The SteelNavy.Com Message Board: Re: Sorry Ralph, another bit of bad info...

I have long since deleted my sources, but I could swear I had read the starboard wing stalled before the port one (though I find myself increasingly prone to mixing these sorts of things up nowdays...) So, it followed that wing needed lift enhancement. It now looks to be the other way around. Either a bad source, or I mixed them up. (I did notice the plane roll to the left in my video below...)

This is what AI has, and the video shows it:

"Historically, the Vought F4U Corsair's starboard (right) wing did not stall first. Instead, its massive propeller torque, combined with low speeds during carrier landings, caused the left wing to drop. To fix this, engineers attached a 6-inch stall strip to the leading edge of the right wing to force it to stall symmetrically. [1, 2, 3]

The Original Problem: Left-Wing Stalls

Early Corsairs featured a massive, 2,000-horsepower engine. When flying at slow speeds with a high angle of attack (such as during landing approaches), the torque from this engine caused the aircraft to pull violently to the left. If the airspeed dropped too low, the left wing would lose lift and stall first, causing the aircraft to roll inverted or spin out—a deadly trait that earned it the nickname "Ensign Eliminator". [1, 2, 3]

The Solution: The Starboard Stall Strip

To cure the asymmetric stall, engineers riveted a small, 6-inch triangular metal or wooden strip to the leading edge of the starboard wing, located just outboard of the gun ports. Aerodynamically, this strip intentionally disrupted smooth airflow at high angles of attack, forcing the right wing to lose lift at the exact same moment the left wing did. Instead of rolling dangerously, a stalling Corsair would simply drop its nose straight down in a controllable manner. [1, 2]"

Thank you for fixing this!

Previous Message

...By the time the US put them aboard in regular operation, the landing gear had been modified, and lift enhancers were added to the starboard wing.

I had a good laugh at your expense--AIGF--about 'lift enhancers'; I suppose one could say 'negative lift enhancers' but the Hog was modified with a 'stall strip' in order to provoke the starboard wing to stall more or less at the same time as the port wing, thus avoiding that surprise snap roll resulting from the port wing stalling.

(As an aside, this is what basically did in AA Flight 191's DC-10 at Chicago in 1979; I was actually flying to Tahoe at that time when we got the word something really bad had happened. That flight crew didn't have a chance; the crash was NOT their fault).

Here's a pic:

RS