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Why can't a Corsair pilot apply full power when going around after a failed carrier landing?

Short answer

Because at low speed and high power the Corsair would drop its left wing suddenly and with almost no warning, due to propeller torque. If the throttle was advanced abruptly during an aborted landing, that wing could stall so fast the fighter would flip over. The aft-mounted cockpit and long nose also made landings dangerous.

Why can't a Corsair pilot apply full power when going around after a failed carrier landing?
F4U at 2023 Oshkosh

Propeller torque and the left wing drop

At low speed and with high power, the Corsair tended to drop its left wing abruptly and with very little warning, as a result of propeller torque. During slow carrier approaches, that wing could stall and drop quickly without warning. If the pilot suddenly advanced the throttle, for example during an aborted landing, the left wing could stall and drop so fast that the fighter would flip over.

A nose-first approach

The combination of a cockpit mounted far aft and a long nose caused visibility problems that made landings dangerous. With the nose-up attitude typical of a carrier approach, pilots found their forward visibility almost entirely blocked by the engine cowling. Oil from the hydraulically operated cowl flaps could splash onto the windshield when they opened, severely reducing visibility.

Bouncing on the deck

The landing gear's oleo-pneumatic shock absorbers had poor rebound characteristics, which allowed the aircraft to bounce along the carrier deck. That stiff gear made it relatively easy to string together bad bounces. A bounce of that kind could send the aircraft veering into the carrier's island. The Corsair's early carrier-landing problems were real, not bureaucratic timidity, and some pilots died learning the aircraft's limits.

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