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Posted by MoparNorm on Thursday, July 31, 2008 at 15:32:41 :
In Reply to: Re: Pappy Boyington! posted by Ugg, North of Chi-Town on Thursday, July 31, 2008 at 13:21:23 :
The most prominent feature of the Corsair was the gull wing, many thought that it was some top secret speed or maneuver design.
The truth was, it was an oops!....the 2800 Pratt and Whitney Radial engine required a 13' plus, prop diameter to get maximum power.
When the Corsair was modified for carrier use, the folding wing and the huge prop presented a problem, a fully retractable landing gear that was so tall, it was unsafe and did not fit inside the wing! The solution was the Gull wing design that became famous, it allowed a shorter gear to be used and all was well....= )
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