Eric Berg (@eb801)
Nice job ! Looks very nice. Now you can finish up with your "H-100" like you originally planned. I also personally like how the Corsair looks with all of these cooling flaps opened up like how you have done here with yours.
You can see it in the original photo you posted, and it's parked behind the H-100 Corsair that you are building. I like the "H-96" in the background too.
Both are very cool planes.
As far as these upper cowling flaps go, they were changed from a hydraulic system to a mechanical cable arrangement starting with Bureau Number 02578, which was the 426th Vought Corsair built. This was because the original hydraulic cylinders controlling the cowling flaps often leaked oil, and it blew backwards onto the pilot's windscreen impeding the forward vision. I'll have to check and see when the change happened with the Goodyear and Brewster versions.
Then later on, they came out with a field modification that was supposed to be retro fitted to all aircraft in the field as well. This modification secured the top three cowling flaps in the lowered / closed position. This is why on most of the later pictures we see showing early "birdcage" Corsairs in service, they have these top three cowling flaps secured down. It was implemented as a standard change on the production line then too. On the field mod, it was a stamped piece of heavy gauge aluminum that was secured on top of the cooling flaps, holding them down.
like this one shown here.
I'm definitely looking forward to your next installment. That's an incredible photo of H-100 in several aspects. It's an early Corsair, the cooling flaps are all still open, and it has the red surround on the US National insignia. It doesn't get much better than that.
