Naturally all information given on this page is my opinion and doesn't necessarilly reflect reality. When I began this project my mind was full of questions and ideas that largely went unanswered due to the fact that there was no information available. Bill Steven's WARBUDDIES site is the best source of information on WAR replicas ever compiled. Bill has a knack for collecting information and it shows so check his site out.
CORSAIR SPECS & etc
Cruise 140 - 150mph is to be expected. Anything more is by grace and good building.
Vne (max speed) Jim Kern said 240mph however 210 is agreed upon by many.
Stall 55mph-85mph depending on weight. Most people report 70-80mph.
G force limits +6,-6 Supposedly one engineer figured the fuselage to be +12,-12!
Wingspan 20ft
Length 16 ft
Seats 1 6'-0" tall 225lbs 22" wide at shoulders would the maximum sized pilot that you could shoehorn into the cockpit of the F4U. Any larger than this would be unenjoyable!
Fuel capacity 10 -15 gal in fuselage. I have seen one corsair with internal wing tanks. Drop tanks have also been used.
Engine Cont 0-200 100hp I've heard of hp ranges from 85hp -150hp being used in this bird but 100 is a good starting point. Whatever engine goes out front 250lbs should be the max weight peferably much less.
Instrument panel Just enough room for VFR. Who'd be out of their mind enough to fly this thing in IFR/IMC anyway? Still, some have managed to adorn their birds with all the bells and whistles.
Landing gear Retractable gear turning ninety degrees. Besides the main spar, the landing gear adds so much weight to this bird. Unlike it's other WAR cousins the Corsair has the most complex and tempramental (prone to faiure) LG system. Don't think for one second that buying a WAR produced (1980's vintage) set of gear will solve the problem. There have been problems with old WAR LG too. With attention to the precision called for in the plans (and their revisions) ,machine shop equipment and tools the gear can be made to function reliably. Suffice to say that quality control must be high.
Materials used in construction Wood, Foam, Fiberglass, Aluminum and Steel
Build time 1500-2000 hours two to eight years! You might ask "How can it take this long?!" Most of the reasons are at the beginning of my MAIN PAGE. Besides setting aside time to build this thing you have to learn many new skills. These are your main enemies. That's why those who have bought as many premade parts as possible actually finish their projects. It may cost you an arm and leg to have someone make your metal parts but if they are made well it will pay off. (trust me) Naturally everyone wants an "extra special" bird and may spend enormous amounts of time rsearching their design changes and implementing them. Look at me! I'm changing the landing gear design and building my own engine from scratch! I also have a strong desire to finish which complement these lofty goals.
Space required for construction Aside from space for your equipment the dimensions of the plane in it's early stages are as follows.
Bare fusealge (wood box stage) Roughly 24"square by 12'-6" long (approx)
Main spar with outer attach fittings 7'-9" tip to tip (approx)
Main spar dist from front of fuselage 22" Rear spar 52" from front (approx)
As you can see a single car garage will do at first but you'll need at least a double car garage to finish the wings.
Costs These are rough costs of course. Scrounging can affect prices greatly! As an example; rod ends REP3BN are $40.00ea in catalog(18 req I think) but I got them for $9.00 ea at Sun&Fun airshow from B&B aircraft parts.
Metal (stock only) $800-1000
Wood $800 approx (if memory serves me) This includes Wicks pre-formed wood spar
AN hardware/brakes wheels $1000-2000 depends heavily on scrounging
Sorry I haven't done foam and fiberglass yet so no prices yet. Instruments and engine decisions vary greatly so you could end up spending $5000.00 to $25,000 or more for this bird. (Tools not included)
FLYING EXPERIENCE REQUIRED
A pilots license with signoffs for tailwheel and high performance is required
"LANDS LIKE A LUSCOMBE, FLIES LIKE A PITTS"
"IF YOU EVEN THINK IT, THE PLANE HAS ALREADY DONE IT" (Referring to the plane's very touchy controls)
I've talked to Bill Oprowsky who has owned three WAR Corsairs. I've also had the privilege to talk to other corsair pilots who have given me admonishments like the ones above. Without a doubt you can't expect even 1000 hours of conventional gear Cessna time to prepare you for flying this 80mph short coupled tailwheel craft. Piper Cub, Aeronca or Citabria time are nice for getting you aquainted with taiwheel aircraft. It would be best to search out a Luscombe or Pitts owner that can show you how to set a tricky tailwheel plane down and keep it nice and straight.
For those who are familiar with their Corsairs landings are not terribly difficult. In other words you won't always need to cringe when setting your bird down.
Tools required
Skimping on tools decreases enjoyment and possibly the quality of your work. Once the tools been used on the plane you'll ask yourself how you lived without them. They will be useful for many other things and might even spawn a new hobby or career. There is a lot of reading and research which needs to be done prior to jumping in to a project like this. When open the box the tool or piece of equipment came in take some time to familiarize yourself with the tool and any safety precautions before using it. Shown right is my hand after having the milling machine cut through a finger. the finger was half off but healed OK. Thank God! This taught me not to run the
machine to spin a drill chuck onto a drill. The spinning chuck
caught the drill and canted it sideways at 2000 rpm.
I'm VERY lucky to have kept ALL of my fingers.
I've had other accidents using some of the tools listed below which has taught me
an important lesson...
DON'T IGNORE SAFETY PRECAUTIONS, COMMON SENSE,
DIRECTIONS OR BAD GUT FEELINGS BEFORE DOING SOMETHING!
Having said that...
Some of the Woodworking tools include...
Cheap dial caliper is indespensable, Bandsaw, stationary belt sander, Table or radial arm saw, router, small plate of glass or razor for scraping, pipe or bar clamps (4 @36" and 4 @24") Several smaller clamps (lots of 2" and 3" and a few 4" and 6" clamps), Industrial staple gun (Or use hammer and nails for mating plywood for glueing) Small 1"x2" oak board (backing for properly scarfing longerons), plane, dremel tool w/small drum sander, wax paper, "L" square, A large sanding drum which can be mounted on whatever you want to use as a scarf tool. (Sears oscillating sander drum works well) Concrete blocks and other weights for gravity clamping during glueing, carbon paper.
Luxury wood working tools include a planer, Air tools like a DA sander, inline sander etc. are nice.
Some of the Metal fabrication tools include...
Minimum, must have tools (assuming purchase of pre fab parts) include... Drill (both handheld and drill press) Tin snips, 37 dgree flaring tool, small cheapie sheet metal brake or make your own.
Assuming you are like most WAR builders nowadays and have to totally scratchbuild the metal parts here is your list.. (deep breath)
Machinsts ruler, calipers (steel) internal snap guages, protractor or some means of angular measurement, Hacksaw, Metal lathe capable of threading (9" swing should be considered a min due to rigidity issues) Layout tools including a punch, various hole saws, .75" reamer for trunnion bores and possibly a 1" reamer (for trunnion tube post weld cleanup) Means of cutting plate other than oxyfuel torch... jigsaw, air rotary muffler cut off tool or plasma cutter, small angle grinder (4-1/2") bandsaw used for wood should have a blade available for metal cutting (just for cutting aluminum), wiggler (a must if not using a mill), small mill/drill such as RF#30 type(optional but very nice) A milling attachment for the lathe could ease the wallet. Rivet tool, torque wrench for AN hardware (inch lbs) Gas or TIG welding capability. Mild steel tubing and angle for jigs. vise with platform for hammering.
There is some milling required but it could be farmed out or acceptably done with a lathe milling attachment. Things such as chrome plating will need to be farmed out.
These tools are definitely needed although I'm sure there are quite a few accesories and other tools which could be added to the list.
