WhiteRook

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Recently, i saw an F4-U CORSAIR off the Maine coast. i was walking up from our dock
in boothbay harbor and i heard this low blade sound, sort of like a helicopter, and
throught the trees flying low came a blue corsair, he must have been mabey a 100
feet up , it sounded like very low RPM , i was amazed!!! THEN he headed right
up to the mouth of the river, out towards the ocean.
IT could have come from the Owls Head antique air show, in rockland, glad he picked
our cove to fly out over

way kool WAAAAY!!!

Bruno Stachel

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What a treat!

A few years ago, My father-in-law and I were cutting down a tree that had gone bad in my front yard. Luckily we were refueling the chain saw, and could hear that throaty rumbling sound coming toward us. Used to hearing jets and turboprops, I looked up to see what was making the unusual noise. It was a Corsair, coming right over the neighborhood! I believe it was Jim Reed's Corsair from the Indiana Aviation Museum, heading for an air show at Cincinnati's Lunken Airport. (I saw the plane there the next day.) He was fairly low, but not 100'. That would have been sweet!

Dr1Driver

That's neat.

Several years ago, a friend and I were in the Rose Hill, NC area. He was showing me some of the large crop farms in the area. We heard a low, muted roar. As we looked for the source, we saw 3 A-10 Warthogs flew over the trees about 500 feet up. It turns out, we were in line with the low-level corridor between Camp Legune and Fort Bragg/Pope AFB, near Fayetteville, NC.

My wife and I saw an F4U on the ground at the Centennial of Flight Celebration in Kill Devil Hills, NC, Dec. 2003. We walked around it (and the other displays), took pictures, and actually got to touch it.

Dr.1

VERY COOL!

dstonic

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I can remember seeing the F4U at a Satoma Air Show in lafayette, LA. I too got to touch a piece of history as well. What a fine machine she is indeed. I'm forturnate to have a father that worked on such babies as that in the Navy, as well the SNJ and TBM's. He mentioned a time he was in the hangar testing out the engine of a F4U. As he sat in the cockpit and slowlyyyyyyy increase power and brakes on he could make her skip on the concrete "erk-erk-erk". He said that was really a neat thing to do but was very cautious about it. One last story for all of you....he said one time he was testing the mag's on the engine of yet another F4U. He had been working on this plane a good while to get it ready for a pilot that was itching to get up into the air for his fly time. Well, he told me that he had it all put back together and sat in the cockpit started the engine and ran his test. One final thing he had to do was test the mag's. Welllllllllllll he did something he knew he wasn't suppose to do and switched the mag's from both firing to one firing. When you do that you have to go past the off position if I recall and when you do so, you cause a backfire. (I hope I got that right on the positions).........anyway, he blew the stacks off. Boy ole boy was he upset he told me, not to mention the PILOT hahahaha. All he could do was report it and his commander simply said, "well, you know what you have to do, start putting her back together".
Just thought I'd share this with all of you....hope it was ok to add to your forum. Thanks everyone.

Bruno Stachel

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"Just thought I'd share this with all of you....hope it was ok to add to your forum. Thanks everyone."

Works for me dstonic. Great story.

DRI Driver, A couple of years ago I went to the Corsair Gathering in Mt Comfort, IN. I shot some great video of one of the Corsairs starting up it's engine, then taxiing out to the runway. I could have touched her as she rolled by. Then feeling the prop wash as she moved on, dry blades of grass blowing everywhere. It was sweet.

I hope there will be another Corsair Gathering soon. If anyone is into Mustangs, I hear there will be a Mustang Gathering at Rickenbacker AFB near Columbus, OH next year.

dstonic

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Bruno, would you happen to have that clip available for us to view online? I sure would get a thrill of seeing one of these babies firing up.

Bruno Stachel

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I'd sure like to dstonic. But I'm afraid I'm behind the times, when it comes to converting my tapes for the Internet.[sm=redface.gif] I'll be working on it, but don't hold your breath.

Bruno Stachel

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This isn't mine. But I think you'll like it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YsCydVwiupU

WhiteRook

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thanks , its fun listening to all you guys.
Bruno , the f4u start up is great, when i saw this beast fly over, the engine sounded
almost right at the idle in the vid. choppy, you know.

i guess theres nothing like a warbird
it was definatly a kodak moment

Grampaw

The preceeding stories took me back to the summer of '51 during the Korean War. I was a Grunt in the 5th Marines. One day I was perched up on the rim of my Foxhole jotting down some notes on a letter home. We were on a ridgeline about a half mile or so from a ridge reportedly "owned" by the Chinese. Things had been fairly quiet and patrols had been sent out for a "look see." We weren't taking any fire from that direction, so I took advantage of the "lull" to get some peacefull sunshine while writing my letter. Then as the others here have said, "I heard a strange engine sound" behind me. Glancing back over my shoulder I found myself looking right into the business end of a dirty, battle marked, grimy old Hognosed F4-U coming right at me through the trees behind me! We had them come over us on Close Air Support missions many times, and we trusted those Fly-Marines with our butts, but this time I was just a tad concerned, especially as while I was looking back at him approaching I suddenly saw muzzle blasts from his wing guns and saw tracers going over me! My brain screamed "Why is he firing on us?" I had heard that 50 calibre slugs hurt like hell, so I dropped my tail down in my hole, fast! I popped up just as he went over me still firing those fifties close enough over head that the empty shell cases rained down on me! I saw two Rockets ignite and race out ahead of him! I watched as those Rockets left a trail of white smoke heading straight for the hillside and exploding a burst of flame, dirt and rocks! Then the pilot dropped his right wing, rolled to the right, make a steep climb over the trees on the hillside and fly away. There were no others, and he made just that one pass. I never did find out if he was just playing around or maybe disposing of Unused Ordinance before heading home for the day, or if he was called down for a mission? It was unusual for just one plane to come in, as they usually worked in a four plane group. Whatever the reason, he came over me in that "Low and Slow" configuration, literally dragging it to line up with a target that would have been impossible from their usual dive angle. Could have been a cave with a weapons crew hidden inside and a low slow head on approach was chosen. I don't know, but it was an experience I will never forget. I'm just glad we were on the same side. The Corsair was one fine combat airplane. And if you want a thrill, stand in front of one coming at you dead on, low and slow. It is scary, even if it is friendly!

Garthwood

Grampaw................Have to say WOW...........your detailed story got me goose bumps. In were double lucky, one for not getting killed the other is for seeing such as the Corsair coming dead straight, what a sight. As an RAF veteran myself, I never came close to a Corsair, in battle or otherwise. But have recently got the Hangar 9 F4-U Corsair, just love those wings.

Charles.

wvarn1957

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It is just as scary in the cockpit on one of those low-slow passes, 10 knots above stall, trying to put some ordinance in one of those buried hill side emplacements.

WW Varnado

1st Lt. USMC, 1st Marine Air Wing, Korea 1950-1952

LowFlyBye

I thought you all might like this shot...took it just before the rain set in at Oshkosh last year.

Garthwood

Lowflyby................nice shot. On standby for the mission.

Charles.

Bruno Stachel

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Nice shot LowFlyBye. [sm=thumbup.gif]
I have a couple of aft shots myself.
The first one is from the Indy Air Show two years ago. The second is from the Museum of Naval Aviation at Pensacola this year. Enjoy.