My neighbor, Col. Dan C. Holland, served as a Marine Corps aviator flying the F4U Corsair during WWII, flying with the third VMF-214 Black Sheep Squadron. Col. Holland also flew the Corsair during the Korean War and served as Commanding Officer of the 7th Marine Regiment Forward Air Controllers during the Chosin Reservoir Campaign. A good man. He was as young at 70 as he was in his 20's. He passed away in October 2011 at the age of 90. A true member of the greatest generation.
Cool. My former neighbor flew Corsairs during the Korean War.his unit never flew in combat because of the freezing conditions during his time with the air group. He timed out before the group did see combat. He had a lot of stories about flying the Corsair. When I asked him what he liked most about flying them he said, the power. Being propeller driven they accelerated faster than the jets could, but the jets had higher top speed. Dean Thomas passed away in 2001. It was very sad news. Thier son was killed in a car accident, and he never had children, so we made our boys available to them. His wife, with my oldest one day, and when I went over to bring him home for dinner, her eyes were full of tears. She thanked us for letting the boys spend time with them, and when Dean Pasased away and she was unable to drive back out, she sold the house and stayed at their home in Oregon. I’m a richer person from knowing such loving people. Dean and Diane you won’t be forgotten!
I'm a retired tool and die maker. I was a little bit proficient in SolidWorks, but I am absolutely blown away by what I'm seeing here. Kudos to these people that keep these old planes flying. (and for Juan to know all that he knows about this plane....)
My dad joined the Marines at the age of 17 in 1944. He was assigned to Marine Aviation Maintenance and his first job was bleeding g the brakes on the F4U. I always loved the Corsair and sat in one years ago. The rudders were smooth as glass as I moved them. The lines on the Corsair are beautiful.
I have always loved the Corsair. I’m not a pilot or in aviation but do enjoy reading the history of WWII. The sound of a Corsair is like no other. This shop is up the hill from me and I’d love to see their operation but it’s my understanding they are closed to the public. They probably wouldn’t get any work done otherwise. Thank you for giving us a glimpse of their operation. Curious how many corsairs are they currently restoring.
I think using the front landing gear covers as dive-brakes is very cool , Had always noticed I thought they were perhaps larger than necessary, but now know why. Thank you JB
I also appreciate those that take the Herculean effort to put the old blue prints into modern computers for reengineering. All the work restoring these old war birds is impressive. The skills and determination of the owners and workers is incredible. Thanks Juan for showing us. I'm overwhelmed with the work going on.
I'm 83 and have been an airplane nut since I was five. Watching this video it suddenly occurred to me how much more complex piston driven aircraft are than jet engined planes. It also made me aware of how much more work is required of the pilot to manage the engine and prop controls. That made me wonder how they had time to fly the plane, especially in combat. My respect and admiration for those old fighter pilots has increased immensely. Great video. It taught me a lot about the Corsair I didn't know. Thanks.
Juan - this is, without a doubt, one of the most interesting and informative Warbird videos I have ever seen. Thank you for taking the time, and possessing the knowledge to make the manufacturing process so very clear. Simply awesome.
I worked for a year as an A & P at a facility that maintained WW II historic aircraft, incl a B-17, B-24, B-25 and a Corsair. I had the opportunity to hand fabricate some small airframe parts, Alunimum ad wood, and the detailed work that was required to match original blueprints was incredible. We didn't have the ability to mass produce parts for the warbird community but we could make some parts one at a time. It was really a dream job, but every day I would think about the thousands of Rosies and other wartime factory workers turning out thousands of aircraft and land vehicles that led to victory. If you've ever walked through a B-17 or other WW II aircraft, or done serious maintenance on one and thought about the sacrifices at home and overseas that went into that war effort it'll bring tears to your eyes.
This again shows how complex the Corsair was, and why it was so hard to build. And for modelers, that salmon color was correct for the early F4U's... Thank you for bringing us this progress report, Juan...
Juan, You have no idea how this vid helped me. Retired airline CPT, still active GA pilot, and a lifelong model aviation builder and flyer. Currently building a 12ft wingspan Grumman F4F Wildcat with a 5 cyl 250cc radial. I was hopelessly searching the internet for over 2 Years to find info about cowl flaps, how they are hinged and operated. The fact I see they are hydraulically activated also confirmed my worries that I need power to overcome the forceful airflow so close behind the prop. Made my day! Tks, Richard
It just astounds me at the technology that was being used in the 40s from the machines used to build and make the parts, to the actual flying machine itself and the engine and all of the thousands of intricate parts.
@@antman5474 actually that had zero to do what what I said I actually was referring to how far humans advanced technologically from the late 20s following the industrial revolution till the 40s from mechanical to science and the creation of the A-bomb. Then just 25 yrs later we would have a man on the moon, but yeah you're right, where there is war their is dirtbags looking to capitalize on people's suffering, just some countries,, people's do it better than others...
And just think, they built 12,751 of them in just a few years. If you have ever read anything about U.S. war production during WW2 it is mind boggling that a country of 135,000,000 people could accomplish so much in 3 years 9 months and a week. Could we do that again? Nope.
@@michaelmartinez1345 Actually, most of the people who designed and built war material were from the previous generation. That would be my grandfather's generation. My dad's generation took that machinery and kicked German and Japanese butt with it.
Corsairs always look like they mean business, even when in bits! As a kid I saw a RN Corsair at an airshow sat beside a RAF Hawker Typhoon.... RN received 95 "Birdcage" F4U-1 Corsairs (RN designation Corsair MK1). priceless memories. Ta Juan
Note: The end and credits got cut off of this version. Patreon has the correct version. TALENTED SHEET METAL SPECIALISTS WANTED! for this project- call Chuck at Vultures Row Aviation 530 676-9245 Cameron Park, CA.
The way you referred to the naval air station at Cherry Point made it sound like it was no longer in existence (at least to me.) It’s now the Marine Corps Air Station at Cherry Point in Havelock, NC about an hour drive from Wilmington.
I am glad that you are doing this is showing how the corsairs were built and being remanufacture. That was one of my favorite airplanes ground never flew one but I'm on I'm 70 years old and I love WWII please all right this is Bob from Vero Beach Florida God bless you say safe and stay warm and have a great week
Another tidbit of knowledge about the Corsair's Dive-Speed Brakes, when activated the whole gear strut would deploy partway, not enough to rotate the wheels straight ahead for landing, so the wheels provided additional drag. My info comes from a retired WW II Naval Aviator who graduated from flight school and was awaiting deployment to an operational Squadron just before VJ Day. His first Operational aircraft was the Corsair. He went on to a 20 year career ending up flying the early F4 Phantom and every Attack aircraft in between. Guy Franks
So amazing! They are basically recreating a new aircraft factory from scratch with the original plans. No wonder aircraft restoration costs so much, but I'm glad some are willing to do it.
Wow. Thanks for sharing this. About 50 Years ago I worked in the Com/Nav intermediate maintenance shop (bench repair) at MCAS El Toro with a NAESU Tech Rep Henry "Stoney" Stonestreet who was a Marine Air Wing retiree. He enlisted in 1932 and served during WWII in VMF-214 with Col. Greg "Pappy" Boyington working on these beautiful birds.
few AU-1 (F4U-6) were in Navy Reserve back then , saw even Fotos in Books of AU-1 in Navy or Marine Service with Gull Grey white Camo , not 100% sure but i think the Plane was stationed in Quantico Naval AB
I worked at the Com/Nav in VMGR 352 at El Toro from 1976-1981. I think we were still using the same boxes you were fixing back then. An old joke was that if we didn't have to carry the ARC-101 HF radios (2x), the Hercules would only need 3 engines.
@@coreyandnathanielchartier3749 I was with H&MS-11 and VMFP3. Our RF-4B's had an ARC-105 HF Radio that I worked on. The WM's could not lift it to put it on the bench.
I recall reading that this plane was designed , by two guys, in a few months in the late 30’s to meet a government deadline. My brother worked in the oil industry starting in the 70’s he was taught by guys that didn’t have degrees they learned by trial and error.
Always good to see you again Juan it's a jot when you come visit. The Video turned out great : ). Thanks to all those in the comments showing interest and support. It means a lot. -Cade
Fascinating! It's amazing that such a relatively small outfit has all the expertise to do all that stuff. Let's hope those old warbirds can be kept flying into the next century.
Wow, I am a sheetmetal guy, been restoring 1960s and 1970s racecars for 30 years, and it is obvious where everything we do, and how early racecars are constructed, came from. Super to see how these guys are building a brand new airplane, from plans, jigs and pattern copy, same way we do! If I lived in CA, I would come and work there in a heartbeat. Juan, thanks for that great walkthru, Chuck, cant wait to see that beautiful bird airborne!!
Can we just take a moment to remember that Cad-cam wasn't a thing in the 1940s, they were all originally designed and built with slide rules and paper plans, and let's also give a shout-out to Rosie the riveter! Thanks for a really interesting film JB.
Juan looking into the cockpit with lust in his eyes........ Completely understandable......... Edit: and they designed all of this in the 1930-40s. Simply amazing.
Juan when I was little in the early 60’s my Uncle Paul used to come up to Dallas from San Antonio and take me to air shows all over Texas. That started my love of aviation and my career at China Lake Naval Weapons center. Now I’m retired and you’re taking me all through all the historical aviation places. After working AV-8B all kinds of GPS weaponry then the F35, you’re my Uncle Paul. Thank you ( uncle Paul built a beautiful Pitts Special by the way)
Thanks JB for this update. I get a kick out of the VSA drawing @7:55 showing the application to Vought F4U-1, Goodyear FG-1, Brewster F3A-1 and F4U-4 (1945) variations of the Corsair. 78 y/o retired P&W Aircraft tool designer who knew people who did this work during WW2. Consider that this is the most simplest of parts and look at what that drawing and signing off entails.
Beautiful work they do there. For me the two best looking warbirds are the corsair and the Spitfire. The p-51 and p38 are right up there with them. I'd be a kid in a candy store with all those toys.
Hey Juan, with your ability to be a great aviation commentator this could open up to a new type of series for you/us! Not just crash analysis anymore. Bring it back to the making and rebuilding of planes. Love the Corsair!
As a teen,....I bought a large R/C plane kit. Essentially a box of various balsa wood sticks and sheets and a set of full sized plans. When I first opened the box I was filled with anxiety about how in hell I’d ever turn that pile of wood into a flying plane. I get that same feeling watching this video! 😂 I did eventually get my plane flying after a year of construction. 90 second first flight and then 6 month repairing it after the crash. 😂 it’s still flying albeit with an electric motor and batteries now instead of a big glow plug engine and nitromethane fuel.......
Juan, it's nice to see another of your videos where nobody spirals down out of the clouds, nobody loses a fight with an iced up airplane, nobody stalls out on base/final, and everybody makes it back to the runway....... The detailed pictures here are unparalleled for dissecting the inner works of the Corsair. It was a revolutionary design, and I'm most impressed with the utter simplicity of the intercooler (aftercooler) design. Minimum ducting, shortest path for the air, and requiring no protruding scoops. BTW, I'll bet that 'Y' pipe would be a fun one to recreate. I recall building models of the F4U4 back in the 60's as a kid. It always seemed a bit oddly shaped, with the barrel shaped forward fuse, and the fin set forward, but as I learned many years later, it was instead elevators set back that gave this impression. By 1945, the F4U-5 would have a automatic power system that handled the cowl flaps, mixture, prop pitch, I believe, and the supercharger controls. It was also the last single piston-engine fighter built in the US, outlasting all the rest.
As a fan of Mike Patey and his builds, seeing an historic airplane build project on your channel is really cool. I'm also a buff of WW2 actions, battles and equipment. Seeing the Birdcage Corsair is neat, forwarding this video to a friend of mine who is into model aircraft kits.
yes me too, I love seeing men getting back to work! I wonder if this technology and know-how will survive into the next generation of builders, or when these old dudes go, so do the birds?
Bunch of old farts that no one respects except in their field. I am going to volunteer to our local vintage aircraft rebuilders when I retire in a couple of years. I want to touch and smell and hear it all. Fortunately they are only 20 mile away from me. Been there many time poking around.
What makes your channel great, besides my love for aviation and history, is that it’s about your passion for aviation and not the almighty dollar. Great content as usual Brownie!
Such a cool piece of history. The hydraulic cylinders on the engine cooling system look like the hydraulic tensioners Honda uses for their timing belts. Its amazing that these engineers came up with these designs that long ago without computers.
This is GREAT!! more of this type of content would not hurt my feelings at all!😃...also, Juan is very gifted at narrating this type material, as he is his regular stuff...
I was a gas jockey in 1972 at The Great Atlantic & Pacific Aeroplane Co. I used to gas up a Corsair and a P51. I was in heaven just being around them. I also got to fly with Clay Lacy a few times and spend a little time with John Lear. Great days! Thanks for the show Juan! As always, it's quality.
The Corsair has always been my favorite airplane of all time. When I was a little kid I had a model I played with for hours at a time! I built many models of it too, including an RC version that flew great! When I got older I couldn't believe how complicated they actually were to fly!! Talk about pilot workload, holy cow!! Take off, gear up, flaps up, set climb power, and oh ya, shift the blower too!! LOLOL Great video Juan thanks much!!! 8) --gary
F4 Corsair Passenger Ride. My father was a Marine in WWii and served in the Pacific. He was trained as an aerial photographer. For no known reason he was assigned to a Corsair squadron. He spent time at Midway and saw combat on Okinawa and Ie Shima. He never talked about combat, but had some great experiences he passed on. One of my favorite was his ride in an F4 Corsair. They were looking for a volunteer to go on a mail run. He volunteered when no one else wanted to go. He expected a cargo plane, but instead the trip was in a Corsair. Apparently he was the only one who didn't know the flight would be in a single seat fighter plane. He said he was stuffed behind the pilot's seat and though it was not comfortable, he loved the ride.
Cool stuff. Out in the general vicinity of Ione and Sanders Aeronautics. In 2000 had to go out and pick up a gun turret for a TBM-3E that I was restoring being the amateur I was. While at that shop a FM-2 Wildcat was being restored. Then heard a powerful plane overhead and went out to see a Sea Fury coming in so went up the runway to Sanders. Welcomed me in and inside a Bearcat was being restored, Dreadnaught sat off to the side along with three other Sea Furies. A fabulous day.
Those are some lovely parts. I work with a guy who does 3D metal printing, among other things. With the high pressure and temperature post processing they can make parts at competitive prices to low run castings or forgings and with very good mechanical properties. I hope this can be used to bring back some old aircraft for which the parts just aren't available anymore, and which were forged when they were in production. I did some work on the Avro York at IWM Duxford and they had the same problems with the manuals, they were pretty much rough drawings of the parts and you had to interpret them based on what you had remaining to work out how a new part should be made. But that York was only being restored for static display, the engines from it are on the Battle of Britain Lancaster and the York has her old and lower spec Merlins.
My dad was an engine tech in the RNZAF during WW2 and spent a lot of time working on Wright Cyclones and later the R2800 fitted to Corsairs and Venturas along with the Allison V1710 in P40's. He liked the beautiful engineering of American engines (and aircraft generally) very much and said they were easy to maintain unlike the English stuff he was taught on pre war.
Talk about passion! My favourite photo one and only trip in 08 to Osh is standing beside a wings up Corsair, man their a huge aircraft. Scratch parts WOW!!!
This was one of the most interesting videos you’ve made. It’s impressive how much knowledge you have about the Corsair. Thank you for all of the effort you put into the making of this video!
Hey Juan, remind the guys putting her back together to not forget the black and white photo of the pilot's sweetheart stuck to the instrument panel. It's all about the details!
You should put Urbana Ohio on your bucket list. At Grimes field they are restoring a B-17G with parts from 4 different planes. Originals as you pointed out, back up the new ones recreated. Not far from Urbana is the Dayton Air Museum.
Those old birds are more complicated than most people think. So glad that somebody has the time & $ to restore these beauties to probably better than new condition. Looks as though this shop is (re manufacturing) these Corsairs. This is one amazing shop. Thanks Juan and the guys at Vultures Row Aviation for this video. Great stuff.
WOW, absolutely amazing! Always loved that aircraft, grew up watching Blacksheep Squadron and that aircraft still remains one of my 3 favorite fighters from WWII. Anyone have a wild guess of how many tens of thousands of manhours goes into a warbird restoration? Thanks Juan!
Those "clips" you said for the 3 wing mounted .50 cal machine guns are actually called "disentegrating links". The rounds of ammo were assembled into tbe links to form belts. A side note "the whole 9 yards" comes from WW I. The machine guns of the day were fed by cloth belts. A standard bolt of fabric is 10 yards long. Sewing the loops into the belts to hold the rounds of ammo takes up about 1 yard total. I believe. Hence the saying stated by the armorers who loaded the rounds into the reuseable belts and then the aircraft. I find your content informative and educational. Guy Franks
Fantastic video as always, Juan. A good reminder of the incredible ingenuity demonstrated during the war years to design, build, test, and industrialize production of these complex machines in such a short amount of time.
As a kid watching 'Black Sheep Squadron', I loved how the Corsair looked. It quickly became my favorite fighter aircraft from that era. I had no idea that this outfit was basically manufacturing much of the F4U from scratch. Thank you for this !!
Fantastic tour, Juan; SO nice to hear it from a pilot perspective. As a pilot, builder and design engineer, you explained all the structure and components so I could understand the function and design intent. I wonder how many of these machines they were pumping out a month: simply incredible the engineering and execution of an aircraft war machine like this. And the sadness when one went down, not to mention talented pilots lost.
This is so cool . The serious engineering in the Corsair is just phenomenal . Your video coverage is just fantastic . It`s opened my eyes to the complexity of the planes from those days .
Looking at that nice clean engine recall the 17 years i worked on R2800,R2000, and the occasional R3350c. Never were that clean once you fired them up the first time. 1100 aircraft oil in fifty gallon drums is what I recall. Turned black immediately and if you didn't see oil on the engine it was cause for concern. I'm still a AP/IA , started in the military in 1965.
Juan, I saw your sheepskin cuff and suddenly remembered it is winter in the northern hemisphere. 37*C (96.8*F) here today. Your knowledge of aircraft always amazes me. Thank you for all you do to educate us. (Edit: Thanks for the new word: cleco!)
it never ceases to amaze me how war time aircraft were manufactured, designs turned into reality, and they were built in their thousands so rapidly, i guess the major difference between then and now is the amount of man power that was available, nowadays these small dedicated teams have to reverse engineer using modern day methods that strangely hold back the time to build these magnificent flying machines, you'd think todays tech should speed that up Spitfires were turned out in a week, and now take up to three years to build with a load more safety in mind, and yet airliners are designed over many years (by many people worldwide) and again built in such a short period and then expected to fly many years, the maths has changed in so many ways, mind boggling
Fascinating insights there Juan thank you! The mind boggles to think that these machines were dreamt up in a time of slide rules, pencils & drawing boards and blueprinting. It's abundantly clear why restoration of these warbirds is so expensive!
What a great story. I am glad to see that your aviation interest are many other than flying heavy metal. As a retired pilot with a A&P rating I am impressed with the extent of expertise that this facility has in the restoration of the Corsair. The dedication to getting it right is amazing. Please keep us informed about the side stories in aviation.
You got to see that airplane in person? I'm jealous! ;) That restoration is a magnificent piece of work! The amount of time and effort, the skills and craftsmanship, and the techniques and technology revived to do this is amazing! Truly a work of art. I know that most of this work is probably a labor of love, but it still does not come without a great cost. Thanks for sharing with all of us. A great tour of this rare piece of aviation history. :)
9:35 JUAN, if I remember my time in the machine shop at the Grass Valley group. That since aluminum oxide has a natural oxidized finish. I think that's why they had to etch the aluminum was to get through the oxidation protective coating that naturally occurs on aluminum, especially on 2024.? Prior to spot welding... Great tour...
Excellent video, I worked for Bristol Siddeley, Pratt and Whitney and Rolls Royce a long time ago and your video stirred up a lot of memories for me, thank you RB, Nova Scotia.
Most every pilot is in love with the P-51 Mustang, but for me it's the Corsair. I was a Navy T-28 instructor pilot in the 70's and I always felt like I came along one generation too late. Of course no one wants to experience the horrors of war but I sure would have liked to have flown the Corsair. The Navy T-28B/C gave me a Walter Mitty experience and it was not hard to imagine what it must have been like flying the WWII radial engine fighters. It is powered by the Wright single row radial (9 cyl) with a 2 stage blower rated at 1425 hp. Comparable to the Mustang and Corsair in performance at low altitude; what a blast to fly!
My neighbor, Col. Dan C. Holland, served as a Marine Corps aviator flying the F4U Corsair during WWII, flying with the third VMF-214 Black Sheep Squadron. Col. Holland also flew the Corsair during the Korean War and served as Commanding Officer of the 7th Marine Regiment Forward Air Controllers during the Chosin Reservoir Campaign. A good man. He was as young at 70 as he was in his 20's. He passed away in October 2011 at the age of 90. A true member of the greatest generation.
Cool. My former neighbor flew Corsairs during the Korean War.his unit never flew in combat because of the freezing conditions during his time with the air group. He timed out before the group did see combat. He had a lot of stories about flying the Corsair. When I asked him what he liked most about flying them he said, the power. Being propeller driven they accelerated faster than the jets could, but the jets had higher top speed. Dean Thomas passed away in 2001. It was very sad news. Thier son was killed in a car accident, and he never had children, so we made our boys available to them. His wife, with my oldest one day, and when I went over to bring him home for dinner, her eyes were full of tears. She thanked us for letting the boys spend time with them, and when Dean Pasased away and she was unable to drive back out, she sold the house and stayed at their home in Oregon. I’m a richer person from knowing such loving people. Dean and Diane you won’t be forgotten!
Juan, this is why I watch your channel.
You are an asset to the aviation world.
Thank you.
I'm so glad people are doing such a great job of restoring this historical aircraft.
What an amazing place operated by some amazing people doing excellent work! Thanks for bringing us along, Juan, to see what these guys are doing.
I'm a retired tool and die maker. I was a little bit proficient in SolidWorks, but I am absolutely blown away by what I'm seeing here. Kudos to these people that keep these old planes flying. (and for Juan to know all that he knows about this plane....)
My dad joined the Marines at the age of 17 in 1944. He was assigned to Marine Aviation Maintenance and his first job was bleeding g the brakes on the F4U. I always loved the Corsair and sat in one years ago. The rudders were smooth as glass as I moved them. The lines on the Corsair are beautiful.
I have always loved the Corsair. I’m not a pilot or in aviation but do enjoy reading the history of WWII. The sound of a Corsair is like no other. This shop is up the hill from me and I’d love to see their operation but it’s my understanding they are closed to the public. They probably wouldn’t get any work done otherwise. Thank you for giving us a glimpse of their operation. Curious how many corsairs are they currently restoring.
I think using the front landing gear covers as dive-brakes is very cool , Had always noticed I thought they were perhaps larger than necessary, but now know why. Thank you JB
I also appreciate those that take the Herculean effort to put the old blue prints into modern computers for reengineering. All the work restoring these old war birds is impressive. The skills and determination of the owners and workers is incredible. Thanks Juan for showing us. I'm overwhelmed with the work going on.
I'm 83 and have been an airplane nut since I was five. Watching this video it suddenly occurred to me how much more complex piston driven aircraft are than jet engined planes. It also made me aware of how much more work is required of the pilot to manage the engine and prop controls. That made me wonder how they had time to fly the plane, especially in combat. My respect and admiration for those old fighter pilots has increased immensely. Great video. It taught me a lot about the Corsair I didn't know. Thanks.
Congratulations I learned more about corsairs in the last half-hour that I knew in my life and that's 60 years old
That is an impressive operation making new parts for many airplanes. Beautiful craftsmanship.
Juan - this is, without a doubt, one of the most interesting and informative Warbird videos I have ever seen. Thank you for taking the time, and possessing the knowledge to make the manufacturing process so very clear. Simply awesome.
Super cool! My grandmother riveted the wing root leading edges on Corsairs from 43-46.
I worked for a year as an A & P at a facility that maintained WW II historic aircraft, incl a B-17, B-24, B-25 and a Corsair. I had the opportunity to hand fabricate some small airframe parts, Alunimum ad wood, and the detailed work that was required to match original blueprints was incredible. We didn't have the ability to mass produce parts for the warbird community but we could make some parts one at a time. It was really a dream job, but every day I would think about the thousands of Rosies and other wartime factory workers turning out thousands of aircraft and land vehicles that led to victory. If you've ever walked through a B-17 or other WW II aircraft, or done serious maintenance on one and thought about the sacrifices at home and overseas that went into that war effort it'll bring tears to your eyes.
Even more so when you realise that we fought the wrong side.
@@MattyEngland we should have fought for the nazis? or the commies? wtf
Those last few lines made me cry because I know that feeling
Those really were the good old days, real chrome everywhere on the cars and safe neighborhoods that weren’t polluted with homeless refugees.
Hi Chris, Were all of the aircraft operational? Thank you
This again shows how complex the Corsair was, and why it was so hard to build.
And for modelers, that salmon color was correct for the early F4U's...
Thank you for bringing us this progress report, Juan...
Juan, You have no idea how this vid helped me. Retired airline CPT, still active GA pilot, and a lifelong model aviation builder and flyer. Currently building a 12ft wingspan Grumman F4F Wildcat with a 5 cyl 250cc radial. I was hopelessly searching the internet for over 2 Years to find info about cowl flaps, how they are hinged and operated. The fact I see they are hydraulically activated also confirmed my worries that I need power to overcome the forceful airflow so close behind the prop. Made my day! Tks, Richard
It just astounds me at the technology that was being used in the 40s from the machines used to build and make the parts, to the actual flying machine itself and the engine and all of the thousands of intricate parts.
I went through a WWII sub not long ago and was amazed by the same things. Engineers today...could they do this without computers and 3-D modeling?
@@jubelet I had a similar experience myself, submarines have always fascinated me especially the WW2 era subs they are just engineering marvels.
@@antman5474 actually that had zero to do what what I said I actually was referring to how far humans advanced technologically from the late 20s following the industrial revolution till the 40s from mechanical to science and the creation of the A-bomb. Then just 25 yrs later we would have a man on the moon, but yeah you're right, where there is war their is dirtbags looking to capitalize on people's suffering, just some countries,, people's do it better than others...
Whoaaa I LOVE this one. Love Corsairs and manufacturing / restoring ones is always a joy! Thanks Juan
I had no idea that the construction of a WWII fighter was so complex. I’m impressed!
It also depends on how rough of a shape it was in, to start with.
Not to mention how quickly they built them. I believe the P51D was designed and built in 120 days.....
And just think, they built 12,751 of them in just a few years.
If you have ever read anything about U.S. war production during WW2 it is mind boggling that a country of 135,000,000 people could accomplish so much in 3 years 9 months and a week. Could we do that again? Nope.
@@michaelmartinez1345 Actually, most of the people who designed and built war material were from the previous generation. That would be my grandfather's generation. My dad's generation took that machinery and kicked German and Japanese butt with it.
@@informationwarlord 😂🤣
A boat ..... or maybe a Sherman Tank. Whatever it feels like at the moment.
Corsairs always look like they mean business, even when in bits!
As a kid I saw a RN Corsair at an airshow sat beside a RAF Hawker Typhoon.... RN received 95 "Birdcage" F4U-1 Corsairs (RN designation Corsair MK1). priceless memories.
Ta Juan
Note: The end and credits got cut off of this version. Patreon has the correct version.
TALENTED SHEET METAL SPECIALISTS WANTED! for this project- call Chuck at Vultures Row Aviation 530 676-9245 Cameron Park, CA.
Is there a typo in title, 'Bircage' should be 'Birdcage'?
The way you referred to the naval air station at Cherry Point made it sound like it was no longer in existence (at least to me.) It’s now the Marine Corps Air Station at Cherry Point in Havelock, NC about an hour drive from Wilmington.
What was the name of this shop? I didn't catch it. Ezell Aviation is also building a Corsair. RIP Nelson...🙏
I am glad that you are doing this is showing how the corsairs were built and being remanufacture. That was one of my favorite airplanes ground never flew one but I'm on I'm 70 years old and I love WWII please all right this is Bob from Vero Beach Florida God bless you say safe and stay warm and have a great week
Another tidbit of knowledge about the Corsair's Dive-Speed Brakes, when activated the whole gear strut would deploy partway, not enough to rotate the wheels straight ahead for landing, so the wheels provided additional drag. My info comes from a retired WW II Naval Aviator who graduated from flight school and was awaiting deployment to an operational Squadron just before VJ Day. His first Operational aircraft was the Corsair. He went on to a 20 year career ending up flying the early F4 Phantom and every Attack aircraft in between. Guy Franks
So amazing! They are basically recreating a new aircraft factory from scratch with the original plans. No wonder aircraft restoration costs so much, but I'm glad some are willing to do it.
Thank You For The Tour . .
Brings Back Memories When I Worked In Line Maintenance At Canadian Airlines CP . .
Wow. Thanks for sharing this. About 50 Years ago I worked in the Com/Nav intermediate maintenance shop (bench repair) at MCAS El Toro with a NAESU Tech Rep Henry "Stoney" Stonestreet who was a Marine Air Wing retiree. He enlisted in 1932 and served during WWII in VMF-214 with Col. Greg "Pappy" Boyington working on these beautiful birds.
few AU-1 (F4U-6) were in Navy Reserve back then , saw even Fotos in Books of AU-1 in Navy or Marine Service with Gull Grey white Camo , not 100% sure but i think the Plane was stationed in Quantico Naval AB
I worked at the Com/Nav in VMGR 352 at El Toro from 1976-1981. I think we were still using the same boxes you were fixing back then. An old joke was that if we didn't have to carry the ARC-101 HF radios (2x), the Hercules would only need 3 engines.
@@coreyandnathanielchartier3749 I was with H&MS-11 and VMFP3. Our RF-4B's had an ARC-105 HF Radio that I worked on. The WM's could not lift it to put it on the bench.
Completely riveting viewing 😜
Never ceases to amaze me at the things we were able to accomplish back in the old days!
It's doubtfull todays engineers could get it done as good as they did back then.
I recall reading that this plane was designed , by two guys, in a few months in the late 30’s to meet a government deadline. My brother worked in the oil industry starting in the 70’s he was taught by guys that didn’t have degrees they learned by trial and error.
Wow, thanks for the tour Juan! Now I have to go and change my drool soaked shirt. You are indeed fortunate to visit a shop like that.
Always good to see you again Juan it's a jot when you come visit. The Video turned out great : ). Thanks to all those in the comments showing interest and support. It means a lot.
-Cade
Fascinating! It's amazing that such a relatively small outfit has all the expertise to do all that stuff. Let's hope those old warbirds can be kept flying into the next century.
These things were so intricate and built without cad software or ai airflow simulations.
Wow, I am a sheetmetal guy, been restoring 1960s and 1970s racecars for 30 years, and it is obvious where everything we do, and how early racecars are constructed, came from. Super to see how these guys are building a brand new airplane, from plans, jigs and pattern copy, same way we do! If I lived in CA, I would come and work there in a heartbeat. Juan, thanks for that great walkthru, Chuck, cant wait to see that beautiful bird airborne!!
Can we just take a moment to remember that Cad-cam wasn't a thing in the 1940s, they were all originally designed and built with slide rules and paper plans, and let's also give a shout-out to Rosie the riveter! Thanks for a really interesting film JB.
Juan looking into the cockpit with lust in his eyes........ Completely understandable......... Edit: and they designed all of this in the 1930-40s. Simply amazing.
Well, you must remember he is an A&P man.
Juan when I was little in the early 60’s my Uncle Paul used to come up to Dallas from San Antonio and take me to air shows all over Texas. That started my love of aviation and my career at China Lake Naval Weapons center. Now I’m retired and you’re taking me all through all the historical aviation places. After working AV-8B all kinds of GPS weaponry then the F35, you’re my Uncle Paul. Thank you ( uncle Paul built a beautiful Pitts Special by the way)
Thanks JB for this update. I get a kick out of the VSA drawing @7:55 showing the application to Vought F4U-1, Goodyear FG-1, Brewster F3A-1 and F4U-4 (1945) variations of the Corsair. 78 y/o retired P&W Aircraft tool designer who knew people who did this work during WW2. Consider that this is the most simplest of parts and look at what that drawing and signing off entails.
Wow and amazing. The cost of this blows my mind. Unbelievable
Beautiful work they do there. For me the two best looking warbirds are the corsair and the Spitfire. The p-51 and p38 are right up there with them. I'd be a kid in a candy store with all those toys.
"I'd be a kid in a candy store with all those toys." Ah.....that would be Kermit Weeks over at, "Fantasy of Flight" in Polk City FLA USA!!!
Thanks Juan…this was absolutely “riveting”….love it!!!
Hey Juan, with your ability to be a great aviation commentator this could open up to a new type of series for you/us! Not just crash analysis anymore. Bring it back to the making and rebuilding of planes. Love the Corsair!
As a teen,....I bought a large R/C plane kit. Essentially a box of various balsa wood sticks and sheets and a set of full sized plans. When I first opened the box I was filled with anxiety about how in hell I’d ever turn that pile of wood into a flying plane. I get that same feeling watching this video! 😂 I did eventually get my plane flying after a year of construction. 90 second first flight and then 6 month repairing it after the crash. 😂 it’s still flying albeit with an electric motor and batteries now instead of a big glow plug engine and nitromethane fuel.......
Juan, it's nice to see another of your videos where nobody spirals down out of the clouds, nobody loses a fight with an iced up airplane, nobody stalls out on base/final, and everybody makes it back to the runway....... The detailed pictures here are unparalleled for dissecting the inner works of the Corsair. It was a revolutionary design, and I'm most impressed with the utter simplicity of the intercooler (aftercooler) design. Minimum ducting, shortest path for the air, and requiring no protruding scoops. BTW, I'll bet that 'Y' pipe would be a fun one to recreate. I recall building models of the F4U4 back in the 60's as a kid. It always seemed a bit oddly shaped, with the barrel shaped forward fuse, and the fin set forward, but as I learned many years later, it was instead elevators set back that gave this impression. By 1945, the F4U-5 would have a automatic power system that handled the cowl flaps, mixture, prop pitch, I believe, and the supercharger controls. It was also the last single piston-engine fighter built in the US, outlasting all the rest.
As a fan of Mike Patey and his builds, seeing an historic airplane build project on your channel is really cool. I'm also a buff of WW2 actions, battles and equipment. Seeing the Birdcage Corsair is neat, forwarding this video to a friend of mine who is into model aircraft kits.
Please clarify, is it ‘Birdcage’ or ‘Bircage’ as in the video title?
yes me too, I love seeing men getting back to work! I wonder if this technology and know-how will survive into the next generation of builders, or when these old dudes go, so do the birds?
@@mtkoslowski Is Birdcage a variation of a Corsair model or was it the name of this specific airplane like Rarebear?
Awesome to see people with these advanced fabrication skills, in their workplace, using them on such a worthy airplane!
Bunch of old farts that no one respects except in their field. I am going to volunteer to our local vintage aircraft rebuilders when I retire in a couple of years. I want to touch and smell and hear it all. Fortunately they are only 20 mile away from me. Been there many time poking around.
Seeing how old planes are engineered and put together. Definitely one my happy places. Thanks.
24:44 "Give 'em the whole nine yards." Thanks for reminding us of the origin of that fascinating expression!
What makes your channel great, besides my love for aviation and history, is that it’s about your passion for aviation and not the almighty dollar. Great content as usual Brownie!
Wow! That's quite the undertaking!
Hat's off to the craftsmen!
Such a cool piece of history. The hydraulic cylinders on the engine cooling system look like the hydraulic tensioners Honda uses for their timing belts. Its amazing that these engineers came up with these designs that long ago without computers.
This is GREAT!! more of this type of content would not hurt my feelings at all!😃...also, Juan is very gifted at narrating this type material, as he is his regular stuff...
I was a gas jockey in 1972 at The Great Atlantic & Pacific Aeroplane Co. I used to gas up a Corsair and a P51. I was in heaven just being around them. I also got to fly with Clay Lacy a few times and spend a little time with John Lear. Great days! Thanks for the show Juan! As always, it's quality.
The Corsair has always been my favorite airplane of all time. When I was a little kid I had a model I played with for hours at a time! I built many models of it too, including an RC version that flew great! When I got older I couldn't believe how complicated they actually were to fly!! Talk about pilot workload, holy cow!! Take off, gear up, flaps up, set climb power, and oh ya, shift the blower too!! LOLOL Great video Juan thanks much!!! 8) --gary
F4 Corsair Passenger Ride.
My father was a Marine in WWii and served in the Pacific. He was trained as an aerial photographer. For no known reason he was assigned to a Corsair squadron. He spent time at Midway and saw combat on Okinawa and Ie Shima. He never talked about combat, but had some great experiences he passed on. One of my favorite was his ride in an F4 Corsair. They were looking for a volunteer to go on a mail run. He volunteered when no one else wanted to go. He expected a cargo plane, but instead the trip was in a Corsair. Apparently he was the only one who didn't know the flight would be in a single seat fighter plane. He said he was stuffed behind the pilot's seat and though it was not comfortable, he loved the ride.
Cool stuff. Out in the general vicinity of Ione and Sanders Aeronautics. In 2000 had to go out and pick up a gun turret for a TBM-3E that I was restoring being the amateur I was. While at that shop a FM-2 Wildcat was being restored. Then heard a powerful plane overhead and went out to see a Sea Fury coming in so went up the runway to Sanders. Welcomed me in and inside a Bearcat was being restored, Dreadnaught sat off to the side along with three other Sea Furies. A fabulous day.
Amazing video! Juan has the same look in his eyes a kid has his first time at Disney World.
Those are some lovely parts. I work with a guy who does 3D metal printing, among other things. With the high pressure and temperature post processing they can make parts at competitive prices to low run castings or forgings and with very good mechanical properties. I hope this can be used to bring back some old aircraft for which the parts just aren't available anymore, and which were forged when they were in production. I did some work on the Avro York at IWM Duxford and they had the same problems with the manuals, they were pretty much rough drawings of the parts and you had to interpret them based on what you had remaining to work out how a new part should be made. But that York was only being restored for static display, the engines from it are on the Battle of Britain Lancaster and the York has her old and lower spec Merlins.
My dad was an engine tech in the RNZAF during WW2 and spent a lot of time working on Wright Cyclones and later the R2800 fitted to Corsairs and Venturas along with the Allison V1710 in P40's. He liked the beautiful engineering of American engines (and aircraft generally) very much and said they were easy to maintain unlike the English stuff he was taught on pre war.
Every one of the folks working with Chuck are superb craftsmen. Last time I was in that shop was (probably) 2014. Thanks for the update.
I'm building a large scale model of the bird cage Corsair so these views are incredibly helpful. Thank you !
Talk about passion!
My favourite photo one and only trip in 08 to Osh is standing beside a wings up Corsair, man their a huge aircraft.
Scratch parts WOW!!!
This was one of the most interesting videos you’ve made. It’s impressive how much knowledge you have about the Corsair. Thank you for all of the effort you put into the making of this video!
Chuck was right there clarifying the info....
Hey Juan, remind the guys putting her back together to not forget the black and white photo of the pilot's sweetheart stuck to the instrument panel. It's all about the details!
That might be considered misogyny in this day and age.
You should put Urbana Ohio on your bucket list. At Grimes field they are restoring a B-17G with parts from 4 different planes. Originals as you pointed out, back up the new ones recreated. Not far from Urbana is the Dayton Air Museum.
You know your audience. FASCINATING ! Thank you !!!
Those old birds are more complicated than most people think. So glad that somebody has the time & $ to restore these beauties to probably better than new condition. Looks as though this shop is (re manufacturing) these Corsairs. This is one amazing shop. Thanks Juan and the guys at Vultures Row Aviation for this video. Great stuff.
WOW, absolutely amazing! Always loved that aircraft, grew up watching Blacksheep Squadron and that aircraft still remains one of my 3 favorite fighters from WWII. Anyone have a wild guess of how many tens of thousands of manhours goes into a warbird restoration? Thanks Juan!
This is a huge undertaking.
But I am trying to visualize the war time assembly line 😅😮
And how quickly these planes rolled off ready to fly.
Those "clips" you said for the 3 wing mounted .50 cal machine guns are actually called "disentegrating links". The rounds of ammo were assembled into tbe links to form belts. A side note "the whole 9 yards" comes from WW I. The machine guns of the day were fed by cloth belts. A standard bolt of fabric is 10 yards long. Sewing the loops into the belts to hold the rounds of ammo takes up about 1 yard total. I believe. Hence the saying stated by the armorers who loaded the rounds into the reuseable belts and then the aircraft. I find your content informative and educational. Guy Franks
An entire air wing's worth of knowledge bombs. Thank you Juan, amazing stuff.
Fantastic video as always, Juan. A good reminder of the incredible ingenuity demonstrated during the war years to design, build, test, and industrialize production of these complex machines in such a short amount of time.
As a kid watching 'Black Sheep Squadron', I loved how the Corsair looked. It quickly became my favorite fighter aircraft from that era.
I had no idea that this outfit was basically manufacturing much of the F4U from scratch. Thank you for this !!
I made a birdcage corsair model recently! Lovely plane, I made mine in FAA colours.
(Not a self-promo, I don't have a video of it)
It's so wonderful and exciting to see Corsairs being rebuilt from the original plans and modern technology!
Amazing the complexity of these aircraft, designed and built before computers, just paper and pencil and skilled workers.
An amazing tour an amazing restoration of an iconic aircraft. It is great that there are these dedicated craftsman to keep the warbirds history alive.
Juan practically ran through the hangar doors as they opened... like me at a supermarket when they open a new checkout!
Man this is awesome! Thank you for showing this. My favorite warbird. It’s amazing how much detailed work goes into these.
Fantastic tour, Juan; SO nice to hear it from a pilot perspective. As a pilot, builder and design engineer, you explained all the structure and components so I could understand the function and design intent. I wonder how many of these machines they were pumping out a month: simply incredible the engineering and execution of an aircraft war machine like this. And the sadness when one went down, not to mention talented pilots lost.
Freaking outstanding! Thank You Juan!
This is so cool . The serious engineering in the Corsair is just phenomenal . Your video coverage is just fantastic . It`s opened my eyes to the complexity of the planes from those days .
Love these videos!! I hope we get more updates on the progress
Looking at that nice clean engine recall the 17 years i worked on R2800,R2000, and the occasional R3350c. Never were that clean once you fired them up the first time. 1100 aircraft oil in fifty gallon drums is what I recall. Turned black immediately and if you didn't see oil on the engine it was cause for concern. I'm still a AP/IA , started in the military in 1965.
Thanks Juan, I love these presentations. Keep showing us what many would never see under ordinary circumstances. I find it fascinating.
Many kudo's to these people who are keeping history alive. Thanks Juan for this update.
Thanks Juan for this amazing insight into the complicated reconstruction of the birdcage and later marks of Corsair. What a dream job! 🐻
Juan, I saw your sheepskin cuff and suddenly remembered it is winter in the northern hemisphere. 37*C (96.8*F) here today. Your knowledge of aircraft always amazes me. Thank you for all you do to educate us. (Edit: Thanks for the new word: cleco!)
it never ceases to amaze me how war time aircraft were manufactured, designs turned into reality, and they were built in their thousands so rapidly, i guess the major difference between then and now is the amount of man power that was available, nowadays these small dedicated teams have to reverse engineer using modern day methods that strangely hold back the time to build these magnificent flying machines, you'd think todays tech should speed that up
Spitfires were turned out in a week, and now take up to three years to build with a load more safety in mind, and yet airliners are designed over many years (by many people worldwide) and again built in such a short period and then expected to fly many years, the maths has changed in so many ways, mind boggling
Wow, what an awesome video tour, thank you, Juan. Keep them coming.
Fascinating insights there Juan thank you! The mind boggles to think that these machines were dreamt up in a time of slide rules, pencils & drawing boards and blueprinting. It's abundantly clear why restoration of these warbirds is so expensive!
What a great story. I am glad to see that your aviation interest are many other than flying heavy metal. As a retired pilot with a A&P rating I am impressed with the extent of expertise that this facility has in the restoration of the Corsair. The dedication to getting it right is amazing. Please keep us informed about the side stories in aviation.
You got to see that airplane in person? I'm jealous! ;) That restoration is a magnificent piece of work! The amount of time and effort, the skills and craftsmanship, and the techniques and technology revived to do this is amazing! Truly a work of art. I know that most of this work is probably a labor of love, but it still does not come without a great cost. Thanks for sharing with all of us. A great tour of this rare piece of aviation history. :)
9:35 JUAN, if I remember my time in the machine shop at the Grass Valley group. That since aluminum oxide has a natural oxidized finish. I think that's why they had to etch the aluminum was to get through the oxidation protective coating that naturally occurs on aluminum, especially on 2024.? Prior to spot welding... Great tour...
To cut through the Alclad finish?
Truly, I didn’t know a shop like this exists. What an eye-opener. Superb production here. Thanks.
Wow, so much cool fabrication, right down my alley.
Excellent video, I worked for Bristol Siddeley, Pratt and Whitney and Rolls Royce a long time ago and your video stirred up a lot of memories for me, thank you RB, Nova Scotia.
Most every pilot is in love with the P-51 Mustang, but for me it's the Corsair. I was a Navy T-28 instructor pilot in the 70's and I always felt like I came along one generation too late. Of course no one wants to experience the horrors of war but I sure would have liked to have flown the Corsair. The Navy T-28B/C gave me a Walter Mitty experience and it was not hard to imagine what it must have been like flying the WWII radial engine fighters. It is powered by the Wright single row radial (9 cyl) with a 2 stage blower rated at 1425 hp. Comparable to the Mustang and Corsair in performance at low altitude; what a blast to fly!
Wow great show I love the corsair👍🇺🇸👍 you have to come back and review that again at some point .
Juan, you should get an Emmy for this series on the "Birdcage"!