From: Orval Fairbairn
Date: 7/2/2004 10:30 AM Central Daylight Time
Message-id:

In article , hobo
wrote:

The corsair used a 3-blade prop. Why didn't they use a smaller 4-blade
prop if ground clearance was such an issue?

They wanted to keep the main landing gear as short as possible, to
simplify structural loads. The Hellcat had a relatively long main gear
leg.
--

Corsair had a 4 bladed prop. A 3 bladed prop may have been big enough to
irritate the Seabees who had no sense of humour when it came to prop blades
chewing up their runways.

Dan, U.S. Air Force, retired