Warbird Information Exchange

I've heard all the stories about a Corsair hanging somewhere in the Airdock and/or plant and I looked at the other threads and learned that it was one of the Corsairs that is now at the Marine Museum.

http://www.warbirdregistry.org/corsairregistry/fg1-13459.html

I have a couple questions regarding 2 pictures I have found of this corsair.

1. The first picture is at Wingfoot lake. Is it hooked up to the crane for some testing? Or was Wingfoot the place where it was rumored that a Corsair was hung from a crane for many years?

2. The second picture is at Goodyear's Plant B in Akron, Ohio. Since this not hanging from a crane, does this fit the myth of "A Corsair Hanging In the Rafters of the Airdock"?

Just curious

Would you happen to know if there is a Corsair still on display in the Akron area. I heard there was still one in one of the offices or something. I was in the Air dock just over the weekend.

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Chris Henry
EAA Aviation Museum Manager

There is a Cockpit at the Goodyear "World of Rubber" Museum, but that is it. I was thinking about it just the other day and I'm pretty sure it was me sitting in the cockpit of that corsair when I was a little kid that got me into warbirds!

As for full corsairs, there is nothing.... we at MAPS have been trying but simply don't have the resources to buy one!

That is indeed the same airplane, but I would assume both photos are at the Airdock. (Any reason why you think the first photo was taken at Wingfoot?) I wonder what the Wingfoot looked like in the ‘40s? Was their an airfield there or was it just a manufacturing plant. I was always of the assumption that all final assembly was at the dock.

Jim

I have a reference to that one at...
http://www.aerialvisuals.ca/Locator.html#USA_OH
...it just happens to be the first item.

Mike

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Mike R. Henniger
Aviation Enthusiast & Photographer
http://www.AerialVisuals.ca
http://www.facebook.com/AerialVisuals

Do you want to find locations of displayed, stored or active aircraft? Then start with the The Locator.
Do you want to find or contribute to the documented history of an aircraft? If so then start with the Airframes Database.

For my reasoning...
1. "Wingfoot Lake" was what was written on the back of it by one of the engineers who worked on the Goodyear Corsairs

2. I compared the side of the hanger wall with that of the airdock in the picture below, and they did not match. Also, the windows seem different. The wall in the Corsair photo is consistent with that of wingfoot--just my detective work, I could be wrong.



As for what wingfoot looked like it the war, if you look at Google Earth, it doesn't appear to have enough space for an air strip. I could be wrong, but check it out for yourself.

The hanging Corsair I believe is in the GAC factory located at Fulton. There is no airstrip at Wingfoot.

jimh
former akronite

Hi,

According to the book "Goodyear Aircraft" that i purchased off e-bay, the -1- mile long Corsair assembly line was in plant "D". A plant "E" was later built to install the military equipment.

The MAPS museum has a totally wonderful video available of the Corsair Assembly process and the tail end has one of the protypes with the 4360 engine briefly shown. (shameless plug)

A while ago, I remember seeing pictures of one of the air docks between WWII and Korea and it was being used to "store" unneeded Navy aircraft and it did have airplanes hanging from the ceiling. I believe it was in an old Air Classics magazine. Multi-level storage does make good use of the building. The planes could always have landed elswhere and been towed or barged to the air dock.

I have a picture that a friend gave me, and is also used in the above book, that shows at least 70 Corsairs sitting on the apron at Akron. They also have a nice overhead picture of the Goodyear complex that shows at least 80 Corsairs in the same area.


May all your bent wings be F2G Corsais!

Kenn

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May all your bent wings be F2G Corsairs!