 |
| Rodney remanufactured the canopy, wheel wells and many other details to make the Aviation Usk F2G kit accurate. Number 94 was owned by Cook Cleveland and flew in the 1947 Thompson Trophy Race. |
In early 1998, Tom d.b.a. Aviation Usk, of Usk, Washington called me on the phone and related that they were almost ready to market a 1/72 scale F2G Super Corsair kit. After a “question and answer” session, Tom agreed to send me a free kit so I could critique it. They requested a photo of my 1/32 F2G #57 racer, including some real F2G photos for their box art, which I gladly sent!
There were several things wrong with the kit, including a ton of flashing, the likes of which you have never seen before!
The fuselage outline was great, and it included the auxiliary rudder.
First and foremost I noted that they made a one piece canopy, which incorporated the fuselage’s canopy tip. If you carefully remove the windscreen, it can be used since it is the correct shape. I got some automotive bondo from Mike Meek and made the correct canopy mold. I then vac-u-formed several canopies.
 |
| After three different owners were killed in plane crashes, Number 57 flew again after being restored by Bob Odegaar. The flight took place 50 years after Number 57 won the Thompson Trophy. |
Next, I noticed that there is no rear recessed canopy deck. It starts on the backside of the armor plate/headrest combo. I cut out this marked off section of the fuselage, and built in a deck. There’s a “u” track down the centerline of the recessed rear deck. The canopy has a cross bar on it like the P-51’s. There’s a roller attached to the canopies cross bar, which rolls down the “u” track and keeps the canopy straight when it is opened and closed. The canopy tip is 23” long, which was hand crafted from styrene, and attached to the top of the fuselage spine, aft of the deck.
The cockpit tub was fair. Aviation Usk made a nice photo-etched instrument panel, and photo reduction dials. The side consoles are for the birds and the seat is wrong!! The F2G’s had the same seat which was in the F4U-4 Corsair.
Oh my goodness! In the wing there were no wheel wells, so I scratch built them. I made master templates of my wheel wells, as I knew I was going to build several more F2G’s. Aviation Usk also used the standard air inlets and these had to be changed to be correct for the F2G’s.
 |
| N91092 was purchased by pilot Ron Puckett and flew in the 1947 and 1949 National Air Races. Rodney finished it as it appeared in 1949. |
The F2G had the newly designed R-4360-2, 28-cylinder engine. There were seven cylinders in each bank. There were seven magnetos in front of the first bank of cylinders. There were two spark plugs in each cylinder. Aviation Usk delivered a standard nine-cylinder engine with their F2G kit. They did include a darn good fourteen-foot diameter four bladed prop with lots of flashing attached.
Just aft of the cowling on the bottom of the fuselage the F2G had six exhaust stacks. On the model, I had to revise this area so I could attach them. Aviation Usk made the proper openings for the four exhaust stacks on each side of the fuselage, however, you must open up the exhaust stack openings so you can fit in your home made stacks, which are 2.5” in diameter. There are fourteen exhaust stacks on all F2G’s.
 |
| N5577N flew in the 1947 Thompson Trophy Race and in the 1948 and 1949 Natational Air Races but failed to finish. Rodney finished N5577N in it’s 1947 conguration. |
Included in the kit were well fitted “top of the fuselage” extension air inlets. Both air inlets were extended out to meet the speed ring, however one was raised in the center. The latter was on B.U. 88458, which became racer number 57, and both air inlets were on racer number 74.
While building the first model, number 57, I sent 35mm prints to Tom at Aviation Usk. He related that they would not change the molds, as they would have to start from scratch. All I can say is, there was not very much done in the “R & D” department when they had the kit manufactured. If they and others had done a bit more “R” (research) they could have “D” (developed) an accurate F2G.
 |
| In 1949, Ben McKillen flew No. 57 to first place in the Tinnerman race and third place in the Thompson. |
Since the kit had some good decals for Cook Cleveland’s 1949 #57 red and white racer, I finished it per se. Their “SOHIO” decal logo had black letters in it, however in reality the letters were red. I used a SuperScale decal instead.
In 1999 I built another Aviation Usk 1/72 F2G. It too was owned by Cook Cleveland and was painted blue and white with a race number of number 74 on it. In 2003, I started working on the rest of my F2G racing Corsair collection. Cook owned number 84, which was all black with white letters and numbers. I saw number 84 crash at the Cleveland Air Races in 1947, which killed the pilot Tony Janazzo. The F2G was a total loss. What could one expect when you hit the ground at over 400 m.p.h?
Cook owned one other F2G, number 94. I painted in it’s first original color of red and white. My last F2G was number 18, which was owned by Ron Puckett. I painted it in it’s latest paint scheme of light grey and medium blue.
I supplied Dave Newman with some art work, and measurements, so he could make the decals for numbers 18, 74, 84 and 94. Dave’s decals turned out super. They are very thin and I could put them on with just plain water!
The F2G’s were converted from the F4U-4 airframe. Except for the wing air inlets, the “gull wing” did not change it’s primary shape. Some F2G’s had a 55-gallon gas tank in the outer wing panel, thus they had to remove one machine gun. Other F2G’s had the standard three .050” caliber guns in each wing. Some F2G’s had metal skin on the outer wing panels, while others were fabric covered. The stabilizers and elevators were not changed on the F2G. The eleven-inch auxiliary rudder moved 12 degrees to the right, only when the flaps were lowered. All F2G’s had a floor in the cockpit. Some F2G’s had the standard tail wheel with the landing hook, while others were minus the hook. Some had a six inch tail wheel shank. Some F2G’s had what I call a tail wheel flaring aft of the opening, and some did not.
 |
| N5588N was stricken from Navy records in 1947 and was flown by pilot Tony Janazzo in the 1947 Thompson Race. The aircraft crashed on the seventh lap, killing the pilot. |
If you care to read and see the photos of how I built these F2G’s, then go to the Aircraft Resource Center web site at:
http://s96920072.onlinehome.us/Gal-Fea%20Archives/Prop/F2G_Racing_Corsair/F2G.htm.
Here, I have four stories and I also have my 1/32 scale Crashed F2G titled “Building a 1/32 scale F4U-1A conversion to a F2G-1D Super Corsair” Part 4.”
Next go to: http://www.skywriters.net/Gallery/f2g%20super%20corsair.htm
You can access our organization called: “Society of Air Racing Historians,” at : http://www.airrace.com
There’s quite a bit of written history, including several photos of all the F2G racing Corsairs. I have helped the organization since I joined in 1984. They are located in the Cleveland, Ohio area. We have a newsletter which is called Golden Pylons that comes out four times a year at a membership fee of only twenty bucks.
For those of you who were not at our club’s meeting in May, here’s my little collection of F2G’s. If anyone wants to see my “art work,” which was made for racer number 18, “Miss Port Columbus,” please email me at rjw07@mindspring.com. I may do a little story for the newsletter, however my photos would not be in color. [Sure they'd be in color! Eventaully. Ed.]
Rodney Williams has been building plastic models since 1977 but was building flying stick models as far back as 1937. He has been a member of SVSM since 1984. Rodney’s prefers to build jet and prop aircraft, especially the F2G.
