Vought F4U-4 Corsair Fighter Pilot's Flight Manual [Paperback]

Periscope Film.com (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 18, 2006

One of the most storied aircraft of WWII, the Vought F4U-4 Corsair was the first single engine production aircraft capable of 400 mph in level flight. With its characteristic gull wing and giant 18-cylinder double wasp engine, it proved a superb fighter in the Pacific campaign and achieved victory ratio approaching 10 to 1. The exploits of the famed Black Sheep Squadron of Corsairs was recounted by their leader, Marine fighter ace Major Gregory "Pappy" Boyington, in the book "Baa Baa Black Sheep." The Handbook of Flight Operating Instructions told pilots everything they needed to know before climbing into the cockpit. Originally classified "Restricted", the manual was declassified long ago and is here reprinted in book form. This affordable facsimile has been reformatted, and color images appear as black and white. Care has been taken however to preserve the integrity of the text.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

The Corsair was designed by Rex Beisel and Igor Sikorsky. Its most striking feature is the inverted gull wing. The design concept for the Corsair incorporated the largest available fighter engine — the 2,000 hp, 18-cylinder Pratt & Whitney R-2800 Double Wasp radial, turning an enormous 13'4" (4.06 m) Hamilton Standard Hydromatic three (later four) blade propeller; use of a smaller propellor would have wasted much of the power of the engine. The dimensions required the bent wing in order to keep the landing gear reasonably short and sturdy enough for carrier landings, while still providing ground clearance for the propeller.

Product Details

• Paperback: 100 pages
• Publisher: Lulu.com (April 18, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1411689607
• ISBN-13: 978-1411689602
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 11 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,026,304 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding look inside the cockpit of the greatest Marine fighter ever!, July 1, 2006

By 

FullFathomFive (Kings Harbor, Georgia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Vought F4U-4 Corsair Fighter Pilot's Flight Manual (Paperback)

If you're a fan like I am of "Baa Baa Blacksheep" then you have to have this book! It shows you everything you'd ever need to know about how to fly the Corsair, and wow is it interesting. This is an original World War II training manual. Despite that, it's not a hard read but a really easy to study book -- probably those kids flying these planes back in the War could not be expected to read anything BUT something entertaining! Anyway this is a must-have if you are a modeler or enthusiast. I can't wait to take this to the air museum with me and show off to the docents! They'll think I actually flew this plane.

3.0 out of 5 stars Vought F4U-4 Corsair Flight Operating Instructions, January 12, 2007

By 

G. C. Bracken (Garland, Texas USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Vought F4U-4 Corsair Fighter Pilot's Flight Manual (Paperback)

This is a newsprint style reproduction of the April 1945 Pilot's manual. The picture of an F4U-1 on the cover is misleading. The text is the F4U-4 manual. The illustrations will be helpful for historians and model builders. The operating instructions answered some procedural questions I had about the accuracy of some made for TV scenes I had viewed.

5.0 out of 5 stars Really really cool WWII era flight manual, November 16, 2006

By 

Mark Clark "Seeadler" (California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Vought F4U-4 Corsair Fighter Pilot's Flight Manual (Paperback)

This is an actual flight manual, the type used by pilot's in WWII. It's really amazing to read about how to handle in-flight emergencies, forced landings, not to mention just how to land this bird. If you ever flew one of these in Microsoft Flight Simulator, and you've wanted to know more about the nuts and bolts of what it's like to fly one of these amazing craft, this is IT!!