Saxman

First off, here's an April, 1943 BuAer communique: This came from around the same time as VF-12 and VF-17 were undergoing carried qualifications (both squadrons completed them by the end of April). VF-17 spent the entirety of the spring and summer of 1943 after completing qualifications embarked aboard Bunker Hill, and were successfully operating from the carrier during that time. It was also VF-17 pilots that helped train the first group of Brits when they arrived in the US in June. When Bunker Hill was ordered to the Pacific, VF-17 was embarked aboard and fully expecting to go to war from the carrier. It wasn't until they arrived at Pearl Harbor in October that orders changed and they were redirected to Espirtu Santo. Tommy Blackburn was emphatic in his book that it was NOT because the Corsair's were unsuitable for carrier use, but was entirely a logistics decision: The Navy didn't have the supply chains in place to support the Corsairs aboard the carriers, so VF-17 was disembarked to take advantage of the existing Marine logistics. There's also the strategic situation to consider: The US carrier forces spent most of the first half of 1943 rebuilding. Enterprise and Saratoga were in need of refit and repair, and their air groups were depleted. The first Essexes didn't arrive in the theater until later in the spring, and major carrier operations didn't resume until the fall. The Marines, however, were still in combat and desperately in need of fighters NOW. The Corsair was available in numbers first, so every airframe available (minus VF-12 and 17, with VF-12 eventually relinquishing their Corsairs) was being sent to the Pacific as fast as they could get them off the assembly lines. This meant there were no Corsairs available for the carrier squadrons.

This comes from a 1943 evaluation between the F4U-1, F6F-3, and Fw-190. I don't remember off-hand if any specific numbers were given as far as deg/s, but the results were explicit that the Corsair's rate of roll was equal to the Fw-190.

Nope, it was an F4U-1. It was from a 3-way test in 1943 with the Fw-190, F4U-1, and F6F-3. The boosted ailerons were first added late in the Birdcage run.

That could definitely explain it. And could also be why even light back-stick tries to throw it into an accelerated stall. The rate of roll also looks like it's off. During head-to-head tests run by the Navy, the Corsair's rate of roll was found to be equivalent to the Fw-190 at about 150 degrees per second. In DCS it clocks around 60, not even half what it ought to be.

The Corsair actually had quite light stick forces. And that's a BIG rudder with a lot of authority. (That said, it's way too twitchy.) The roll rate is definitely off. The F4U had a rate of roll equivalent to the Fw-190, so about 150 degrees per second. He's giving it a rate of roll of 60 degrees per second, less than half of where it ought to be.

Especially a late 1A with the paddle prop. It'd be more of a pure dogfighter than the 1D by carrying less ordnance, but being faster (no knuckle pylons) and a bit more nimble (the 1D had a heavier empty weight). Also, an option for a land-based Corsair with the wing fold mechanism and arrestor hook removed to shave off extra weight. It could be differentiated as an "FG-1A" or "FG-1D," since most of the Goodyear Corsairs were denavalized.

Would it even be possible to see the LSO in-game?

I wish that myth would just die already. The Marines got them because they needed new fighters first (carrier forces were still rebuilding at the beginning of 1943) and the Corsairs happened to be available in sufficient numbers before the Hellcat.

White 86 was a publicity plane that wasn't even part of the squadron pool, but was brought in specifically for that shoot. He sat in it exactly one time for that photo, and never flew it in combat. The aircraft he's confirmed to have flown are 17740, 17883, and he was shot down flying 17915. Those are the only BuNos I've ever been able to find records for, though he most likely flew others (from what I gather, 883 and 915 were delivered only about a week before he was shot down).

I'd like to have the flaps on an axis so it can actually be mapped to a lever. Also: PLEASE have water injection turn on automatically at full throttle like it does on the real machine, not as a separate button.

My observations: There's no real feeling of power from the engine. Acceleration seems anemic both in level flight and in a dive. Controls as currently implemented are VERY twitchy. The Corsair had light control forces, but the level of bounce it's getting with small control inputs is absurd. It bleeds energy extremely quickly. Corsairs were noted for good energy retention, but as implemented even short climbs can leave it drained of E and wallowing. Even with curves set, light back-stick has her wanting to snap over. Weirdly enough, this seems to be a bigger issue in Instant Action and air-start missions, and handling is much more benign when doing a Cold Start free-flight. Low-speed handling is kind of ugly. Despite its reputation, the Corsair handled well at low speeds. Roll rate was good and it was quite maneuverable, at least on par with the Hellcat, and superior to the Mustang. As-implemented low-speed roll is mush, and low speed turns just exacerbate the note above about even light inputs trying to flip her on her back.