text: Both pitch and roll control was provided by elevons, though Vought referred to these surfaces as "ailevators" at the time. Slats were fitted to the entire span of the leading edge. The aircraft was provisioned with all-hydraulic flight controls; these provided artificial feedback so the pilot could feel aerodynamic forces acting on the aircraft. The hydraulic system operated at 3000 psi, twice that of other Navy aircraft; however, the system proved to be not ready for front-line service and experienced a high level of unreliability. Allegedly, this was at least partially due to many components having been intended for lower pressure hydraulic systems, resulting in a high rate of failure and thus exacerbating overall unreliability.
  During flight testing, aviator John Glenn and various test pilots found the muzzle blast from the 20mm cannons caused the engines to flame out, however this was solved when the US Navy approached weapons expert George M. Chinn who designed a flame-out eliminator, a similar device to the Cutts compensator used on the Thompson submachine gun to divert the muzzle blast that solved the problem.
  The very long nose landing gear strut required for high angle of attack takeoffs lifted the pilot 14 feet into the air and was fully steerable. The high position of the nose relative to the flight deck posed visibility difficulties for the pilot. Furthermore, the high stresses of barrier engagements, and side-loads imposed during early deployment carrier landings caused failure of the retract cylinder's internal down-locks, causing nose gear failure and resultant spinal injuries to the pilot. To help mitigate the loading forces exerted upon the nose landing gear actuator and mounting structure, Vought's design engineers added small turbines, powered by bleed air from the engines, to pre-spin on the nosegear tires to 90 mph prior to landing. Furthermore, an automatic fuel transfer system maintained the aircraft's center of gravity.