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Aviation History
1943
1943 - 1240.PDF
5O2 FLIGHT MAY 13TH, 1943 Vought- Sikorsky Corsair New Pictures of America's Newest Shipboard Fighter : A 400 m.p.h." plus Type for US. Navy WHEN the Corsair first appeared it was credited witha speed of 366 m.p.h. at 16,500ft. It was thenpowered by a Pratt and Whitney Double Wasp of 1,500 h.p. at 2,400 r.p.m., with a take-off power of 1,850 h.p. The output of the Double Wasp has been stepped up until it is now claimed to give something in the region of 2,000 h.p. The airframe has also undergone slight modifi- cations—the nose is slightly longer and the cockpit cover redesigned—and it is said that the sum of these improve- ments has resulted in the maximum speed going over the 400 m.p.h. mark. A jump of 40 m.p.h. is a big increase at these speeds. Despite the fact that it complicates manufacture to a severe degree, the cranked wing root arrangement has been adhered to in order that the wing should make as near as is possible a right angle to the fuselage. This lessens inter- ference drag, which is a fruitful source of disappointing top speeds, and may reduce tail buffeting. Another un- doubted advantage of the cranked wing root is that the undercarriage legs are kept short, without bringing the airscrew perilously close to the ground. As it is, to accom- modate the extra horses of the Double Wasp it has been found necessary to employ a four-bladed airscrew in place of the three butter-pat-bladed model shown in the ground photograph on tits page. Both the three-bladed and four- bladed airscrews are Hamilton Standard hydromatics, which correspond roughly to the de Havilland hydromatic built over here. It is interesting to note the size of radiator now required to cool the oil alone of a 2,000 h.p. engine. The oil radiator surface of the modern high-powered, air- 2,000 h.p. Pratt fc Whitney Double Wasp Engine. Span 40ft. 3 in. Length 31ft. 6hi. A three-view general-arrangement drawing of the Vought-Sikorsky Corsair shipboard fighter. cooled radial engine is greater than that required for the main cooling of a liquid- cooled engine a few years back. All three wheels retract— the main wheels being totally submerged within the wing section. As the wheel moves backward and upward it turns through 90 degrees, while the leg fairing rises on a plain hinge. Incidental to their use as fairings when the undercarriage is up, these leg covers must form' effective air brakes when coming in to land. What happens to the airflow over the tail when the legs and lift flaps are down can only be guessed at, but considerable buffeting would be expected. In the style now come to be almost universal, the fin and rudder are stepped well ahead of the tailplane and An interim version of the Corsair with a three-bladed Hamilton hydromatic airscrew.
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