ALL FG-1s had non-folding wings. This guy says these fold. I also noticed that the outboard wing sections were metal skinned. I've always heard that ALL Corsairs had fabric outboard wings until the F4U-5 came along. So, Corsair gurus, what's the straight poop on the wings?? As long as I'm asking about Goodyears, if the FG-1s had metal outer wings that folded, what about the F2G as well? Metal folding wings too?

[Jack Cook]

I don't know about FG-1s but but FG-1Ds had folding wings. I believe BTW all Corsair wings up to and including the -4 are interchangable with some minor mods. As for the medalized wings, most -4s and earlier you see flying now have medalized wings, The -4 a friend owns has FG-1D wings and Cavanaugh's -1D has cannons so it's a set off a -4B, -5 or later but I'd guess -4B. Over to the experts.

[Chad Veich]

As Jack says above, most restored Corsairs these days have the fabric covering on the outboard wings replaced with metal. I'm am unaware of any Corsairs being built without folding wings so this would be news to me.

[corsair166b]

Some Goodyear Corsairs were built without folding wings as I recall because they were going straight to Marine squadrons that would not be using them on carriers (hence the tailhook was deleted also) to save weight....later as the Corsair became carrier qualified, first with the Brits then with the US Navy, the reintroduction of the folding mechanism occured. I THOUGHT the first all metal wing came on the dash-4 model, but I could be wrong. Some of the F2G series WERE produced without a folding wing, some with it.

M

[Rob Mears]

Sounds like the CAF Corsair to me. Regardless, it was most definitely an FG-1D since there are no earlier Goodyear models that are airworthy. That particular plane is painted to represent a combat veteran F4U-1D, and thus the "F4U-1D" stenciling was applied to maintain the authenticity of the paint scheme.

There is a grand total of one (1) authentic F4U-1D that will ever fly again, and it's under long term restoration in Australia. It's got some seriously kick-ass combat history too!

[Jack Cook]

I would be very surprise if a huge production change would be made just because early models (which had folding wings) were found unsuitable for carrier ops temporarly or there was a change of being ground based. To my knowledge tail hooks were never deleted. Tommy Blackburn told me he oldered the hooked removed when Vf-17 arrived at Ondongo, NG in order to save weight. They were out back on in Nov 43 when the CV raids on Rabual occured because VF-17 landed on the Bunker Hill to refuel.

[famvburg]

Smarty pants! Yep, N9964Z. I know the -4s were fabric (I used to be around Merle G's "Angel of Okinawa" all the time) & I'm sure I have read where the -5 was the first metal wing. When I asked the guy about why it had metal wings, he said "That's the way it was made", so I was even wondering if it had been fitted with -5 wings or if it was common now-a-days to metalize them, but I really didn't think it was built that way. I wasn't sure about several comments he made anyway. Thanks, y'all.

Sounds like the CAF Corsair to me. Regardless, it was most definitely an FG-1D since there are no earlier Goodyear models that are airworthy. That particular plane is painted to represent a combat veteran F4U-1D, and thus the "F4U-1D" stenciling was applied to maintain the authenticity of the paint scheme.

There is a grand total of one (1) authentic F4U-1D that will ever fly again, and it's under long term restoration in Australia. It's got some seriously kick-ass combat history too!

[famvburg]

Yep, & he caught us on the way home this afternoon, too. In fact, he's probably back at the barn, or real close, as I write this. A friend of mine was in here today & he used to be active in the CAF & we talked about it & basically told be the same thing about LTV restoring it after the bad wreck, etc. & we were wondering if that's when they were metalized or what. It's been about 25 years since a Corsair graced my ramp, (AFAIR, the last one prior had been Merle G's "Angel".) Thanks for satisfying my curiosity.

When our pilot, said "that is the way it was made" (quote), take that as "that is the way it was restored". I assume you caught him at an FBO enroute to Opelika, AL., where he is attending a Fly-In with the CAF Corsair, March 10.

The original FG-1D had fabric covered elevators, rudder and ailerons. The outer wings were metal forward of the spar, but featured fabric-covered plywood to the trailing edges. The flaps were skinned with sheet metal. When Vought undertook the restoration of the CAF FG-1D in 1980 - 1981, the scarcity of personnel with fabric experience made replacement of the outer wing panels a special problem, so a decision was made to re-skin those surfaces with .025 2024 T-3 Alclad using the rivet pattern complying with USAF T.O 1-1A-1 and ANO1-45HA-3. The wing panels now conformed to the standard of the later production F4U-5 model after WWII, and U.S. Navy Type Improvement Modifications.

As Rob correctly stated, the CAF Corsair, although an FG-1D, is displayed as Merritt O. Chance's F4U-1D.

The wings on this aircraft are not -5's. The dataplates in the wing fold area confirm this.

Regards
Tracey
CAF Corsair Sponsor Group
http://www.caf-corsair.com

[jaybird]

Holy smokes Rob, it took you a few years, but you finally came up with an avatar! Can you identify the Corsair I'm sitting in, in my avatar?

[Jerry O'Neill]

Holy smokes Rob, it took you a few years, but you finally came up with an avatar! Can you identify the Corsair I'm sitting in, in my avatar?

I've seen Rob's AVATAR before.....somewhere.....

Oh yeah, that hand gesture is used just after saying..."Pull my finger!"
Jerry

[Rob Mears]

Jaybird, that would be BuNo.123168, with a few magical alterations added (the first of which took place back around 1987 or so).

Okay Jerry, now you've gone and screwed up my entire perspective toward my little fledgling avatar! Better an image of the hand gesture than the business end of that joke.

[jaybird]

Rob- As usual, you nailed it. I added the second 5 for my son who's birthday is 5/5. The cinco de mayo Corsair.

[Jack Cook]

Geez,
I thought it was a Dr about to check your prostrate

[kennsmithf2g]

Did not all the Corsairs have folding wings? I thought that it was just a question as if they were manually or hydraulically folded. It would seem with a war going on, it would take a lot of unecessary Engineering changes to design a new tpe of wing attachment .

I seem to remember Bob Odegaard saying at one of our SARH Symposiums that one of the wing panels on #57 is a -5 and the other is from an earlier series. They are not the origional to the plane, but the origionals do exist.

TTFN....Kenn

[RMAllnutt]

I have read where the early FG-1's had the hydraulics for the wing fold mechanism, and the tail hook deleted as they were destined for non-carrier based units. However, I have also seen verified photos of wreckage from an early FG-1A which clearly showed the wing folding mechanisms in place, and that the aircraft was provided with a tail hook. So I am not sure what to make of story about wing fold mechanisms. I cannot see why the production line would be changed so radically in time of war without a better reason. Perhaps the wingfold mechanisms and tail hooks were removed in-theatre... that sounds far more plausible.

With respect to which wings fit which aircraft, all corsair wings are interchangeable. The metalized outer wing panels were not introduced until late in the -4 production run. I have never read or heard about wood covered fabric on the outer wing panels before. I somehow think that that is a mistatement. Some later corsairs did have metalite horizontal stabilizers... perhaps this is what was being referred to. Did they ever use metalite on the outer wing panels?

Interestingly, the early corsairs, -1A and previous, had fabric covered outer wing panel flaps. Early corsairs also had fuel tanks in the outer wing panels (you can still see these in the FG-1A owned by the Fleet Air Arm Museum).

Cheers,
Richard