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    This is an old training movie from ww2 that I saw some time ago. I noticed that many details are different from what I was used to in gameI decided to test fly the in-game Corsair and compare my results to the data from the movie. I never finished the job but my findings may be interesting anyway. What follows is an integral copy of the original article (or should I say "half article") that I wrote back in June 2009, then I abandoned the Corsair Comparison Project for some time and now (Jan 2010) I's finally adding a couple of new notes... but it will take some time to finish the job. If I ever finish it, that is.

   Supercharger vs blower

   The in-game supercahrger settings 'position 1', 'position2' and 'position 3' seem to activate the blower settings of the RL plane:
   Pos.1 = neutral blower
   Pos.2 = low blower
   pos.3 = high blower

   Take-off settings

   - cowl flaps 2/3 open (rad. pos. 6 for us)
   - rudder trim 6 deg. right
   - aileron trim 6 deg right wing down
   ** NOTE: in oder to do the last two with sufficient precision, you'll need to have ail. and rud. trim on sliders.
   ** NOTE2: our in-game trim handles (on the left side of the pilot's seat) are animated but the indicators are not (!) so this may require some practice ... or a modded cockpit. (You hear that, modders?)
   - elevator trim: 1 deg nose up
   - lock tail wheel
   - flaps up (flaps are used for short take off e.g. from carrier)
   - prop in full low pitch (prop 100% for us)

   Runway Take-off

   - 45 in. pressure
   - 2700 rpm
   ** NOTE: 45 in. pressure is a whole lot lower than full power!
   - use more power as needed on on short runways etc, up to 53 in. pressure.
   - lift the tail and let the plane gain speed without pulling it off the runway: it will fly off it on its own (IF you have the correct trim settings,that is)
   - make sure you have enough speed to take off (the movie doesn't say what's the take off speed. I guess it's just 'the speed at which the plane will leave the ground, with those settings', which will vary according to fuel/ordnance/weight/added drag/whatever)
   - Set throttle and RPM
   - pick up the wheels

   Carrier take-off, short runway take-off

   - half flaps = some 30 deg (take off flaps for us... unless you have flaps on a slider, which would be adviceable)
   - 6 deg right rudder trim
   - 6 deg right wing down aileron trim
   - 1 deg nose up elevator trim
   - full power
   - hold brakes. careful or it will tip over (no worries, our in game planes won't tip over. Also we can (and should) throttle up with chocks in, instead of holding the brakes)
   - release brakes and take off.
   - don't pull up too much, let the plane fly off.
   - pick up wheels
   - retract flaps at 110/120 knots (the Corsair's airspeed indicator measures in knots. 110 Knots = ~205kph or 125mph)

   Take-off differences

   - we don't have a way to tell when we have trimmed the aileron and rudder to extactly 6 degrees.
   - from my experience, it results that often the in-game Corsair doesn't need aileron trim (or sideways stick action) on take-off. Only some right rudder.
   - we can't tell when we have exactly one deg. nose up, but I guess you could use 'a little bit' of up trim.
   - as we often take off without that slight nose-up trim, we may need to pull up a little bit on take-off, rather than simply let the plane fly off as in the movie.
   - we don't need to be careful with the throttle when revving up with brakes (or chocks) in. Our in-game model won't tip over anyway.

   Climb

   - Best climb speed: 125 knots (154mph, 230kph)
   - military climb at 125 knots = ~3000ft/min with full take-off power (limited to 5 min)
   - normal rated power 43.5 in, 2550rpm, neutral blower (i.e.superch. pos. 1) at 125 knots.

    According to the training film, climbing at 125 knots with 43.5in. pressure and 2550 RPM is supposed to produce a steady 2000 ft/min climb, and 3000 ft/min at full power. My tests show that of our in-game Corsairs don't really match the movie's figures. The normal rated climb is close enough but the military climb att full power doesnt really keep a steady 3000ft/min for 5 minutes: even with cowl flaps fully open the engine overheats much earlier than 5 minutes, and you dont get to climb at 3000ft/min anyway. More like 2500 ft/min, maybe 2700 but not 3000.

There are some slight differences but the three stock Corsairs all climb pretty much the same, or that was my imppression during a quick climb test with each of them. The only difference worth mentioning is that between the only new slot Corsair (F4U1, 1943) and the 3 stock models: they climb almost the same at normal rated settings, maybe the add-on Corsair climbs a bit better, but the real difference is about the full power military climb: unlike the stock models, the add-on Corsair actually does 3000ft/min. I haven't actually clcoked if it would run at full power for 5 minutes, but at least it does the 3000ft/min military climb.

   Note that I'm not saying that the add-on Corsair is "better", or anything like that. I only said that it climbs somewhat better than the stock models at full throttle and with 2550 RPM. The climb rate at 43.5in. pressure and 2550 RPM is pretty much the same as the stock models.

   What's left to do...

   - find out what's the best altitude to switch supercharger to pos.3 (the movie's 13,500 is almost centrainly too little but the aircraft guide's 26,900ft is probably too much)
   - type data about cruise, combat, landing, etc. from the movie
   - compare remaining movie data and write the results.
   - find and point out differences between movie data and in-game model
   - add more details about the diffrences between RL and in-game cockpits
   - convince someone to do the same tests that I did and cross check the results.