Purchasing an F4U Corsair for personel use.

[51fixer]

Warbirds are an incredible amount of fun.
If your sights are on a Corsair you'll have trouble getting there on that amount. You'll need partners.
As stated you need training unless you have time flying tailwheel type aircraft with high horsepower.
Another cost to realize is your cost per hour of flying counting insurance and engine reserves along with fuel/oil will be $1500+. I've seen people get an aircraft and not be able to fly it enough to be proficient as it is too expensive.
If your budget is $750K perhaps T-6/SNJ for a year. Fly the thing all the time. Sell it and get a YAK 7/9/11 with an Allison or P&W 1830 0r 2000. Close to Mustang performance for $500K.
Other doable types could include a Skyraider or Sea Fury.
Good luck and hope you find something to fly.

[Edward Sheetmetalhands]

Warbirds are an incredible amount of fun.

If your budget is $750K perhaps T-6/SNJ for a year. Fly the thing all the time. Sell it and get a YAK 7/9/11 with an Allison or P&W 1830 0r 2000. Close to Mustang performance for $500K.
Other doable types could include a Skyraider or Sea Fury.
Good luck and hope you find something to fly.

A Wildcat might be a good choice for that price range.... Lower operating costs, too.

Plus they would get really fun when pushing the stick forward.

[whistlingdeath77]

how much does a replica corsair go for? I saw one time a guy made a 1/1 scale spitfire and the thing looked and performed great.

[Rob Mears]

I've been waiting for someone to take that little 450-hp Russian radial and build a 3/4 Corsair around it. An all metal (but much simpler) design would be great, just like Jim Stewart did with the Stewart S-51. Heck, you could do FW-190's, Hellcats, P-47's, etc. Anything with an R-2800 just 70% scale it and throw in an M-14P radial.

[F2G_lover]

I've been waiting for someone to take that little 450-hp Russian radial and build a 3/4 Corsair around it. An all metal (but much simpler) design would be great, just like Jim Stewart did with the Stewart S-51. Heck, you could do FW-190's, Hellcats, P-47's, etc. Anything with an R-2800 just 70% scale it and throw in an M-14P radial.

I've seen a few references to scale F4U's. That Corsair82 (82% scale) site hasn't been updated in a couple of years, and there was a WAR 50% scale replica made. This site seems fairly current, and is at 75%. They also mention possibly doing an F2G version.

http://www.warbirdreplicas.com/frmHome.aspx

I also saw a reference to a 75% F4U replica under construction in Australia, but haven't tracked down any more details.

As someone who could never (barring a major lottery win) get his hands on a real Corsair, the scale replica thing sounds pretty intriguing. I wonder what one of these 75% composite replica's would go for? Maybe I should think about learning to fly.

Also, seeing Lex's F3A-1 project for sale, I was curious if anyone had ever estimated what it would cost to get that back in the air, or if it's even possible. I'd think several million dollars, and years and years of work there. Courtesy's had a Sea Fury project on their site for years that looks to be a far easier project at around $300K.

[Warbird Kid]

Now ya got me interested. Those replicas are pretty cool. You could almost create your own fleet of every major version of the Corsair!

[Rob Mears]

Oooohh! That's the first I've seen of the replicawarbirds.com site. That's very close to what I had envisioned, though I'd prefer sheet metal. Problem is I don't think a replica that big is going to be much of a performer with just 150 horsepower.

I know the prop on the M-14P radial turns the opposite direction but 450 horsepower is what its going to take to motivate a scale warbird with a 30-foot wingspan. The M-14P engine is 4.5" taller than the Rotec but it offers three times the oomph - sounds like a far superior option to me. Also, its going to take that extra power to swing a properly scaled 3-blade propeller.

Now if Rotec would just make a prototype engine casing that supports a second row of cylinders, we might be in business! 300-hp would do the trick.

The profile of the engine on the 'Corsair 82' is just too large IMO (45" vs. 38" for the M-14P), which has necessitated that the plane be scaled up too much. He dodged the M-14P because he wanted an American engine with a prop that turned in the traditional direction. He's still stuck with an out of scale two-blade prop for that engine, but more power to him for making something happen to fill the nitch.

I personally think it will take a fine balance of airframe scale, engine profile, and horsepower to ultimately create a successful combination. It looks like the finished replicawarbirds F4U will have twice the weight of say an RV-4, so the understanding that horsepower options for the RV-4 begin at 150-hp tells me its going to be more about show than go for this one.

Then again, I may be wrong!

[Warbird Kid]

In case anybody cares heres a quick vid of a M14P running up: http://www.youtube.com/user/hdgeorge

[F2G_lover]

Yeah, that M-14P sounds like the ticket. 10.2L / 450 hp sounds a lot more Corsair-like than 3.6L / 150 hp. The Rotec sounds more like something you'd stick on a WW1-era replica. Get the Russians to put a 2nd bank on the M-14 and you'd really have something.

They do mention a 900 hp engine for the F2G, but that post is a year old, and a little short on details. I wonder what they'd use? Falconer V-12? How about a turbo-prop? I saw some mention of some of the Thunder Mustangs getting a turbine engine.

[tex-fan]

here is a p-51 Replica ready to go, it looks REALLY nice. but still not cheap at $341,198.
http://www.controller.com/listingsdetai ... 159921.htm
i couldn't pay for the fuel in a Corsair, much less try to own one. good luck on your quest.

[Rob Mears]

THIS is the standard by which all replica warbirds should be judged...(scroll down to the third to last album)

http://www.ripleyair.com/raprd15/index.php?option=com_expose&album=2&photo=4&playslideshow=yes

This little S-51 Mustang was fabricated by Mike VadeBonCoeur at Midwest Aero Restorations. The artisan responsible for P-51D Mustangs "Happy Jack's Go Buggy", "Lil' Margaret", "Cripes A Mighty" and "Daddy's Girl". I saw this 3/4 scale masterpiece at AirVentire 2001 and it was flawless inside and out. Even the interior looked like a shrunken version of a WWII combat aircraft.

[P51Mstg]

Doug Ripley is an artisan in his own right. Heck of a builder, an awesome pilot, and brave too. He delivered my son's Legend Cub and actually flew it with him. There are people who will not get in a car with that kid, let alone a plane. The Stewart is really awesome...

Mark H

[Mike Halbrook]

On replica warbirds you must closely check the "track record". The War repilicas have done quite well, we had a Corsair and a Zero at Reid Hillview airport in San Jose, Ca. I was interested in the "Thunder Wings" 3/4 Spitfire, FW-190, and P-40B replicas in the mid 1980's. Reports were that all their prototypes crashed. I finally tracked down one of their Spitfires in a museum in Norway. A friend translated the page for me, the guy tried to fly it once, the tail stayed on the ground and the wing didn't. After the repairs the Norwegian FAA told him he could not fly it again. A more recent 3/4 Spitfire crashed on the first takeoff under similar circumstances with fatal results. However the Australian all metal Supermarine Aircraft 3/4 and 90% Spitfires seem to be doing well.

[Chris]

I have to agree with Rich on this one. If your dream is really a Corsair, then the very fact that you mention a budget means financially you probably can't afford it. Insurance, and maintenance alone will make it almost impossible to maintain proficiency. I worked for a man who had very much the same dreams as you and did the whole T-6 thing but with only about 75 or 80 hours under his belt before transitioning into a P-51. Although he flew the 51 quite a bit, it was still quite an adventure at times (beyond just the normal thrill). This was a person who spoke in terms of millions the way most of us talk about a hundred bucks but with the real estate market crumbling the way it did, cash became an issue and the planes were not flown as much. Ultimately, the plane got away from him on a landing attempt with fatal results and a beautiful aircraft destroyed. In retrospect with 20/20 vision, the T-6 would have been the perfect plane for him just to fly the heck out of and enjoy. If you're positive you still want a Corsair, see if there are any out there with the jump seat and buy a ride. (anyone know if there are two seaters?). The purchase price of ANY aircraft is just beginning of what you're going to put into it. PLEASE, don't let your dreams get you in six feet over your head.

[Saville]

One thing to remember regarding scaled down replicas is that volumes - like the cockpit volume - drop as the cube of the length reductions. So it can get cozy in there depending upon your size.

I believe some scale designers widen the fuselage a bit, out of scale, to accommodate a sea-level standard American human.