Was someone looking for pics of James Axtell's Corsair?

AirJimL2 · **Posted:** Mon Oct 06, 2008 8:58 am

Taken last week. Did this thing every fly with these mods?

More here of both the Corsair and some of the other Wings Over the Rockies props:

http://ascalecanadian.blogspot.com/2008/10/wings-over-rockies-air-museum-props.html

(Click on the pic for a larger version.)

Jim

51fixer · **Posted:** Mon Oct 06, 2008 11:40 am

All Corsairs had Wood Ailerons, They cover with Fabric when flown on all I have seen.
Rich

warbird1 · **Joined:** Fri Sep 21, 2007 6:25 pm **Posts:** 2760

Some questions:

1) Is Wings over the Rockies a private museum or one affiliated with the Air Force?

2) Where did they get the rare B-18? Is it owned by the Air Force Museum?

3) Is the Corsair still privately owned or does title lie now with the Museum?

4) When did the Corsair last fly? When did it last race?

Sully · **Posted:** Mon Oct 06, 2008 11:49 am

Some info.

http://www.aafo.com/hangartalk/showthre ... big+hummer

Sully

The Inspector · **Posted:** Mon Oct 06, 2008 11:53 am

The process used to manufacture the ailerons and elevators on F4U's is called "metallite" and is a balsa/aluminum sheeting covered (on the F4U)with fabric. Very strong (floorboards, about 3/8th of an inch thick, in comercial jets were made of the stuff up until the FAA changed the flamability requirements in the cabins) the surfaces could absorb and 'shrug off' hits with minimal damage, the XF5U was made of 'metallite' and the Navy discovered that a wrecking ball bounced off the fuselage when they tried to smash it.
Commecrcial cabin floorboards were 2 .025 aluminum sheets glued to a sheet of balsa with inserts installed so the board wouldn't smash when installed with screws. :wink:

AirJimL2 · **Posted:** Mon Oct 06, 2008 12:40 pm

The ailerons on this airplane are wood skinned, not fabric covered. Is it normal for Corsairs to have wood skinning/metalite that is then covered in fabric? I had no idea about the use of metalite in Corsairs, but it makes sense.

Wings Over the Rockies is a private Museum with most of the military aircraft on loan from the U.S. military. The B-18 is on loan from the MUSAF. The Corsair in on loan from Mr. Axtell.

I'm not surprised to hear the Corsair never flew with these mods...I wouldn't fly it as is...

Jim.

bdk · **Joined:** Sun May 02, 2004 1:16 am **Posts:** 11335

I understand that the last of the Corsairs used Metallite, but I've never seen any of those control surfaces. The earlier Corsairs (at least through the F4U-4) had fabric covered plywood ailerons and conventional fabric covered aluminum elevators and rudder.

mike furline · **Joined:** Wed May 05, 2004 3:45 pm **Posts:** 2685

Taken straight from the Vought Corsair Tech. Manual,

General Listing of Important Master Changes That Improve Model F4U-1 Airplanes on Record June 22, 1944.

Group A - consists of changes that have been incorporated.
Group B - consists of changes that have been released by the Engineering Department buy had not yet been incorporated on the above date.

Group A- MCR 20, Wings-Aileron- Wood inplace of metal- Installation of.
Retroactive-Yes, Aiplane NO. 94.

Group B- MCR 552, Wings-Aileron-Wooden- Fabric Covering of to Eliminate Cracking.

Regards,
Mike

bdk · **Joined:** Sun May 02, 2004 1:16 am **Posts:** 11335

Quote:

http://www.ctairandspace.org/vought.html

The XF6U-1 had another first; it and the XF5U-1 were the first aircraft constructed by a new technique using sandwich material, Vought’s Metalite™. Although a few WW II aircraft had been of pure monocoque construction using plywood, most had been of semi-monocoque aluminum frames and stringers. Metalite™ panels of low density balsa wood core, bonded on both sides to aluminum skins, were formed in molds, cured in an autoclave and joined to beams and bulkheads with flush rivets. The inherent stiffness of the Metalite™ minimized stiffeners required for a strong, low-weight structure. The finished aircraft displayed mirror smoothness and low drag.

Bluedharma · **Posted:** Fri Oct 24, 2008 12:15 pm

warbird1 wrote:

Some questions:
2) Where did they get the rare B-18? Is it owned by the Air Force Museum?

Some history...

1956

1959: No record of the aircraft's activity in 1959.
It would be safe to assume 39-25 was sold at least one more time,
but the owner is unknown.
The aircraft was seized by The Customs Dept. sometime during the year,
loaded with weapons reportedly bound for Cuba.

Aug 1960: 39-5 is transferred to the Air Force Museum at Wright-Patterson AFB Ohio.

Apr 1961: Air Corps s/n 39-25 makes it's last flight, arriving at The Air Force Museum for permanent display.

1964

1967: Aircraft is removed from display area for refurbishing.

1969: AF Museum obtains a more original example of a B-18A. s/n 37-469.
39-25 is gradually stripped of parts to restore her sister ship.

1979: Aircraft is loaned to Cannon AFB as part of AF Museum Program, placed on display in 1983.
39-25 becomes available for transfer in mid 1988.

Aug 1990: Aircraft arrives Lowry AFB, a significant addition to their aircraft collection, as a B-18A was the first aircraft to land on the first paved runway at Lowry in 1939.

Sep 1994: Lowry AFB is closed as part of the nation-wid reduction in military spending, causing consolication of operations at fewer AF bases.

1994: Aircraft is transferred to the new Wings Over the Rockies, Aviation & Space Museum, Denver Colorado.

Bluedharma · **Posted:** Fri Oct 24, 2008 12:36 pm

warbird1 wrote:

Some questions:
3) Is the Corsair still privately owned or does title lie now with the Museum?
4) When did the Corsair last fly? When did it last race?

This aircraft was manufactured by Goodyear as an FG-1D, BU #92050. It has been
modified as an unlimited racer. Powered by a Pratt & Whitney R2800 CB77W, with 2800 cu inches of displacement
which supplied 2500 HP.

First accepted by the N.A.S. San Diego 22 May 1945, transferred
to Ferry Command 8 Aug 1945, to N.A.S. Pearl Harbor 1 Jul 1946, returned to N.A.S. San Diego 21 Jan 1946.
Final transfer was to NARTU Seattle 29 May 1946.

Flown around the US from Seattle to Jacksonville, FL during April 1947,
then transferred to Minneapolis, MN 31 May 1948.

Purchased by Jim Colbern and then by Bob Mitchem. Bob Mitchem
raced the airplane in 1971 at the Harrah's Unlimited, placing 7th at 362.989 mph
and 4th in heat 1-A at 344.401 mph.
Aircraft was purchased by James (Bob) Axtell in 1977 and has been in storage since then.
The airplane is on loan to Wing over the Rockies Air and Space Museum.

http://www.airport-data.com/aircraft/N194G.html

Dan K · **Posted:** Fri Oct 24, 2008 1:43 pm

Bluedharma wrote:

This aircraft was manufactured by Goodyear as an FG-1D, BU #92050. It has been
modified as an unlimited racer. Powered by a Pratt & Whitney R2800 CB77W, with 2800 cu inches of displacement
which supplied 2500 HP.

Strange, as everything I've ever read before about this bird indicated it's been modified with an R-3350 under the hood.

Bluedharma · **Posted:** Fri Oct 24, 2008 2:27 pm

Dan K wrote:

Strange, as everything I've ever read before about this bird indicated it's been modified with an R-3350 under the hood.

You may be right.
I am just going off of the written details displayed at the museum.
Pratt & Whitney R2800 CB77W
That display may not be correct.
The museum does not provide the specs (prior to Mod or after) on its website.
http://www.wingsmuseum.org/aircraft_detail.php?id=6

This may be built specs... not current as some sites say it is now a R-3350.

http://www.f4ucorsair.com/legends/living.htm

Quote:

Goodyear FG-1D Corsair, Bu#92050, carrying the N# of N194G, has been a Colorado resident most of its life. After military acceptance on may22 1945, and a hopscotch career with the Navy, the plane was struck from the Navy's inventory on 31 May of 1948, while in Minneapolis, the plane was then purchased by Jim Colbern who then passed it on to Bob Mitchem of Broomfield, CO. After being modified as a racer with clipped wings and a Wright R-3350 engine on the front, the plane was purchased by James Axtell in 1977 and has been in storage in a T-hangar at Jefferson County airport until recently being transferred to the Wings over the Rockies museum at Lowry AFB in Denver, where it is on a 5 year loan.

Best Regards,

Jack Cook · **Posted:** Fri Oct 24, 2008 2:34 pm

No it has a R-2800 installed.

retroaviation · **Posted:** Fri Oct 24, 2008 3:24 pm

Hard to say for sure, but that sure looks like a "Dirty-Three-Filthy" to me. The distributors and front scavenge pump look like the 3350-26WD (Skyraider engine) to me. Could be wrong though...probably am.

Gary

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