Convair F2Y Sea Dart
F2Y Sea Dart (dual-ski configuration)
Description
Role	Hydro-ski seaplane fighter
Crew	1
First Flight	January 14, 1953
Manufacturer	Convair
Dimensions
Length	52 ft 7 in	16 m
Wingspan	33 ft 8 in	10.3 m
Height	16 ft 2 in	4.9 m
Wing area	568 ft²	53 m²
Weights
Empty	12,625 lb	5,730 kg
Loaded	16,500 lb	7,480 kg
Maximum takeoff	21,500 lb	9,750 kg
Powerplant
Engines	2 × Westinghouse J46-WE-2 turbojets
Thrust	12,000 lbf	53 kN
Performance
Maximum speed	695 mph (projected)	1,120 km/h
Combat range	513 miles	826 km
Ferry range	miles	km
Service ceiling	54,800 ft	16,700 m
Rate of climb	17,100 ft/min	5,200 m/min
Wing loading	lb/ft²	kg/m²
Thrust/weight
Avionics
Avionics

The Convair F2Y Sea Dart was a unique seaplane fighter aircraft that rode on twin hydro-skis for takeoff. It only flew as a prototype, and never entered production, but it is still the only seaplane to exceed the speed of sound. Convair F2Y Sea Dart. ... A DeHavilland Single Otter floatplane in Harbour Air livery A seaplane is an aircraft designed to take off and land (correctly, though less commonly, alight) upon water. ... A fighter aircraft is a military aircraft designed primarily for attacking other aircraft, as opposed to a bomber, which is designed to attack ground targets, primarily by dropping bombs. ... Prototypes or prototypical instances combine the most representative attributes of a category. ...

The Sea Dart began as Convair's entry to a 1948 Navy contest for a supersonic interceptor seaplane. There was at the time much scepticism about operating supersonic planes from aircraft carrier decks, which explains why the US Navy ordered so many subsonic fighters at that time. The worry had some foundation, since many supersonic designs of the time required long takeoff rolls and had high approach speeds, and were not very stable and easy to control - all factors that were troublesome on a carrier. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (2016x987, 372 KB) This F2Y Convair Sea Dart is at the San Diego Aerospace Museum. ... The Consolidated Vultee Aircraft Corporation, universally known as Convair, was the result of a 1943 merger between Consolidated Aircraft and Vultee Aircraft, resulting in a leading aircraft manufacturer of the United States. ... 1948 is a leap year starting on Thursday (link will take you to calendar). ... This page is about high speed motion of bodies such as airplanes through air or other fluids. ... Interceptor has several meanings: Interceptor aircraft are a type of fighter aircraft designed specifically to intercept and destroy enemy aircraft. ... An aircraft carrier is a warship whose main role is to deploy and recover aircraft—in effect acting as a sea-going airbase. ...

Convair's proposal gained an order for two prototypes in late 1951. The aircraft was to be a delta-winged fighter with a watertight hull with twin retractable hydro-skis for takeoff and landing. When stationary or moving slowly in the water, the Sea Dart floated with the trailing edge of the wings touching the water. The skis were not extended until the aircraft reached about 10 mph (16 km/h) during its takeoff run. 1951 was a common year starting on Monday; see its calendar. ...

12 production aircraft were ordered before a prototype had even flown. No armament was ever fitted to any Sea Dart built, but the plan was to arm the production aircraft with four 20 mm cannon and a battery of folding-fin unguided rockets. Four of this order were redesignated as service test planes, and an additional eight production planes were soon ordered as well.

Power was to be a pair of afterburning Westinghouse XJ46-WE-02 turbojets, fed from intakes mounted high up above the wings to avoid ingesting spray. These engines were not ready for the prototypes and twin Westinghouse J34-WE-32 engines of just over half the power were installed. The aircraft was built in Convair's San Diego facility at Lindbergh Field and was taken to San Diego Bay for testing. On January 14, 1953 the aircraft inadvertently made its first short flight during what was supposed to be a fast taxi run; its official maiden flight was on April 9. Westinghouse logo (designed by Paul Rand) The Westinghouse Electric Company, headquartered in Monroeville, Pennsylvania, is an organization founded by George Westinghouse in 1886. ... City nickname: Americas Finest City Location Location of San Diego within San Diego County Government County San Diego Mayor vacant Physical characteristics Area      Land      Water 372. ... San Diego International Airport, (IATA Airport Code: SAN) also known as Lindbergh International Airport or Lindbergh Field, is located in San Diego, California San Diego International Airport has a primitive design which cannot handle a hub operation. ... San Diego Bay is a natural harbor adjacent to San Diego, California. ... January 14 is the 14th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1953 is a common year starting on Thursday. ... April 9 is the 99th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (100th in leap years). ...

The underpowered engines made the plane sluggish, and the hydro-skis were not as successful as hoped; they created violent vibration during takeoff and landing, despite the shock-absorbing oleo legs they were extended on. Work on the skis and oleo legs improved this situation somewhat, but they could not cure the sluggish performance. The Sea Dart proved incapable of supersonic speed in level flight with those engines; not helping was its pre-area rule shape, which meant higher transonic drag. Oleo is a term for oils. ... The Whitcomb area rule (sometimes just called the area rule) is a design technique used to reduce an aircrafts drag at transonic speeds, speeds between about Mach 0. ...

The second prototype was cancelled, so the first service test aircraft was next to build and fly. This one was fitted with the J46 engines, but they performed below specification. However, speeds in excess of Mach 1 were attained in a shallow dive with this aircraft, making it the only supersonic seaplane to date. This plane disintegrated in mid-air during a demonstration to Navy officials and the press, killing the pilot. Mach number (Ma) (pronounced as mock in the American English pronunciation) is defined as a ratio of speed to the speed of sound in the medium in case. ...

Even before that, the Navy had been losing interest (problems with supersonic fighters on carrier decks having been overcome) and the crash relegated the Sea Dart program to experimental status. All production planes were cancelled, though the remaining three service test aircraft were completed. The two final examples never flew.

The sole prototype was fitted with an experimental single-ski configuration which proved to be rather more successful, while the second service test aircraft trialled (unsuccessfully) a new twin-ski design. Testing with several other experimental ski configurations continued with the prototype through 1957, after which it was placed into storage. 1957 was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

All four remaining Sea Darts survive to this day. The prototype is awaiting restoration for the Smithsonian Institution, and is in bad shape. The others are at the San Diego Aerospace Museum, the Wings of Freedom Air and Space Museum at Willow Grove, Pennsylvania, and at the Lakeland, Florida airport. The Smithsonian Institution Building or Castle on the National Mall serves as the Institutions headquarters. ... San Diego Aerospace Museum is an aviation and space exploration museum in San Diego, California. ... Willow Grove is a census-designated place located in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, about 10 miles north of Philadelphia. ... Lakeland is a city located in Polk County, Florida. ...

Oddly, even though it was long out of service by that time, the Sea Dart was assigned the designation F-7 under the 1962 unified aircraft designation system. 1962 was a common year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ...

The Saunders-Roe SR.A/1 was a prototype fighter aircraft tested by the Royal Air Force shortly after World War II. It is unique in being the only jet-powered flying boat fighter ever flown. ... F-4 re-directs here; for alternate uses, see F4 The F-4 Phantom II (simply F-4 Phantom after 1990) is a two-place (tandem), supersonic, long-range, all-weather fighter-bomber built by McDonnell Douglas Corporation. ... The F-5 Freedom Fighter (or Tiger II) is a fighter aircraft, designed and built by Northrop in the USA, beginning in 1962. ... The Douglas F4D Skyray was a carrier-based fighter built by the Douglas Aircraft Company. ... F-8C digital fly-by-wire testbed (NASA) Two F-8 Crusaders Prepare to Launch from the USS Midway (CV-41). ... The Grumman F9F Cougar (redesignated the F-9 Cougar in the 1962 joint service aircraft designation system) was a aircraft carrier-based fighter aircraft for the United States Navy. ... The F3D Skynight was a jet fighter aircraft in service with the United States Navy. ... This list of military aircraft of the United States includes prototype, pre-production and operational types. ... The following is a list of flying boats and seaplanes Canada Bombardier CL 415, Canada, 1993, firefighting, amphibious China Harbin SH 5, Peoples Republic of China, 1976, Amphibious Germany Blohm & Voss BV 222 Blohm & Voss BV 238 Blohm & Voss Ha 139 Dornier Do 18 Dornier Do 24 Dornier Do...