The F4U-1 Corsair is my favorite plane. When I first started playing Air Warrior this was my plane. I left it for the P38J but that was short lived. When you fly the hog you must have Energy and sometimes altitude advantage. A little speed doesn't hurt too. This is the Dib file from the box version of Air Warrior III. BTW I am not an expert on the Hog, all I do is fly it..lol..maybe I'll have some films on the Corsair later. (Of course by other pilots)

F4U-1 Corsair

   The Corsair embodies the American approach to fighters in World War II: build an enormous aircraft and load it with an abundance of horsepower, armor, and ammunition.

History
Part of the Corsair's greatness is the result of a fortunate accident. The need to shorten its landing gear, due to the weight of the plane and its intended role as a carrier based fighter, was complicated by the enormous size of its propeller. The unconventional yet adopted solution was to bend the Corsair's wings into their now classic gull-wing shape. This also put the wing roots at exact right angles to the fuselage - a configuration later discovered to be ideal for reducing drag.

The Corsair's sheer power was no accident. It's notoriously durable Pratt & Whitney Double Wasp radial engine produced over 2000 horsepower - one of the most potent aircraft power plants of the war.

The Corsair in Air Warrior - Relaxed Realism
Though a few F4Us served in Europe, the Corsair is only available in Air Warrior's Pacific Theater. As in the actual war, the Hog in Air Warrior faces many aircraft that can easily out-turn it at slow speed, yet it's faster than its more nimble opponents, except perhaps the Ki 84. Thus, the Corsair must stay fast and avoid turning fights against all the Pacific fighters, save the Mustang. Only at high speeds does the Hog handle well.

The F4U is an exceptional dive bomber and its advantages over the other two bomb fighter bombers - the Mustang and the P-38 - are durability and ammo load. In fact, the Corsair is the most durable fighter in Air Warrior and possesses the most ammunition of any fighter in the game.

The Corsair in Full Realism
In a full realism environment where planes cannot endlessly execute high G maneuvers, the Corsair is an even better fighter. Speed and durability, though important in any Air Warrior battle, become much more crucial when the going gets real. In fact, with the possible exception of the Me109, no fighter in Air Warrior benefits more from full realism than the Corsair. Many Air Warrior pilots believe that the F4U is clearly the finest full realism fighter in the game. Those who hold this belief, however, are among the most experienced of players. The Hog is only effective for pilots who know its secrets.

Virtues

Fast, and a good climber, the Corsair is also extremely durable; only the P-47 can take more punishment than the F4U. The Corsair dives better than the P-38, is faster than the Hellcat, and is far more maneuverable in the vertical plane than the Mustang. Further, with its powerful engine and low drag gull wings, the Hog may be the best energy fighter of all. Also it has, along with the
Hellcat, the most plentiful ammo load of any fighter in Air Warrior.

Vices

The Corsair's departure behavior is nothing short of horrendous; it takes both experience and skill to readily recover from spins in the F4U. The Hog turns
poorly in low speed, flat turns, and is easy meat when it gets slow.

The Corsair in Scenarios

No plane is better suited for scenarios than the F4U. In addition to its already detailed qualities, it also has excellent range and its performance holds up well at high altitudes.

Tips

You can sharply improve the Hog's turning performance at low to medium speeds (160-200 knots) by employing one notch of flaps, though this will avail you little against Hellcats, Franks and Zekes. Use throttle adjustments in nose down turns to cut your turning radius, especially in a looping fight.\

Against Zekes, employ the F4U's tremendous advantage in horsepower and climb rate to stay above your quarry. Against high Zekes, use the Hog's advantage in high speed maneuvering to make the Zeke bleed off its energy relative to you. Against pursuing Franks at co-alt, you cannot out-run them, but you can climbout on them using a 3k/min climb rate and WEP if you begin this tactic from top level speed.

Armament: six, .50 cal. machine guns. Ammo Load: 2350 rounds. Payload: two, 550lb. bombs.


Performance

The Corsair has excellent speed, peaking at 24,000 feet, and it maintains an impressive rate of climb, even at high altitudes. While its sustained turn rate is not as impressive, its ability to maneuver at high speeds is. The F4U also has a splendid rate of roll. Overall, this is a supreme high speed aircraft.


Performance Comparison

Although fast, the Corsair is by no means the fastest aircraft in the Pacific. Both the Mustang and the Ki-84 are faster at low to medium altitudes, and P-47 Thunderbolt is faster above 10,000 feet. Climb rate is another matter; the only Pacific theater plane that can keep up with the Corsair is the P-38, and only until it reaches 20,000 feet.

In sustained turning, the Zero, Ki-84, P-38, and Hellcat are far superior. However, in high speed turning, only the P-38 or the Mustang can stay with the Corsair.