Convair F2Y Sea Dart
| F2Y Sea Dart | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| F2Y Sea Dart (dual-ski configuration) | |
| Role | Seaplane fighter |
| Manufacturer | Convair |
| First flight | 14 January 1953 |
| Retired | 1957 |
| Status | Canceled |
| Primary user | United States Navy |
| Number built | 5 |
The Convair F2Y Sea Dart was a unique American seaplane fighter aircraft that rode on twin hydro-skis for takeoff. It flew only as a prototype, and never entered production. It is the only seaplane to have exceeded the speed of sound.
The Sea Dart began as Convair's entry to a 1948 U.S. Navy contest for a supersonic interceptor aircraft. There was at the time much skepticism about operating supersonic aircraft from aircraft carrier decks, which explains why the U.S. 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, had high approach speeds and were not very stable or easy to control - all factors that were troublesome on a carrier.
Ernest Stout's team at Convair's hydrodynamic research laboratory proposed to put a Delta Dagger on water skis.
Convair's proposal gained an order for two prototypes in late 1951. Twelve 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 20mm Colt Mk12 and a battery of folding-fin unguided rockets. Four of this order were redesignated as service test vehicles, and an additional eight production aircraft were soon ordered as well.
The aircraft was to be a delta-winged fighter with a watertight hull and 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.
Power was to be by a pair of afterburning Westinghouse XJ46-WE-02 turbojets, fed from intakes mounted high above the wings to avoid ingesting spray. When these engines were not ready for the prototypes, twin Westinghouse J34-WE-32 engines of just over half the power were installed.
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