WAR Corsair Taxi test report 5/13/2024 

I got to know a former Marine naval aviator, who was 95 at the time, who logged 2000 hours of Corsair combat time in the South Pacific, and then went on, after the war, to have a 50 year career as a crop duster pilot, and after he retired from that, flew a Super Cub on his Nevada ranch for 14 years. I was installing a off grid solar system on his mountain property, that had a fairly steep and twisty driveway, but one section was just long enough to land my RANS S-7 on I decided. I asked Jim, he said sure, have at it, but then he called that night and said he had had seconds thoughts, and was I SURE I could pull it off? I told him, Jim if I screw the pooch it's all on me, and he said Ok, see you after you land. The next day, I landed it, I have over 4500 hours of mountain off airport time and was confident I could do it safely, but what I wasn't ready for was when I told Jim the hardest part was the loss of viz over the nose on short final due to the slope and the narrow road, and how I had to get it all lined up just right before committing. He, who had never talked much about his Corsair time or anything about the war, said something I have never forgot, "when we were on short final for the carrier, the whole thing disappeared." The picture I took of him that day, standing next to my plane with a big grin, is one of my favorite of all the ones on my hangar walls, he's now gone, anyway.... great homebuilt!

Your bird looks absolutely awesome with the deployed flaps and the stance. You gotta' be proud!

You will love the 6" tailwheel! Great move. You'll be very happy with the 6" over the 4".

That is a beautiful Corsair! It keeps getting better.

Each day shows progress in getting airborne. It may be slow but, being meticulous to detail is important and rewarding in the long run 🙂

What a great looking aircraft in the sun light.😎👍👍

She’s one well designed & built Corsair

Getting closer and closer! Thanks for the update!

The excitement builds!

Wow it looks super in the sun light !!! What a beauty !!

I have been watching and waiting for the LIFT OFF! When your ready Ill be here with all the energy of a little kid. That plane is a beauty and she is looking great with flaps deployed and just standing there waiting fo you to start her up and airborne

It looks better, now that you've knocked the dust off of it!

Looks fantastic!

Beautiful aircraft Don ! Awesome work 👍🏻

WOW you're gettin' close now as all the little niggles seem to be corrected. Hope you get some great 1st flight weather soon and that your maiden will be buttery smooth and safe. 👍👍for your excellent craftsmanship and also patience to get her done right, before the maiden! 😁

absolutely amazing looking aircraft don! excited to see more!

Super sharp plane!

She looks great as always, keep the updates coming.

AWESOME AIRCRAFT, Don you have done an extraordinary job. It looks so good with the flaps deployed!! Can’t wait for the day you are airborne!!

super cool! cant wait for the maiden flight when its all ready and safe

Thanks for the tail wheel info. Take your time, I know you're anxious. BTW she looks fantastic just setting there; been a while since we saw her.

She looks even better in the 2024 springtime sunshine!

I would recommend against any high-speed or tail-up taxi testing. I’ve seen many airplanes damaged doing high speed taxiing and there’s little/no information to be gained from doing it. If it’s controllable at low speed, it will only get better with more airflow over the tail. Airplane looks fantastic.

I like the look of the paint job in the sun

Awesome progress! Glad you got her started up with a successful few runs! Can't wait to watch the videos once you get em in the next tests!

Man it’s looking beautiful Don

Looks AWESOME Don!!

It does look great with the flaps down.

Wow looks fantastic with the flaps down! Will you give us a heads-up in advance of when you're going to fly it???????? It might be asking to much for you to do a live feed? But I do hope you will have someone filming the event!!!!!!!👍👍👍

I got to the airport before sunrise to perform taxi test and eventually first flight. Early morning is perfect for light winds and no people. Towered airport, so I had ATC in my headset, which was comforting. Mine is a Zenith, so many flying examples. Not sure I have seen many of this design? Nevertheless, looking forward in watching you progress!

Don she looks absolutely amazing great job !!! 👋🏼 waving from Fallon Nevada M2 driver

Your plane is really looking great!

I hate it when something should work and then does not. It is always something simple, and I have all night to work it over in my mind (zero sleep however) Plane looks great outside, more taxi testiing then a tail life to go. Getting there sir, thanks for sharing Don

50 mph, eh? You are getting close to being airborne, brother.

Beautiful !

Glad to hear a good day.

Sweet, very nice work. This project plane is the coolest thing.

What a beautiful airplane!

Beautiful job!!!

Огромная работа была проделана. Молодец мужик. Привет из Сургута

Thank you for the up date : )

Looking good Don!

Judging from what I’ve seen over the years, I think Don should consider making a hobby out of this !😂 He’s great!

hope the maiden goes awesome, been watching this channel for many months now. What is he scale compared to the full scale. Im working on an RC model that is 1/4.5 scale. Power is my a Moki 5 cylinder engine swinging a 32" dia 3 blade prop., putting out about 15 HP. love the corsair

If you are in doubt whether to fly or not, do not fly. The closer the flight, the more excitement, but you don't need excitement, you need sureness. If there is no sureness, there is no flight. Leave the excitement to the watchers, that's why we're watching.

Another great update…

Find a camera man to get video's of the taxi runs and finally take off & landing. Beautiful Corsair , one of my favorites.

Can’t help but love the stand of a F4U! Looks great with the flaps deployed. Those little gremlins have gotta be driving you crazy. Are you gonna take her up the first time, or are you going to have a test pilot take her up?

Don, are you developing a POH for the Corsair? Especially fuel consumption (taxi, departure, climb, cruise, etc.), common safety procedures, and so on.

She looks awful good out there in the sunshine Don !!! I looked online for the Pilot's Operating Handbook for this bird so I could see all of it's various 'V' speeds plus comments on general handling characteristics, and could not find one. Did they supply that with plans or are you on your own?

It will fly when it flies as you say. I just t love the plane, the color all of it. Also watching you overcome obstacles with your mechanical and electronics mastery. Keep up the "wizardry...

1000/10 0.5 scale aircraft!

cute plane

Curious, what's an estimated test flight date! 2029? Great looking model!

Still waiting to see her in the air.

Howdy Don, I've been watching for a while now, but I've never caught what the weight of this bird is.

Are you still planning to replace the bubble canopy? I remember it was a bit too low some long while back.

maybe hire someone else to fly it

👍👍👍

Nice gokart! How many miles do you have on it now?

amazing, its a credit to you 😊😊😊

If your renting that hanger, keep a tool box there. why didn't you attach the camera to the belly

Are you nervous? Want me to fly it for you? It needs to be in the air.

What are you flying now ro keep your skills up?

How close are you to flying it sir

When is it going to finally fly ?

Will this ever fly??

Arent you in PA?

Scale rockets would sure look nice to dress her up with her ballroom pearls. You could even put fireworks charges on them to make them spark and smoke at airshows! You do quality work sir. You are a prime example of the American Craftsman. RC scratch building taken to the next step. A lost element for the hobby for nearly all. 95% of RC pilots dont bother to build any more, if they do its a kit, that's OK but from scratch almost never. I still have my giant Quaker in the garage. Today its all Chinese Styrofoam and Chinese electrics instead of quality American, European or Japanese engines and the smell of nitro fuel. sad. The government forcing registrations on RC pilots will be the end of the hobby.

First flight, ?😂

Update: 5/3/2031: I have almost reached perfection and close to a gaurantee that nothing will go wrong but I am still scared. Maybe I should have just gone into RC flying but their is still a risk of thumb injury from the repetitve motion of the thumbs on the remote. Maybe I will just watch other people fly. That's much safer!

Sabotage, someone doesn’t want you to fly this plane.