Air Quiz

[liverpool annie]

Originally Posted by liverpool annie

Can I ask one without knowing the answer to the one before ??

Does anybody know why the WWII F4-U Corsair had bent wings ?

ooooh ooooh ! yes I do .... of course I Googled .. is that cheating ??

Air Marshal Sir John Frederick Andrews Higgins (1875-1948)

He was also known as ‘Bum and Eyeglass’. Dr David Jordan explains this remarkable nickname as follows:

‘“Bum”: The first volume of Barker’s history of the RFC in France, From Mons to the Somme, p.31, tells all. Higgins had a “jutting posterior” which, I suspect could have “large” transposed for “jutting”. “Eyeglass”: Higgins wore a monocle. The monocle was particularly noteworthy, since Higgins would fiddle with it when required to conduct “My office, hat on, no tea or biscuits will be served” interviews. He was popular with his men when a squadron CO, since he tried to fly as often as possible, and was concerned for those under his command. He was also known as “arsy-glassy” (soft southerner pronunciation of “glassy”, of course**)

[CXX]

Originally Posted by liverpool annie

Can I ask one without knowing the answer to the one before ??

Does anybody know why the WWII F4-U Corsair had bent wings ?

To accommodate the landing gear.


Since the landing gear had to be very strong to withstand the pounding of a carrier deck landing, a short, stout leg was required. Also, there wouldn’t be enough room in the wing to properly stow a longer gear. And, if the prop were shortened, much of the horsepower of the Double Wasp would be wasted. So, Vought engineers came up with the distinctive inverted gull-wing design which forever characterized the F4U Corsair. This "bent wing" design allowed the huge prop to clear the deck while providing for a short, stout landing gear. And, as a byproduct, the wing also improved the aerodynamics of the intersection where the wing attaches to the fuselage, boosting the top speed.

[Kyt]

Well done Anie, that is correct. In fact I am currently reading Barker's history of the RFC and that made me laugh.

Originally Posted by liverpool annie

Can I ask one without knowing the answer to the one before ??

Does anybody know why the WWII F4-U Corsair had bent wings ?

The F4 was built with a very large engine, and used a large propellor. For ground clearance a very tall under-carriage would have been required. But this was difficult to accomodate, so bent wings were developed, so take a short under-carriage. It was also found to be aerodynamically good.

[liverpool annie]

Originally Posted by CXX

To accommodate the landing gear.


Since the landing gear had to be very strong to withstand the pounding of a carrier deck landing, a short, stout leg was required. Also, there wouldn’t be enough room in the wing to properly stow a longer gear. And, if the prop were shortened, much of the horsepower of the Double Wasp would be wasted. So, Vought engineers came up with the distinctive inverted gull-wing design which forever characterized the F4U Corsair. This "bent wing" design allowed the huge prop to clear the deck while providing for a short, stout landing gear. And, as a byproduct, the wing also improved the aerodynamics of the intersection where the wing attaches to the fuselage, boosting the top speed.

Now you went all techie on me CXX !! ..... I think you said the same as this !!

Because to land on an aircraft carrier the struts had to be small to take the forces, and yet allow the propellor arc to clear the flight deck.

And you too K !!