Using Flaps in a Dogfight with the F4U Corsair and others 

I spent 5 years flying a T6 for a ride company. Some of the flights were simulated dog fights set up on a converging flight path with pre determined offset and the turn in. As we flew with very conservative engine power settings our max g loading in a turn was limited to about 3g (plenty for the guy up front and nice to the airframe). Some fights were over in few turns but once in a while we would get two good "pilots" (most were non pilots but they flew the fights after 20 min flight lesson) and the energy management game was on. With the better ones we would start doing bit of vertical high and low yo-yos, all to decrease the turn radius and to retain enough energy to track the lead plane long enough for a "kill". This is where bit of flaps helped, but it was only the finishing touch as the energy loss was very noticeable. It was all done for fun, but the good "fights" took a lot of energy out of me.....once the "Fight's On" came across the radio the flying got intense. The most memorable fight was my last check out before being sign off for commercial flights. I went against a very experienced guy, we started at 10k and hard deck was at 2k.....To this day (15 years later) he will not admit that I drove him below 2k but he never said that he got me. I had the front seat guy fly the airplane back to the airport, I was spent. This was a high energy fight, power was up and flaps would not make any difference as we were going well past the vertical. I saw your video where you talked about the Cub, Stearman (yes it is a truck, still love it, look up John Mohr Stearman acro to see what a great pilot can do in that bird). I think you should find a T6 with the right instructor and go up for an hour to see what these WW2 birds are about. It is an amazing airplane, it handles like a fighter with less power. I was able to fly P51 with the instructor only working the radios after few thousand hours in the T6, it was so easy. Amazing power that you have to respect, but the landings in P51 were a non event. That wide gear, long fuselage and higher wing loading made it simple. Ok rambling on, great channel, thank you.

Aspects of design like this are often overlooked, but they are just as interesting! I've wondered about the pros and cons of different flap designs. Hearing about the theoretical turn fight between the Corsair and Frank really reminds you that even the small details can make a significant difference in a plane. Thanks for sharing!

Another great post. This was not something widely known about the F4U. I just wonder how many pilots actually used flaps in turning fights? It should be remembered that the Corsair had some interesting stall characteristics which helped to keep it off US carriers until late in the war. The Japanese N1K "George" also had automatic combat flaps as standard. It would be interesting to have a program on that. In regards to the P-38, I have seen in print that Tommy McGuire regularly turned with Japanese aircraft at low speed. He also was said to have "bent" some P-38's permanently while doing so. And on his last flight, he attempted to turn with his adversary without dropping his external tanks. The resulting stall at low altitude killed him. It would be interesting to see a program on the P-38 in this regard. I do not recall Bodie mentioning this aspect of the P-38 in his book. In Robert Johnson's book he recalls seeing a dogfight between a P-47 and a Spitfire. The P-47 won easily by fighting in the vertical, carefully using and controlling his energy in the fight.

Superbly educational. A welcome breath of insightful air on these topics. Duly moved. Love your channel. 🏆

Hi Greg Excellent video as always. May I adding something ? It's regarding the losses of F4-Us while maneuvering. At high angles of bank the phenomenon of wing stall reverses itself. What I mean is in a straight ahead stall the wing stalls at the root first which then propagates toward the tip. Stalling at the root sends turbulent air over the tail section which is then transmitted through the flight controls as shaking and vibration. This is the warning signal that even the most minimally trained pilot will recognize. This takes place by design. Nearly all aircraft are manufactured with Wing Washout. That is wing spars are manufactured with 5 degrees or less of twist root to tip and mounted to the fuselage with a higher angle of incidence this assures that any straight ahead stall will send the pilot a warning. In a high angle of bank the wing stalls from the tip. The only warning the pilot will receive in this case is the loss of back pressure on the stick, usually to late.

Always informative, you make it easy to listen to Greg !

I was flying an F4-D in IL-2 Pacific fighters on full real settings about a decade ago, when I encountered a Ki-84 coming the other way, Co-E and Co-Alt We did a level merge at high speed, somewhere between angels 10 and 15, passing eachother on the port side with moderate to wide separation, each turning into the other to form a big flat circle. Our position was neutral, but I knew that he would rapidly gain advantage if I continued to play his simple turning game, and that he'd be on my tail after 4 revolutions at the most. So, I asked meself what dto do, and my training immediately answered: When caught in an angles fight with a more nimble opponent, take the fight out of plane. I quickly rolled right to pull and kicked the Hog into a high YoYo, extending flaps as I got the Crest of the manuver, to came slicing down on him from over the pole and inside the circle. As my first burst brushed him, he reversed in a desperate attempt at guns defense, but I'd throttled back and thrown full flaps by then, and all he managed to do was weave back and and fourth in front of me, into and out of my repeated and steady bursts. Three of those and his starboard wing root was in flames, and a few seconds after that he was spiraling down in one direction, and his wing in another. I forgot to retract my flaps, and they jammed shortly thereafter, forcing me to rtb. If you use flaps for combat turning, remember to retract them when you're done.

I remember when playing WW2 combat simulators, I did extend flaps slightly (for those with variable angles) to avoid stalling :)

The Me 109 from the F onwards had split flaps with the radiator air exiting between the flap and wing thereby acting as a nozzle similar to P-51. Lockheed Electra & Hudson had Fowler flaps, had to get into small airports. Wing efficiency ie Lift to Drag ratio under heavy load is key to a sustained tight turning circle. Neither flaps or slats increase wing efficiency, they decrease though at least a smaller wing can be used which has lower drag. Slats don’t increase lift at any particular angle of attack but allow a higher angle of attack before stall and the higher angle is where the lift comes from.

Last year Americans brought a Corsair to the airshow nearby. They were flying extremely impressive aerobatics reeeaaly low. With poor stall warning? I was impressed back then, now I'm floored.

A couple times, you said "the only way to reduce drag is to reduce bank angle." I'm sure you know this, but that's not correct. The way to reduce drag is by reducing back pressure on the stick. Of course, then, to maintain altitude, you'd need to reduce bank angle to increase the vertical component of lift. I think this is important to point out for those who maybe aren't up to snuff on this topic. I've been binge watching your aviation videos over the past few days and really enjoying them. Keep it up!

A most informative video Greg. Was fascinating to see how a F4U-4 could maneuver with a Ki-84 like that. Learned new things today.

Excellent explanation! I actually met Joe Foss. (cactus af guad canal 26 vics). He really did not care for the early Corsair and your scenario explains why. Most of his best fights were at the edge of stall. Reference his book "a proud American". More nice work Greg.

The F4U’s flaps are amazing! It really tightens the turn and maintains altitude, if War Emergency Power is used. Another interesting aircraft that flap setting can benefit is the KI - 43 where the first notch really benefits tight turns. Interestingly enough, using flaps to tighten turns in an A6M seems to add a lot of drag and very little increased lift. Another interesting aircraft that benefitted from flap use to tighten turns was the Hurricane, even though it had but two positions. Dropping the flaps on the Hurricane really aided in it’s ability to turn. FWIW

I'm looking forward for you to dissect F-14 maneuvering capability!

Greg, well done!

Have you seen Kermit weeks explaining the vacuum operated flaps in the wildcat? Apparently you could deploy the flaps at a high speed, but they wouldn’t come out until airspeed was low enough for the vacuum system to overcome the force of the airflow!

I don't know if real life 109 pilots like Marseille really took advantage the 109's stabilizer trim in a turn fight but, in IL2 BoS it's damn effective....with a bit of practice it can make the 109 a vicious slicing n' dicing turning dogfighter.

I'm looking at the flight manual for the F4U and at 12,00lbs it states that 7.5 G should not be exceeded. No pilot in WW2 would pull 9G in combat except by accident or in a botched pullout in a dive bomber. G-suits were rare for most of the war and even then most pilots would lose it at 7G. The seating position in a Corsair is fairly upright and that doesn't help. Basing any kind of armchair analysis on a WW2 fighter pulling 9g is pure fantasy. Sure, you could get away with pulling more than 7.5G briefly but even if the airframe stays together (which it will), you will cause permanent deformation somewhere. Most designers use a safety factor of 1.5 over limit loads. Limit loads means you can use the airplane again. Ultimate load means you might survive, but the airplane will be scrap. Here is a reality check: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-XBbowRhTodE.htmlsi=oUgJZQYBIbO-h2gI

Cool! Thank you Greg.

The FW 190 had a 10 degree flap setting for takeoff. Have you heard of any instances of this setting being used to improve the 190's turning performance? I feels sure I've seen a spitfire pilot's report on a 190 outturning his spitfire, and some mention by a German pilot of using flaps in combat - but it was a long time ago.

Dude this guy is awesome.

So am I the only one who notices that letters/numbers painted on F-4Us are LARGE!

This is awesome. Thanks!

I think the Wildcat and maybe the P-47 had blowout flaps which would retract automatically or would not extend above a certain speed--at least not fully.

SUPER INTERESTING

I greatly appreciate your aviation videos Greg and enjoy watching them all, but I think you misspoke about the P-38 shooting down more Japanese aircraft (1800+) than any other at 6:39. That honor belongs to the Hellcat (5,156) apparently. If you have documented evidence to the contrary, I'd enjoy seeing it.

Is a turning fight something pilots would use mainly against a faster planes, like the Me-262?

Your Example between F-4 and Ki-84 did have some serious Flaws...because we asume the best Marine Corps Pilot, and Japanese Pilot how is playing the Game after F-4 Corsair Rules without G-Suit? What did happen when the Ki-84 Spirals upwards or did i high Yo-Yo after the F4 did a 9G Turn what produce a hell lot of Drag and F-4 Consitent lacking behind in Power to Weight Ratio compare to the Ki-84? Would not bring this as Example, all participating WW2 Nations try to avoid Dogfights, even japanese learned the lesson light Turn Fighter brings you no where in the Time of Hit and Run Tactics... But Flaps are intressting Thematic nice Video...

Crop photos for widescreen

9Gs??? the average human is asleep at 5Gs without a G suit...

OMG! This is what happens when a non fighter pilot tries to talk about dog fighting!

What about engine P factor?

Can I double subscribe? I feel like I need more than one subscription because this is the best channel ever.

It’s remarkable to think how advanced these aircraft were given only 35 years earlier...airplanes essentially didn’t exist. Also...your work and dedication is remarkable and greatly appreciated as well !

I have personally experienced this effect. About 30 years ago when I was managing the family farm in Hawke's Bay New Zealand, the local topdressing pilot (crop duster to the Americans), who new we had some fertilizer in the bin to put on, buzzed me at the shed. I raced up to the strip, He asked if we wanted the job done --'Yep'. 'OK jump in, we need to find the loader'. After flying around the district we located the Loader truck. As he had no radio contact, he had to buzz the truck to get its attention, in doing so he was pulling some quite tight turns and at one stage he pulled the flap lever which tightened the turn heaps. It was much like I used to do in my rally car on a acute turn. Incidentally the aeroplane was a New Zealand built (from an American design) Fletcher top dresser with a 450 hp flat 8 Lycoming and could carry about a tonne of fert.

One thing is that if you are flying on the limit with the highest AoA if you deploy flaps it could actually stall the plane because the critical AoA decreases! Lovely video Greg Thanks for the lessons!

"I'm probably gonna mispronounce his name" *pronounces name very well*

Did you know that Ed McMahon, from "The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson" fame, was a United States Marine flight instructor of Corsair pilots? He was about to be sent to the Pacific Theater when the Allies won, so didn't see WWII combat. However, he staid in the Marines Reserves and flew 85 combat missions in Korea, earning SIX air medals. I just found out last week, myself.

Japanese study titled "Study about aerial-combat flap" of N1K1 "Kyofu" (a flotplane, that later was redsigned to land-based fighter aircraft N1K1-J and ultimately led to development of famous N1K2-J) conducted by Yokosuka Ku (special detachement called Naval Air Research and Development Center) in March 1942 indicated that by use of flaps a turn radius could be decreased by as much as 20-30 % of the initial radius, however turn time did not show a substantial decrease. Similar results were achieved in vertical manouvers, namely loop, as loop radius was decreased and ending altitude was higher than without flap use. I have specific data and graphs accompanying them if you are interested. N1K1 was equipped with fowler flaps that for combat could be lowered by 19 deg. Overall I think Japanese put most effort in use of flaps for combat purposes as nearly all Army single fighters had them, starting with Ki-43 and Ki-44 as well as many Navy fighters (J2M, N1K and successor of A6M, the A7M Reppu). Some had automated flaps that were actuated by G loads I believe (though cant be sure about that, would have to get back to my notes on that one).

When the U.S. first started using Corsairs to "High Speed Dive" to attack caves in Korea, they ran into a Problem. If they were using the "Newer F4U-5 Corsairs", the plane could attack at 400 mph. and "Pull Out With No Problem". If they were attacking with an earlier WW-2 version Corsair, when they did a "High Speed Pull Out", the Corsair might roll hard to the left, while the Corsair behind him might roll hard to the right during the same maneuver. Not being able to figure out and solve the problem locally, they finally go a hold of an "Old School Chance Vought Engineer", who told the to change out the Ailerons with "New Ailerons". The Mechanics protested, saying that there was "Nothing Wrong With The Ailerons On The Planes". The Engineer's response was "Just Do It And Go Try The Dives Again". Sure enough, the problem was solved. It turns out that the Corsairs have Wooden Ailerons and the glue was "Old and Dried Out" to the Point that at those "High Speed Pull Out Stresses" would cause the Old Wooden Ailerons to Warp, thus causing the Plane to turn toward the Worse Aileron during the Pull Out. Who knew? Regards, Tom

Your videos are excellent sources of detailed data on aircraft performance! You make dogfighting into a rich, math-intensive experience, suddenly I feel overwhelmed. Did WW2 pilots really study all this detail to learn how to fight their aircraft? I'm really impressed!

Oh great this is a very interesting one. Thanks a lot buddy.

That's what I read constantly in P-47 pilot bio's, not full flaps, but what some referred to as bleeding flap,or turning flap. If I remember correctly, 5 to 10 degree of flap either at low level or altitude. Col. Eagleston, Boss of the 353 Fs/ 354 Fg. preferred a opposite stick to rudder maneuver to out turn 190's and 109's, break up their firing solution or for a snap shot of his own. F4U's though, they almost had barn doors for flaps, should've been able to do a "Button Hook". I know that'll over stress the airframe, among other issues. Great info, always a pleasure to lister and learn.

Could you do a video on the automatic slats on the Bf-109 and the Lavochkin fighters?

The Youngman flaps on the Firefly were reputed to seriously improve turn performance.

In sim games I usually perform a manewver I call the "super loop" its done after a headon or oblique crossing in the fighters path like a more extreme yoyo manewver where the enemy turns in a horizontal plane and you in the vertical fully deploying flaps at the peak resulting in a really tight turn that can rival more manewverable planes, it eats lots of potential energy so its a one shot moove.

Ah, millimeter paper, one of the most important tools in military for any sort of charts, from cartography to ballistics.

I scoff at 109 taking forever to deploy her flaps

Thank you!! My new favorite channel 🚀 I use your channel to decompress from auto racing. I live 45 minutes away from Reno . I hope to see you at the air races.

What a phenomenal video & thoroughly enjoyable & understandable with your F4 v. Frank example. Well done!

In 1944 the British ran a series of maneuver tests comparing their Lend Lease Hellcat and Corsair to a captured FW-190D. The Hellcat and Corsair could easily turn inside the FW-190D but the FW-190D had a better roll rate.

The Fowler flaps on the Ki-84 make it SO easy to kill extremely-overconfident F4U-4Bs in War Thunder. They dive straight down on me, and all I have to do is set flaps to combat, bank into a declining spiral and pull up right behind them as they try desoarately to climb back up.

" however, since no Allied pilot in his right mind would attempt to turn at low speeds with an Oscar ki-43...." That's precisely what got aace P 47 fighter pilot & squadron commander Neal Kearby killed trying to do! Unfortunately, he was in a race with other top Aces to achieve max combat kills before he lwas rotated out of the combat zone, and after shooting down one Oscar, his wingman another, he failed to get his heavy Thunderbolt back to altitude and speed before the 3rd Oscar pilot downed him

Your technological analysis of four types of flaps is quite interesting and persuasive.

War Thunder players: *deploys landing flaps at 700kph to make a 20G turn*

I am *not* a maths man! So much of these explanations escape my grasp. Still, it is immensely intriguing to learn. This also is why I am not an aviator. The main one is that I cannot see well enough to drive. How I came to find aircraft of such keen fascination is beyond me. C Hans Jochiim

Hi Greg. I left a message / inquiry for you on Discord regarding this video, and one other. Not sure how often you check your Discord, so I figured I'd see about alerting you to that via a YT comment here. Thanks.

Wow. amazing content.I really appreciate your effort to get down to my level.

I keep learning new things about airplanes, wonderful.

Very good informative video with good data. In combat flight aims I often use the flaps to force an overshoot or get the little extra turn performance I need to get a shot on an enemy but it is always costly to airspeed. This is especially important in the P-40. If you fail to shoot him down you typically have so little airspeed you might as well bail out.

Really interesting video, as always! Combat flaps will always improve your instantaneous turn but in the long run, the added drag will just slow you down too much. Maximum sustained turn time (as opposed to instantaneous turn) is always achieved with raised flaps. But flaps certainly do have a place in combat. A good pilot knows when to deploy and when to retract his flaps.

There's a video on RU-vid about an air battle called Y29 or something like that where Mustangs and Thunderbolts mixed it up with a large formation of German fighters on New Years Day of 1945, one of the maneuvers used by a Mustang pilot (pretty sure it was a Mustang and not a Thunderbolt) to turn inside of a German fighter at low speed and altitude was this one, it's a very interesting battle wherein most of it was at extremely low altitude, it is origionally from the History Channel and was made a few years ago so some of the men who were in it are interviewed, if I knew how to put a link up I'd do it but I'll bet if you enter Battle of Y29 it'll come up.

Hey Greg, you didn't go into detail on stall warning systems so out of curiosity I'll ask because I've never read anything about them before... What did they use as stall warning systems back then? I have a bunch of time in Cessnas and the only stall warning I've encountered (apart from control feel) are something like whistles that make a horrific sound when the airflow over wherever they are positioned, on the airframe is interrupted... Is that what they used then too? Or were there different and more advanced systems in use for fighters? BTW saying your videos are awesome is a massive understatement. Not really enough moving footage or pictures to keep younger people entertained but that never worried me and the content is so well compiled they don't really need it.

Movie - God is my Copilot - P40 used flaps to force zero to pass him to get Tokyo Joe.

did the British Firefly have fowler flaps too? (thought they looked a bit odd compared to others)

Ive always wondered about this. I didnt realize these types of aircraft were like the equivalent of a motorcycle to a car on land. As if the controls literally being at ur finger and toe tips. It always seemed it would take to long to set up for a manuever like that without already being attacked. It always seemed that its not as evasive as it sounds. So wasnt right nor wrong. As you were saying in particular models it was possible and in some cases undoubtedly used by a pilot with some no how. Pretty neat video. Thanks.

Just a few points for those interested. 9g only for very short period as pilot blackout and speed loss due high drag. Every wondered why flap use forbidden above 20,000 feet for all civil jet aircraft where TAS is higher. Found out when scissoring in mock combat at 35,000 feet against another Avon Sabre. I tried to tighten the scissor to get behind the other guy by dropping flap. Flicked immediately into a spin. Flap caused accelerated air above the wing to above Mcrit and Mach shockwave. www.captainbyronbailey.com

Thank you very much for making this..glad to have seen it, thank you for following up my? and i am very happy it spawned such a wealth of data

reminds me of Pappy Boyington and Baa Baa Blacksheep from the 70s

Sir, at what G load (at bank angle) will the Corsair be able to execute a maximum sustained turn, as you have mentioned here already that for most Ww2 fighters sustained turns are achieved between 60° to 72° of bank angle, where the aircraft pulls roughly about 3G.

Did you add the second Mossie episode Vs the P-38 yet? If not, any idea how soon we might see it? Or if it's already out, what is it's title? Not bitching, it just that your channel is my favorite and I wait on tender hooks for each new issue! PS. Great show!!!

Fly the F4U in WT it is only a shadow of the real machine :(

Marseille had his 109 set up in a way so that he could lower or raise the left or right landing gear to get tighter turns on Spitfires. the source is a friend of him who survived the war. The friend wanted to become a pilot too but got taken by SS to become a tanker. They later met in Africa and Marseille told him the mod of his plane.

I'd love to see you do a video on the Frank, it looks like an interesting plane.

informative and entertaining as always. Keep them coming. Not enough of this sort of thing on Ute-tube. 😁👍

Awesome vid. One thing to add is that this sort of simplifies dogfighting to hit-and-run or turn fighting, when in fact the widest amount of potential exists in vertical maneuvering for most planes, even "turn fighters" using displacement rolls, yo-yo's etc, which is what the pilots would have taken away from "don't turn fight". The example you provided, though, really pushes in the fact that a plane like the Corsair was the most maneuverable fighter in a turn above 300 mph against pretty much everything. A seasoned pilot would not have continued the turn behind the Frank, he would have displacement rolled into a firing solution once speed reached 300 mph to maintain energy (had a snap shot not hit prior).

nobody: WT player: use the landing gear as an airbrake

Nice work on this and your previous turning video.

Very interesting video! Ive always wondered how flaps really effected the planes in a fight.

Thank you,a very interesting insight to air combat,never seen previously.

I thought the Hellcats shot down more Japanese planes than any other Allied plane.

Y'see, kids, some Tubers actually do the HOMEWORK. Remember homework? Just have fun with it, it usually doesn't draw blood. TYers who do their homework or YTWDTH. Kidding. Not. Rare, sublime and beautiful research. I spent half of 1968 in the U.C.L.A. stacks, that is loving dedication to homwork.

Flaps ARE useful and WERE used in one condition: If you are jumped by a diving bogey that gets on your tail, you can suddenly pull full flaps in the hope that the bogey will fail to decelerate before he zooms past and you get a shot at his tail. I've read about this in pilot autobiographies, sorry can't remember who or when.

Dick Bong and Tommy MacGuire were both quoted on multiple occasions of using their P-38 flaps to turn-fight Zeros on the Pacific. They clanked when they walked!

Another bloody brilliant video, even if im still struggling to understand it properly! Im one to often not run flaps when dogfighting in il2, my personal perception was i found that they would wash of too much speed for little gain, many times getting me killed because speed drop allowing pilot chasing me to close within firing range. I tend to "run" vs engage unless i have height advantage and with height speed advantage i have no need to out turn other pilot, come in fast, hit them and GTFO! Im not professing to be very good, just this is the way ive found best to work for me. Mostly just use flap to take off/land. I also mostly use bf109 because its my favourite and maybe its flap design leads itself to this style of flying, i dunno!

One problem, A Corsair G limit is 7.5G not 9. So the remark at 10 minutes incorrect as it the turn calculation. Several errors in how combat actually works. In a fight, you (The astute Fighter Pilot! :) ) In combat you do NOT turn at 83.65 degrees LOL You maneuver based on your opponents position. You pull lead, lag or pure pursuit depending on offensive position, or use vertical to solve angles. If you're defensive you pull as hard as you can straight at him, or "Break." I'f you don't, you are giving him turn room. The Corsairs best rate AND radius is below 264 knots any how. Keep acceletaring above 250 knots and your turn becomes unbelievable. You could pull 10G at 400 knots and still not be making a circle smaller than a 220 knot airplane nor a better turn rate even though that guy could be at 3-4G. But air combat doesn't work at 83 something degrees :)

While the Dash 4 Corsair was rated for 9 G's, how many of its' pilots were? While G-suits were commonly used by 8th AF fighter pilots from late 1944 on, along with the K-14 gunsight, you see little mention of those in the Pacific. It would be interesting to see how common they were.

"No allied pilot in his right mind would to attempt to turnfight with an Oscar at low speeds". Was it THAT good? Would it outturn I-15s and I-16s, for example? (or maybe my definition of 'allied' is a bit too broad there)

I wish I knew how realistic some sims are. I use flaps to enhance turns in wings of duty, but I have no idea if it does anything. Thanks for a fascinating video once again.

Another great video lots of info to learn too Thank you for your posts !

Wow Greg, so interesting! I didn't know all this. You must research constantly. Thanks so much!

Bank angle has nothing to do with G’s pulled or turn rate or turn radius. G’s pulled, turn rate and turn radius are determined by the elevators. Either positive or negative. I fly aerobatics in case you are wondering.

The Frank pilot should force a two circle fight instead of keeping it in a one circle

when he says lower flap settings at 1:32, does he mean the flap is lowered more?

The P-38 shot more planes than any other USAAF fighter in the Pacific. But the Hellcat (navy) and Corsair (marines) both beat it in the number of japanese planes shot.

I think you would make a good Flight Instructor.

Saburo Sakai was caught out in a Lufberry with several Hellcats caging him in. This was, I believe, when the Hellcat first entered the Pacific Theatre and zero pilots suddenly found themselves with a more equal adversary. They each took turns to peel off into the interior and attempted to take him out. Each time this happened, Sakai desperately pulled back on the stick to avoid their fire. He could see their tracers zip by awfully close, but he knew how to fly the zero as we will never know. He avoided being hit every time and eventually escaped the trap to tell the tale. Now, it doesn't matter so much which mark of zero he was flying because he would have flown whatever he was sitting in to maximum effect. Wouldn't it be interesting to actually experience that extra sense of wisdom someone like he possessed so the plane can be pushed without going over toppling limits? Not exactly about combat flap settings w.r.t. the Corsair, I know, but relevant when it comes to going head to head with turn radius by instinctive feel.

🇺🇸thanks from John Robert Bruffett Junior of United States of AMERICA

Kawanishi N1K had mercury switches that deployed flaps automatically during tight turns