USN/USMC Superprops

[Spino]

A few months ago I was taken with the Goodyear F2G "Super Corsair", the F4U variant with a Wasp Major engine.  While it wasn't as fast as the Bearcat, it certainly had some interesting features, like the bubble canopy fitted to some prototypes.  I've got a Revell 1/48 Corsair in the shop currently, with a cut-down rear fuselage, bubble canopy, and extended nose for the Wasp Major.  I'm debating about fitting it with the wing-mounted radar pod and letting it be a fast USN night fighter.  I also plan to 3D print another Corsair, and do it as an "AU-2".  This aircraft will be configured like the USMC ground-attack variant of the Corsair, but with the extended nose and Wasp Major engine of the F2G.

I also have a 3D-printed Bearcat that I need to do something with, still working on that.  I'm not sure about the idea of extending its nose for a Wasp Major, since the Bearcat was already faster than the F2G but suffered from reduced range to get that speed (what happens when you cut down and shrink an airplane while retaining the same engine).  I'm open to input on this one.

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[PR19_Kit]

I've got a French made 1/72 conversion kit for a Super Corsair somewhere in The Loft. Can remember who did it but it always struck me as a good job. I should get on to it!

[Spino]

Maybe a turboprop for the Bearcat?  Or maybe the Wasp Major after all.  Can't make up my mind...

[Captain Canada]

Those super corsairs are so cool.

[Wardukw]

Lengthen the Bearcats nose by a small amount..like 10mm or 15mm...people know it's different but don't know why   
Also..contra-props for good measure 

[kerick]

I have a 1/48th Accurate Miniatures Super Corsair in racing colors. IIRC it had a resin engine and other goodies. That would be a tough call to build it OOB or go Korean War on it.
A turbo Bearcat would be wild! The nose would have to be extra long to correct the CG and then a bigger fin or strakes to balance the long nose. A C-130 engine would be too much but maybe a RR Dart. I've thought about turbo conversions for various aircraft similar to the Piper Enforcer/Turbo Cavilier conversion for the Mustang. Aircraft like the Skyraider, Thunderbolt, Tigercat, Invader or Martin Mauler might be candidates. Like I need more ideas!

[Dizzyfugu]

For inspiration I did THIS many moons ago to an evolved attack Corsair (yes, it IS one!):


1:72 Vought A3U-2 "Sea Scorpion", aircraft '(ME) 197/BuNo 143556' of VMA-133 'Dragons', U.S. Marine Corps (Marine Aircraft Group 42, 4th Marine Aircraft Wing), based at NAS Alameda, summer 1958 (Whif/Kitbashing) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

At the core it is a late Italeri F4U with a resin C-130 engine, but there are many more mods, too. There must be a thread for it somewhere here in the forum.

[Spino]

For inspiration I did THIS many moons ago to an evolved attack Corsair (yes, it IS one!):


1:72 Vought A3U-2 "Sea Scorpion", aircraft '(ME) 197/BuNo 143556' of VMA-133 'Dragons', U.S. Marine Corps (Marine Aircraft Group 42, 4th Marine Aircraft Wing), based at NAS Alameda, summer 1958 (Whif/Kitbashing) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

At the core it is a late Italeri F4U with a resin C-130 engine, but there are many more mods, too. There must be a thread for it somewhere here in the forum.

I can see the Corsair in the wings, but that fuselage looks like it's scratch built onto the back of a C-130 engine, with no Corsair resemblance whatsoever!
I'm starting to like the idea of a Turbo-Bearcat, maybe that's the route I'll go.  I wonder if I can find and print an E-2 engine or something and put that on the front of it.

[perttime]

There's already a Sabrecat (Bearcat with Sabre engine) or two here. A turbine engine could be cool on a Bearcat if there is one that fits and balances about right.
A Bearcat with a Wright R-3350 engine is (was?) one of my favorite racers: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rare_Bear

[Spino]

Any idea of the particular variant of that engine?  I'm assuming it would be the 3,700hp one, the R-3350 ranged from 2,200 to 3,700 hp supposedly.

[Mossie]

Bristol Centaurus would be good for either, fairly subtle change though. An ASh-73 for a Soviet version of the Bearcat would give a similar look as well.

[jcf]

The nose wasn't actually extended on the
F2G and overall it was only an inch longer than an F4U-4.
F4U-1W nose to nose with F4U-1.


The single-stage R-4360 fit into the space occupied by the two-stage R-2800 and all
of its supercharger assorted gubbins, as shown in this comparison.



Most of the US two-stage R-2800 systems were basically similar with the auxiliary blower, intercoolers etc.
mounted aft of the engine. The exception is the turbosupercharged P-47.

In reference to the F8F Bearcat you could probably do an R-4360 swap if so desired
with minimal obvious external changes. F8F firewall is at Station 100, 100" aft
of 0 datum, which may be measured from the end of the propeller boss, it's hard to
know without a drawing showing where it's located.

F8F-2
R-2800-30W (two-stage)
L: 92.75" (installed length)
D: 53"

F2G-2
R-4360-4 (single-stage)
L: 96.75" (installed length)
D: 52.5"

[Spino]

Oops, did not realize that!  And I have already printed the fuselage and nose for the AU-2, complete with an extended nose cowling!  I guess maybe that could make room for more fuel for the hungry Wasp Major, though I imagine it would affect CG 

Or maybe not as much fuel and a bigger supercharger?  Try to maximize the power output of that engine, 4,300hp has a lot of potential on a plane that originally had about 2,000hp.

[kerick]

It would carry a lot more wiz bang stuff!

[perttime]

For the Rare Bear:
"in 1969 when Lyle Shelton dragged the old warhorse piece by piece out of a field where it had crashed seven years earlier. It was a carcass stripped nearly clean by parts hunters, and finding Bearcat parts – especially a Wright R3350 2700-horsepower engine — was, well, a bear of a task."

"before the 2007 Reno event, the intrepid crew found her "lost horsepower" in time for another first place win. Today the Bear is 500 pounds lighter, 1,000 horses more powerful, nearly 200 mph faster than the original"
https://lewisairlegends.com/f8f2-bearcat-rare-bear