An Aeronautical Engineer's View.....The Vought F4U Corsair and its Contemporaries (6th Edition), by Tom Brinkman, is a well researched, factual and historical description of five legendary United States fighter aircraft of WW II - the Vought F4U Corsair, Republic P-47 Thunderbolt, North American P-51 Mustang, Grumman F6F Hellcat, and Lockheed P-38 Lightning. This book presents a clear description of the design rationale, capabilities, characteristics, performance, and limitations of each of these superlative aircraft. Also included are American vs. Axis aircraft dog fighting comparisons, results of formal military competitive fly-offs, and mock dog fighting match-ups between these aircraft. Several key flight behavior characteristics which are very rarely discussed are explained, and perspectives on a number of important topics not often given coverage in the popular media are presented. Brinkman has given many presentations on his book, including a symposium with several original VMF-214 "Black Sheep" pilots. Brinkman is an aeronautical engineer, retired from a career in engineering, engineering management, and program management with IBM Corp and several other companies in the computer industry.
