New Corsair restoration at OSH?

[51fixer]

Not mentioned in the thread at all, but what is the BuNo and is it a Goodyear or Vought aircraft?
Jerry

Try to Google the N number
N-Number N209TW
Serial Number 92489
MFR Model Code 3870512
Model GOODYEAR FG1D
Engine Model Code 52026
Year MFRed 1945

Rich

[Warbird Kid]

Good to hear that this bird will be fairly local. Im in awe and cant wait to see this piece of art in person!

[Rob Mears]

But I'm curious..what's with the dark sea blue on the undersides of the outer wings? Normally they were painted intermediate blue, like the sides of the fuselage and tail. I'm not saying it's wrong, just that I've never seen it before.

I've got numerous period photos showing what appears to be dark blue on the underside of the wing panels, matching the top side of the fuselage. The photos I've see where the medium blue is applied seem to correspond with the earlier red-surround national insignia. Maybe some of our more avid modelers can tell us if the tri-color paint requirements might have been modified to include dark blue under the wings at a later point in time. Being that the color of the underside of the wings would serve the same purpose logically as the top side of the fuselage while the wings were folded on deck, it would make sense to opt for the same color camouflage.

[k5083]

I'm pretty sure that dark blue lower outer wing panels were never standard; it was always intermediate blue.

In a lot of old photos it can be hard to tell the intermediate blue from the dark blue. In the 1970s this misled a lot of researchers/modelers/restorers into thinking that some USN aircraft were dark blue with white bottoms and no intermediate blue, which was never a standard scheme. You still see this on a few warbirds today, like the Corsair in Farmingdale.

However, dark blue could have been informally field-applied to the lower outer wings in some cases. I notice on this restoration that the dark blue panels extend inboard several inches into the non-folding portion, with a fuzzy demarcation line. That, also, is non-standard. Given the general calibre of the restoration, one would assume they wouldn't miss something like this, and that this aspect of the paint scheme is well documented. They've probably got a documentation book for the EAA judges with the evidence in it. It would be interesting to see.

August

[jaybird]

Its registration seems to indicate that it will likely be living in Delaware - John O'Connor having been the owner of the P-51D formerly painted as "American Beauty" - now with Chuck Greenhill.

Thank you all for the added photos - what a fascinating restoration!

Not necessarily. DE is a favorable state to form an INC or LLC.

[krlang]

Good to hear that this bird will be fairly local. Im in awe and cant wait to see this piece of art in person!

What is fairly local? I cant see where it is going to be based

[whistlingdeath77]

the plane belongs to Frank Andruss jr.......in my dreams!

[JohnTerrell]

Its registration seems to indicate that it will likely be living in Delaware - John O'Connor having been the owner of the P-51D formerly painted as "American Beauty" - now with Chuck Greenhill.

Thank you all for the added photos - what a fascinating restoration!

Not necessarily. DE is a favorable state to form an INC or LLC.

Very true! I guess we won't know until we know - I noticed that Airport-Data.com has El Paso, TX listed.
While owned by John O'Connor, the P-51D "American Beauty" could be seen at many stops, from Geneseo to Lakeland - and of course even Reno - hopefully we'll see the Corsair do much the same, one can only hope!

[yakdriver]

I'm pretty sure that dark blue lower outer wing panels were never standard; it was always intermediate blue.

In a lot of old photos it can be hard to tell the intermediate blue from the dark blue. In the 1970s this misled a lot of researchers/modelers/restorers into thinking that some USN aircraft were dark blue with white bottoms and no intermediate blue, which was never a standard scheme. You still see this on a few warbirds today, like the Corsair in Farmingdale.

However, dark blue could have been informally field-applied to the lower outer wings in some cases. I notice on this restoration that the dark blue panels extend inboard several inches into the non-folding portion, with a fuzzy demarcation line. That, also, is non-standard. Given the general calibre of the restoration, one would assume they wouldn't miss something like this, and that this aspect of the paint scheme is well documented. They've probably got a documentation book for the EAA judges with the evidence in it. It would be interesting to see.

August

John has more documentation on the Corsair than anyone else save maybe the Smithsonian. He has meticulously documented this one. I have watched this one go together from the beginning and it should get all the points for depth of restoration and degree of difficulty. Also should get points for the last minute thrash as they worked around the clock the last 6 weeks or so and were still painting stuff Sunday.

[Rob Mears]

I believe John O'Connor is from the Chicago area. Good news for you Illinoisites!

[JDK]

Very nice restoration, and I'm glad I'm not judging!

What's the story on the red on the gun ports and shell casing exits? Did they use red tape to cover them up in combat ops? I've only seen "normal" tape used.

Hi Django,
In the absence of anyone better qualified picking this question, here's my 2d. Can't speak for the USN, but the RAF and RN FAA used fabric doped on with (red) primer over the gunports, famously endlessly cited in stories of the Battle of Britain that the groundcrew knew the pilot had fired his guns when the gunposts whistled as the aircraft returned. There's the inevitable 'Spitfire guns firing' shot in every blasted sequence of film illustrating it. Less well known was that the underwing case and link ejection ports were often also doped over, even on fixed wing types. I'd guess that the folded wings, leaving the ports open to anything from above, particularly at sea, would be even more important to cover.

The Fleet Air Arm Museum's Corsair, the world's most original surviving example still has the glue / dope marks around the ports rediscovered after Dave Morris' team's work on the machine.

More US input welcome!

[Dan K]

A few more pics:

[AvroAvian]

A couple more from today..

Aaarrrrggghhh! I don't want to rain on their parade - it's a truly beautiful resto -BUT someone needs to show these guys how to do fire sleeving properly! It's not worth a pinch of pooh from what I can see here. The fire sleeve needs to be end dipped to prevent soaking up oil/fuel/etc and the ends need to be secured with the correct bands over the socket. See http://www.sacskyranch.com/hosemistakes.htm

[mazdaP5]

You asked for it, here's your Grand Champion!
http://www.airventure.org/news/2010/100801_awards.html

[yakdriver]

Well deserved after the impossible last minute thrash. With two Corsair Grand Champions under their belt could we have the "hat trick" in a couple of years when they finish Brian Reynolds Corsair. It is every bit as nice as this and the Kohs Corsair. I don't think three Grand Champions of the same make and model from the same facility has ever been done. Congrats to John and especially his hard working crew of craftsmen (and women). Don