Corsair sets speed record

Thank you snakeman

🙂

bentwingbomber this is a similar pic of TFC Corsair… 🙂

Steve Bakke’s -5, which was also at the Corsair gathering…bet that was a fun ride.

Yea, it was an incredible ride…that radial shaking what seems like the entire earth… I have a neat pic of us making a turn full bore down the runway, but was taken with my crappy digital camera and isnt zoomed in much, maybe i will post it.
Apparently Steve Bakke is no longer flying for Semitool, not sure who is flying the Corsair. I havent seen it in the air since spring. However this is not verified, just heard it through the rumor mill.

Appreciated, Crazymainer…looks like Makanna’s dates are wrong, as it WAS Oct.1 1940 that the record flight took place and it was a speed of 405 Miles and hour, not 404 (source…which I HOPE is right…”F4U Corsair” by Nick Veronico and John and Donna Campbell)…and even TECHNICALLY speaking, this was the XF4U that was doing the flying at this time, so not exactly a production plane…

Hmmmm…that’ll teach ME to post again…

Mark

The Facts are Straight

As the Corsair first flew on May 1st 1940 according to the above link, or May 29th 1940 according to British Naval Aircraft since 1912, that would be extremely difficult.

Ok Guys,

Here we go, from the NAVAIR 00-80P-1

F4U

Contract 6/30/38 First Flight 5/29/40 Last deliever 1/53

First Squadron VF-12 10/3/42 First modern fighter production model to exceed 400mph in straight level flight.

So I guess once agina Marks thread title is right :rolleyes:

The Mossie was develope to be a mediom bomber not a fighter that came latter.

Cheers Crazymainer

the calendar quotes Friday, Oct 1 1939 as the day the Corsair became the first American fighter plane to break the 400 mile an hour mark…says nothing about seaplanes or being the first AIRPLANE, period, to do it…just first American fighter.

Mark

As the Corsair first flew on May 1st 1940 according to the above link, or May 29th 1940 according to British Naval Aircraft since 1912, that would be extremely difficult.

As I’ve already said, the link also says it was the first production aircraft to exceed 400mph etc. I’m convinced the calendar’s wrong about the date but I’ve no reason to doubt that statement.

The Mosquito is widely stated to have been the fastest aircraft for about 2.1/2 years but as the prototype didn’t fly until November 1940 it beats that.

Guys you are missing………

Hey Guys,

You are all missing the point, all of the other aircraft you guys have mention were either Seaplane Racers or specialy build Aircraft to go after the Speed Records. The Corsair was the first Production Aircraft to exceed 400 MPH in Level Flight. Yes other earlier fighters Spit, Hurri and 109 did exceed 400 in a dive but thats just it it was done in a dive not straight and level.

So Marks thread title is right the orsair was the first plane to break 400mph. 😀

Cheers Crazymainer

…says nothing about seaplanes or being the first AIRPLANE, period, to do it…just first American fighter.

Which is different from this threads title…;) – Nermal

Sorry Mark, in 1934 the Macchi MC.72 (see my Italian Schneider seaplanes thread) took the world record for seaplanes at 709 kph, which by my reckoning is close to 450 mph, long before the Corsair had even been thought of!

But wasn’t the MC.72 a twin (in-line contra prop)?

the calendar quotes Friday, Oct 1 1939 as the day the Corsair became the first American fighter plane to break the 400 mile an hour mark…says nothing about seaplanes or being the first AIRPLANE, period, to do it…just first American fighter.

Mark

1943, I would say there were probably a few other types that could match that as well. The Me209V-1 reached world record speed of 469 mph in 1939 and the He100V-8 reached 464 mph the same year to name two. Corsair is certainly down the list
What could the Spit IX do flat out ?

Dave

I think 416mph is the most oft-quoted figure, but I could be wrong.

A modified Spitfire V once got up to 397…

As the pilot ‘Downwind’ Gillam was reminded by his nickname for the rest of his life…

Mark’s calendar’s got the year wrong, it was 1940. I knew it was delayed entering service but hadn’t realised it first flew that early.
The link I posted says it was the first production aircraft to top 400 mph in level flight. Sounds reasonable, I can’t think offhand of any other contenders in 1940. The “downhill” Hurricane had a hell of a tailwind. That could be considered cheating. 🙂

Sorry Mark, in 1934 the Macchi MC.72 (see my Italian Schneider seaplanes thread) took the world record for seaplanes at 709 kph, which by my reckoning is close to 450 mph, long before the Corsair had even been thought of!

1943, I would say there were probably a few other types that could match that as well. The Me209V-1 reached world record speed of 469 mph in 1939 and the He100V-8 reached 464 mph the same year to name two. Corsair is certainly down the list
What could the Spit IX do flat out ?

Dave

There’s also the Me209…

This is about the first US military aircraft to do so.

My Fav warbird and an excuse to post a pic 😀

Thought a Hurricane flew ‘downhill’ – Scotland to London – just before the start of WWII (thats 1939 for Americans;)) in less than an hour: that has to be around a 400-600 miles distance depending on the starting point…

Flood

I’ve no idea whether it was the first to exceed 400 mph or not (just thought – the S6b did it in 1931) but surely 65 years ago was before the first Corsair flew?

Edit
Found this
http://www.aviation-history.com/vought/f4u.html

64 years apparently.

Steve Bakke’s -5, which was also at the Corsair gathering…bet that was a fun ride.

Yes, the 400 MPH flight to break the record was in level flight…the U-bird topped out that day at 404 mph.

The F4U-5 like Bakke’s above (or Read’s) later topped out at altitude at 469 mph. Technology at work!

Mark

Here some pics of a Corsair based here in Kalispell, MT. (I’m in the backseat 😉 )