Where the original will track faithfully down the runway.. the revision will have you off the runway in 2 shakes of a little lambs tail if you don't keep it straight with the rudder. Likewise.. the revision pulls the right wing down in flight regardless of torque/P-factor settings.
Dave, I'd have a look at your fuel, and see if you had more fuel in the right than in the left. For my personal use, having never flown the Corsair on any distance flights, I always just put 120-gallons in the main fuselage tank, or less, and that's it. I have all of the realism settings all the way to the right, and with the Fliger747 FDE, I've never felt the aircraft want to pull to the right/wing down in-flight, and also it's always been quite easy to control on take-off. I use 50% right rudder trim on take-off (marked as 10-degrees), remembering to remove that trim as the airspeed builds (also making sure to have the tailwheel locked). When on the runway, the standard procedure is to smoothly come up on the power up to 52" MP, and I tend to hold just a little forward stick as the airspeed increases so that the aircraft doesn't become airborne prematurely (just as with the real aircraft, it typically wants to fly before you have the power all the way up to take-off setting). The airplane will rotate at about 110 KIAS, and best climb-speed is 150 KIAS (42" MP, 2550 RPM in climb).
One thing for everyone to always remember is that the airspeed in the Corsair is marked in knots, not mph (so the airspeed readings will naturally seem lower than you will find in USAAF aircraft). As with operating the real aircraft, you want to approach the initial overhead at about 200 KIAS. Just prior to rolling into the overhead break, start reducing throttle, and then roll immediately into the downwind leg. The landing gear is then lowered, flaps positioned to 30 degrees, and the oil cooler doors opened while on downwind. On base (on the perch), with the gear and flaps configured for landing, you want to be at about 120 KIAS. Rolling out onto final, you want to start bleeding the speed back to about 95 KIAS for the final segment of the approach/over the threshold, and the prop should be set full-forward/full-increase. The landing is made in a three-point attitude, and with such a low landing speed, the landing roll-out is typically short.
Adding more to the discussion on flying the Corsair, this is what the warbird pilot/restorer Brad Hood has to say about flying the Corsair, compared to the P-51 and P-47:
"The Corsair is a delight to fly. The ailerons are very light compared to any other World War II fighter. The engine is smooth and powerful and almost gives the illusion of jet engine trust (
the P-47 has been described similarly, as being as smooth as a jet to fly)... I have considerable flight time in the P-51 and P-47 which are both excellent airplanes and each has its particular assets. The Corsair, in my opinion, is a blend of the two. Its climb and turn performance are phenomenal. Like most high performance wings, the magnificent wing on the Corsair is a compromise. It flies exceedingly well at low and high speed but it does sacrifice some top end speed and energy in turns in comparison to the P-51. The airplane will out-turn the P-51 but bleeds energy quicker than the Mustang. It outperforms the P-47 in most regimes... Aerobatic maneuvers are effortless in the machine and it is easy to see why combat Corsair pilots loved it."
