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In the 1950s, the “Mobile Base Concept” led the Navy to investigate the idea of a supersonic, water-based fighter which would operate in sheltered water areas around the world. Convair engineers met the challenge with the most innovative single-seat fighter of the fifties, the XF2Y-1 Sea Dart (later designated YF2Y-1). A total of five Sea Darts were built in San Diego, California by Convair for the U.S. Navy, but only three were flown. The Sea Dart was to be the first combat-type plane equipped with retractable hydroskis, the first delta-winged seaplane, plus the first supersonic seaplane in the world. Its first flight was made over San Diego Bay on April 9, 1953, plus in August 1954, the plane proved its supersonic capabilities. However by 1956, tactical doctrine had changed plus the Navy abandoned the seaplane fighter concept and, with it, the Sea Dart program.

The hull of the Sea Dart had multiple watertight compartments in the lower fuselage to prevent sinking in the event of a puncture. It was fitted with a set of dive brakes on the lower rear fuselage which also doubled as water brakes plus as a water rudder while taxiing on the surface. When sitting at rest in the water, the Sea Dart floated with the trailing edge of the wing plus the twin hydro-skis flush with the water, plus the leading edge of the delta wing at the juncture of the fuselage about 18 inches above the water.

The aircraft took off plus landed on a pair of retractable hydro-skis that extended outward from recesses cut into the lower hull. For takeoff, the skis were initially fully retracted into their wells. Then, as power was applied plus the leading edge of the ski broke the water at 9-11 mph, the skis were extended to an intermediate position until 45-55 mph was reached. They were then fully-extended, plus the aircraft accelerated to a takeoff speed of about 145 mph. A single ski variant was also tested.

The Museum’s Sea Dart was donated by Convair in 1963, but at the time, there was nomer room for the large, unusually shaped plane at the Museum’s old location on the Del Prado. Thus, the Museum’s Sea Dart languished on Convair’s back lot for 20 years. The Museum’s new location in the Ford Building afforded an ideal spot for the Sea Dart – right in front for all to see.

While volunteer craftsmen from Convair undertook to restore the plane, proposals for the plane’s display in front of the Museum were presented for approval by various Balboa Park committees. Final approval was obtained in 1983, plus the 12,600 pound aircraft was transported from Convair to the Museum during the early morning hours of June 27, 1984. After the 1.5 hour trip to the park, it was lifted by a crane plus pedestal-mounted in front of the Museum. The Museum’s Sea Dart was the third produced by Convair plus first flew on March 4, 1955.

Seaplanes (aircraft that use some form of pontoon rather than wheels) have played a major role in the development of aircraft. Waterborne craft were developed by many nations in the early years of flight because harbors were readily available and accessible as compared to airfields. Flying boats pioneered most global airline operations through the 1930s. The U.S. Navy relied heavily on them from 1911 through the Second World War and beyond. During the Vietnam war, for example, Martin P5M flying boats were used extensively for coastal and shipping patrols.

On 19 January 1951, Convair received an order from the U.S. Navy’s Bureau of Aeronautics to develop two XF2Y-1 aircraft to be equipped with twin hydroskis (the twin hydroskis were “planing” skis and derived raise the same as a person using water skis. They were not skis that provided raise in the same manner as hydrofoils.). They were to be prototypes of a definitive water-based, single-seat, afterburning supersonic interceptor/fighter. This action resulted in an experimental test program that began in December 1952 and continued through 1957. A keseluruhan of five aircraft, dubbed Seadart, were built. Only three ever flew. The last two were completed except for engine installation.

The first XF2Y-1 aircraft, Bu. No. 137634, is part of the Air & Space Museum’s collection. The remaining four were YF2Y-1 aircraft, Bu. No. 135762 through 765, built and numbered consecutively. The Seadart aerodynamic design is best illustrated by the No. 3 aircraft (763). Unfortunately, these aircraft were designed, built, and flown before the supersonic “area rule” was first incorporated in aircraft designs. The daerah rule revealed that streamlining the aircraft fuselage into an hourglass shape, to compensate for the wing area, reduced aerodynamic drag-the unseen forces that slow aircraft down and increase thrust requirements. Compounding the issue, high-thrust engines were not available at that time.

On 14 December 1952, E. D. “Sam” Shannon, Convair’s Chief of Engineering Flight Test, took the XF2Y-1 Seadart out into San Diego Bay for its first taxi tests. The aircraft “taxied” up the seaplane ramp after its first test run. Small wheels at the aft end of the skis and a small tail wheel provided this land taxi capability. The airplane entered the water the same way. Taxi down the ramp was made with the ski oleos in the beach position for attitude purposes. Upon attaining flotation, the main wheels on the ski afterbodies were rotated 90 degrees by electrical switch and hydraulic action to place the tapered afterbody of the ski in the proper hydrodynamic position. Takeoff was accomplished by a combination of ski extension, retraction, afterburner thrust, and a rapid rotation at take off speed. Two Westinghouse J46 engines producing 4,000 lb. of thrust (augmented to 6,000 lb. with afterburner operating) powered the Seadart during most of its testing. The characteristic sharp rotation and liftoff was necessary to achieve positive separation from the water allowing rapid acceleration. The skis could be retracted immediately as with any retractable landing gear.

On 9 April 1953, Shannon made the first flight of the XF2Y-1. The dark blue paint with yellow markings provided aircraft attitude reference in instrumentation photos of taxi tests including take off and landing. Two afterburning Westinghouse J34 engines were soon replaced by Westinghouse’s more powerful J46. The second Seadart exceeded Mach 1.0 on 3 August 1954.

The taxi tests revealed serious vibration and pounding that drastically increased with rougher water. In mid-1954, the first Seadart was refitted with a single ski in an effort to reduce vibration during water operations. The final flight of the twin-ski version was made on 28 April 1955.

A supersonic jet fighter that was supposed to take off plus land on water? Well, that was the idea, anyway, plus it worked-to the extent that it did indeed fly off plus land on water.

The biggest masalah with airplanes is that they need runways, plus in wartime, the average runway might as well have the words “Bomb Here” painted on it in big block letters. Runways are among the first targets bombed when a war starts, so over the years people have hatched various schemes to build combat airplanes that don’t need a vulnerable stretch of pavement.

The 1950s was an masa of aggressive innovation in aircraft design, not all of which was successful. One of the more interesting was the Convair “Sea Dart” hydro-ski fighter. Seaplanes substitute water for concrete, but when the Jet Age came along, seaplanes proved ill-suited to the higher speeds. The Navy’s Convair Sea Dart, essentially a jet fighter on water skis, experienced such severe vibration on takeoff that the testing program was scrapped after only five had been built. However, once aloft,

What people say…
I think very few would recognize the F7 designation–the current listings of cross references between the old plus current systems leave that number out completely. Remember–that system was McNamara’s idea, after being embarrassed by not knowing the difference between the F4D plus F4H. He nearly cancelled the Phantom–based on cost differences between the ” model variations”.

There weren’t enough planes still in the inventory to neatly fit between the F1– (the FJ) plus the F11 (F11F-1) The F3D became the F10. His sense of order put this long since retired aircraft as the F7….in order to fill a gap. Remember he was a theoretical economist by training plus numbers plus order were his prime concern. I recommend dropping the F7 designation plus only footnoting it in the end paragraphs. Since the plane never went beyond the prototype stage–it would have to be referred to as a YF7-A, if you were to call it by that designation. Rob

designed and built at the request of the U.S. Navy’s Bureau of Aeronautics, was the first seaplane with a delta wing and the first combat aircraft equipped with retractable hydro-skis (V-shaped planing surfaces).

In the late 1940s, Convair proposed a series of unconventional seaplane designs, one of which featured a so-called “blended hull.” The blended hull concept envisioned the aircraft sitting deep in the water, with its wings touching the surface and contributing to overall buoyancy (without the need for additional floats). Convair’s approach to designing the seaplane involved creating an advanced hydrodynamic model, which would then serve as the foundation for developing a highly efficient aircraft.

The aircraft was developed by Convair under a Navy contract for the creation of a supersonic interceptor. The challenges were seen in the long takeoff and landing distances of supersonic aircraft and their high landing speeds. One solution to these issues was the design of a jet-powered seaplane fighter, which led to the development of the F2Y Sea Dart.

The first prototype of the Sea Dart, the XF2Y-1, was launched in San Diego Bay on December 16, 1952. After extensive water testing, it made its first flight on April 9, 1953. On August 3, 1954, during a shallow dive at an altitude of 10,400 meters, the YF2Y-1 aircraft exceeded the speed of sound.

The Sea Dart remains afloat until it reaches sufficient speed, at which point the hydro-skis generate the necessary hydrodynamic lift to lift the aircraft’s fuselage above the water surface before takeoff.

The XF2Y-1 aircraft was powered by two Westinghouse J-34-WE-42 turbojet engines, each producing 1,540 kg of thrust. The second prototype, also designated XF2Y-1, which was destroyed in a crash in November 1954, had a slightly extended tail section designed to accommodate afterburners, giving its two Westinghouse J-46-WE engines a thrust of 2,700 kg each. Without afterburner, the engine’s thrust was 2,090 kg.

Convair received an order to produce 12 F2Y-1 Sea Dart fighters, but it was canceled, and further work was concentrated on a modified version, the XF2Y-2. This version was to be equipped with a single turbojet engine (either a Wright J-67 with 5,450 kg of thrust or a Pratt & Whitney J-75 with 6,800 kg of thrust). Additionally, one variant of the XF2Y-1 was fitted with a single hydro-ski for experimental purposes.

designed and built at the request of the U.S. Navy’s Bureau of Aeronautics, was the first seaplane with a delta wing and the first combat aircraft equipped with retractable hydro-skis (V-shaped planing surfaces).

In the late 1940s, Convair proposed a series of unconventional seaplane designs, one of which featured a so-called “blended hull.” The blended hull concept envisioned the aircraft sitting deep in the water, with its wings touching the surface and contributing to overall buoyancy (without the need for additional floats). Convair’s approach to designing the seaplane involved creating an advanced hydrodynamic model, which would then serve as the foundation for developing a highly efficient aircraft.

The aircraft was developed by Convair under a Navy contract for the creation of a supersonic interceptor. The challenges were seen in the long takeoff and landing distances of supersonic aircraft and their high landing speeds. One solution to these issues was the design of a jet-powered seaplane fighter, which led to the development of the F2Y Sea Dart.

The first prototype of the Sea Dart, the XF2Y-1, was launched in San Diego Bay on December 16, 1952. After extensive water testing, it made its first flight on April 9, 1953. On August 3, 1954, during a shallow dive at an altitude of 10,400 meters, the YF2Y-1 aircraft exceeded the speed of sound.

The Sea Dart remains afloat until it reaches sufficient speed, at which point the hydro-skis generate the necessary hydrodynamic lift to lift the aircraft’s fuselage above the water surface before takeoff.

The XF2Y-1 aircraft was powered by two Westinghouse J-34-WE-42 turbojet engines, each producing 1,540 kg of thrust. The second prototype, also designated XF2Y-1, which was destroyed in a crash in November 1954, had a slightly extended tail section designed to accommodate afterburners, giving its two Westinghouse J-46-WE engines a thrust of 2,700 kg each. Without afterburner, the engine’s thrust was 2,090 kg.

Convair received an order to produce 12 F2Y-1 Sea Dart fighters, but it was canceled, and further work was concentrated on a modified version, the XF2Y-2. This version was to be equipped with a single turbojet engine (either a Wright J-67 with 5,450 kg of thrust or a Pratt & Whitney J-75 with 6,800 kg of thrust). Additionally, one variant of the XF2Y-1 was fitted with a single hydro-ski for experimental purposes.

Selama ini aku hanya kagum pada pesawat yang beroperasi dari landasan darat saja.  Bagi aku pesawat amphibi terkesan tidak cukup ‘galak’. Bentuknya yang terkesan mirip kapal bersama dengan penempatan sayap di bagian atas, tampak terlampau tidak menarik. Apalagi badan pesawat yang selalu lebar ke samping, membuat tampilannya lebih mirip nyonya gendut. Alhasil pengetahuan aku perihal pesawat amphibi sesungguhnya terbatas. Namun setelah memandang tayangan dokumentasi di BBC Knowledge perihal topic ke dua pesawat tersebut aku layaknya terhenyak tatkala memandang ke dua pesawat amphibi bermesin jet sanggup beroperasi dipermukaan air sementara tinggal landas dan mendarat. Consolidated Vultee PBY ‘Catalina’, pesawat yang pernah dimilki AURI hanya satu style pesawat amphibi yang umum digunakan Amerika  dalam episode perang Pasific. Jenis pesawat lainnya yang kesemuanya bermesin baling-baling bersama dengan ukuran yang lebih besar dari ‘Catalina’ terhitung banyak digunakan oleh US Navy.

Konten ini sudah tayang di Kompasiana.com bersama dengan judul “‘Sea Dart’ F2Y dan ‘Sea Master’ P6M: Proyek Jet Amphibi dalam Era Perang Dingin.”, Klik untuk baca:
https://www.kompasiana.com/sigitsatriopringgondanipriyadi/5528532e6ea834a15c8b4569/sea-dart-f2y-dan-sea-master-p6m-proyek-jet-amphibi-dalam-era-perang-dingin

Kreator: Sigit Priyadi

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Tulis opini Anda seputar isu terkini di Kompasiana.com

das Convair F2Y Sea Dart war ein amerikanisches Wasserflugzeug-Kampfflugzeug, das während des Starts und der Landung auf zwei Hydroskis fuhr. Er flog nur als Prototyp und ging nie in die Massenproduktion. Es ist das einzige Wasserflugzeug, das die Schallgeschwindigkeit überschritten hat. Es wurde in den 1950er Jahren entwickelt, um die Probleme mit Überschallflugzeugen zu überwinden, die auf Flugzeugträgern starten und landen. Das Programm wurde nach einer Reihe unbefriedigender Ergebnisse und einem tragischen Unfall am 4. November 1954 abgebrochen, bei dem der Testpilot Charles E. Richbourg ums Leben kam, als der Sea Dart, den er steuerte, in der Luft zerfiel. Die vier überlebenden Flugzeuge wurden 1957 ausgemustert, aber einige wurden bis 1962 in Reserve gehalten.

das Convair F2Y Sea Dart war ein experimenteller Düsenjäger, der auf dem Wasser starten und landen konnte. Er wurde in den 1950er Jahren von der United States Navy als Überschall-Abfangjäger für die Küstenverteidigung entwickelt. Der Sea Dart war das einzige Wasserflugzeug, das jemals die Schallgeschwindigkeit überschritten hat.
Der Sea Dart hatte ein einzigartiges Design, bei dem Hydroski für den Start und die Landung auf dem Wasser verwendet wurden. Die Skier wurden im Flug eingefahren, um den Luftwiderstand zu reduzieren. Das Flugzeug wurde von zwei Westinghouse J46-Turbojet-Triebwerken angetrieben, die in Gondeln über den Tragflächen montiert waren. Die Flügel hatten eine Deltaform und ein dünnes Profil, um hohe Geschwindigkeiten zu erreichen.
Das Sea Dart-Programm war mit vielen technischen Herausforderungen und Unfällen konfrontiert. Der erste Prototyp stürzte 1953 bei seinem zweiten Flug ab und tötete den Piloten. Der zweite Prototyp durchbrach 1954 die Schallmauer, erlitt jedoch Motorausfälle und strukturelle Schäden. Der dritte Prototyp wurde mit einem längeren Rumpf und einem höheren Heck modifiziert, stürzte jedoch 1955 während einer öffentlichen Demonstration in der Bucht von San Diego ab und tötete einen anderen Piloten. Der vierte und fünfte Prototyp wurden mit weiteren Verbesserungen gebaut, aber das Programm wurde 1957 wegen schlechter Leistung und Zuverlässigkeit eingestellt.
Der Sea Dart war ein ehrgeiziges und innovatives Projekt, das darauf abzielte, die Vorteile von Wasserflugzeugen und Düsenjägern zu kombinieren. Es erwies sich jedoch als zu komplex und riskant für den praktischen Einsatz. Nur fünf Sea Darts wurden jemals gebaut, und keiner von ihnen wurde in Dienst gestellt. Sie bleiben Beispiele für das technologische Experimentieren und Erforschen der Ära des Kalten Krieges.

Ramjet adalah mesin jet yang mesti diluncurkan dengan kecepatan tinggi, terkadang disebut sebagai mesin ramjet, atherodyde, athodyd, drainpipe terbang, jet cerobong asap, adalah wujud mesin jet airbreathing mengfungsikan gerak maju mesin untuk memampatkan hawa masuk, tanpa kompresor rotary. Ramjet tidak mampu membuahkan daya dorong dengan nol kecepatan udara, agar tidak mampu menggerakkan pesawat kala berhenti. Ramjet butuh lebih {dari satu} proses propulsi lainnya untuk mempercepat kendaraan untuk kecepatan spesifik agar ramjet mulai membuahkan daya dorong. Ramjet bekerja paling efisien dengan kecepatan kira-kira Mach 3. Mesin tipe ini mampu beroperasi sampai dengan kecepatan Mach 6.

Di antara mesin jet dan mesin roket terdapat jet penghentak. Jet ini mendorong dengan mengeluarkan arus gas yang kuat dari pipa jet di belakang seperti turbojet, tetapi tidak punyai kompresor atau bagian-bagian yang bergerak. Hanya area pembakaran saja. Untuk menekan hawa manfaat pembakaran, jet ini bersangga terhadap gerakan pesawat ke depan yang benar-benar cepat. Jet ini tak mampu mulai dari kecepatan nol tetapi butuh mesin tambahan maupun pesawat pengangkut untuk meningkatkan kecepatan pesawat terhadap titik spesifik (600 mil perjam) agar tekanan hawa yang masuk ke didalam area pembakaran mencukupi. Pada penerbangan 60.000 kaki jet ini membuahkan semangat 3-5 kali lipat untuk tiap pound berat mesin, kalau dibanding dengan turbojet bakal menghemat 20% harga bahan bakar.

Pesawat terbang mengfungsikan ramjet
Hiller Hornet (helikopter bermesin ramjet)
Focke-Wulf Triebflügel
Leduc pesawat terbang eksperimen
Lockheed D-21
Lockheed X-7
Nord 1500 Griffon
Republic XF-103
SR-71 Blackbird (Mesin turbojet berfungsi sebagai ramjets terhadap kecepatan mach 1+ .)
Peluru kendali mengfungsikan ramjet
Bomarc
BrahMos
MBDA Meteor
Bristol Bloodhound
Bendix RIM-8 Talos
North American SM-64 Navaho
P-270 Moskit
Akash missile
Sea Dart missile
2K11 Krug
MBDA ASMP

Paska Perang Dunia Kedua negara-negara besar dunia mahu membawa segerombolan pesawat pejuang jet yang jelas lebih berkemampuan dari pesawat turboprop sedia ada. Enjin jet ciptaan Sir Frank Whittle dan kepantasan pesawat jet NAZI Messerschmitt Me 262 membuat kepupusan pesawat pejuang berkipas sebagai pesawat barisan hadapan tentera udara dunia. Sungguhpun begitu pesawat pejuang jet yang pantas membuatkan ianya terlampau kecil} untuk digunakan di atas kapal pengangkut pesawat yang sedia ada. Teknologi menerbangkan dan mendaratkan pesawat jet tetap belum wujud terhadap dikala ini.

Pada th. 1953, Tentera Laut Amerika Syarikat memulakan projek pesawat jet amfibia untuk manfaat mereka. Pada pandangan Admiral yang ada kecuali kapal pengangkut kapal terbang tidak bisa menjadi platform pelancaran pesawat jet, sebuah pesawat dua alam ialah jawapan kepada permasalahan ini. Convair F2Y Sea Dart ialah pesawat yang dicipta ia diperkasakan dua enjin jet. Seperti pesawat amfibia yang sedia ada Sea Dart boleh mendarat dan terbang di atas permukaan air. Bagi memudahkan penerbangan ia dilengkapi proses ski yang membuahkan tujahan keatas. Sebanyak 5 prototaip dihasilkan dan dua konfigurasi ski digunakan. Ada yang menggunakan sepasang ski dan ada yang menggunakan cuma sebuag ski. Dalam penerbangan percubaan didapati Sea Dart membawa masalah gegeran yang kronik. Ia termasuk gagal terbang terhadap kelajuan supersonik seperti yang dimahukan oleh Tentera Laut US. Sungguhpun begitu Sea Dart tetap supaya kini memegang rekod sebagai pesawat amfibia terpantas dunia.

Pada th. 1954 sebuah Sea Dart meletup diudara dikala percubaan terbang terhadap kelajuan tinggi supaya membuat kematian juruterbangnya. Pada th. yang mirip terkandung perancangan baru dari Tentera Laut US untuk meletakkan Sea Dart di atas kapal selam nuklear dan sekaligus membuahkan kapal selam pengangkut kapal terbang. Tentera Laut US nyata menyontoh idea ini dari kapal selam Sen Toku I-400 milik Tentera Laut Imperial Jepun.

Pada jelas 1957 projek Sea Dart dihentikan kerana gagal memenuhi kepentingan yang ditetapkan. Pada jaman yang mirip Tentera Laut US sudah berjaya membuahkan proses menerbangkan pesawat jet dari pesawat pengangkut kapal terbang menggunakan proses lentingan stim yang supaya kini tetap ulang digunakan secara meluas

Empat prototaip Sea Dart tetap wujud dan dipamerkan di {beberapa|sebagian|lebih dari satu} muzium semua Amerika Syarikat. Sehingga hari ini tetap ga ada pesawat pejuang amifibia digunakan oleh mana-mana negara dunia. Yang ada hanya Beriev BE-200 Altair buatan Russia yang dulu kami paparkan th. lantas

Pertama kali diterbangkan terhadap tanggal 26 Desember 1956 di Edwards Air Force Base (AFB), Convair F-106 Delta Dart yang kerap disebut bersama “the Six” adalah pesawat pencegat pertahanan hawa segala cuaca yang hebat. Tidak (seperti biasanya) dilengkapi bersama kanon, namun “the Six” mempunyai rudal udara-ke-udara, sebagian satu} di antaranya dilengkapi bersama hulu nuklir, untuk menjatuhkan musuh yang menerobos nekad menerobos lokasi udara. Merupakan pengembangan dari Convair’s F-102 Delta Dagger, F-106 mirip didalam filosofi desain namun sangat tidak serupa didalam aplikasi praktisnya. Delta Darts bertugas didalam unit Angkatan Udara dan Komando Pertahanan Udara (ADC) dan Air National Guard (ANG) antara th. 1959 dan 1988 – juga terhadap tahun2 paling menegangkan didalam Perang Dingin.

Desain awal

Desain sayap Delta dikembangkan sepanjang th. 1950-an untuk Angkatan Laut dan untuk Angkatan Udara. Angkatan Laut menerbangkan Douglas F4D-1 / F-6A Skyray yang bersayap manta, namun cuma untuk sebagian satu} th. saja hingga pesawat multi-misi sangat menjadi umum didalam satuan operasional Angkatan Laut dan Korps Marinir. Desain pesawat bersayap delta tanpa sayap ekor terhadap zaman itu digunakan terhadap desain pembom strategis Avro Vulcan, pembom strategis Convair B-58 Hustler, F-102 Delta Dagger, F2Y Sea Dart, dan Dassault Mirage I serta III.

F-102 (kerap disebut “the Deuce”) kendati udah operasional, dianggap agak mengecewakan bagi Angkatan Udara dan Convair sendiri. Terus diperbaiki, Deuce ditingkatkan ke standar F-102A. F-106 bakal menjadi peningkatan besar atas desain F-102A. Awalnya disebut sebagai F-102B, pesawat baru ini bakal ditenagai oleh mesin turbojet afterburning yang jauh lebih kuat. Mesin pertama yang dipertimbangkan adalah versi mesin lisensi buatan Bristol Olympus, mesin mirip digunakan oleh Avro Vulcan yang lantas bakal dibikin oleh Wright bersama designasi J67 saat digunakan oleh USAF.

Wright tertinggal didalam pengembangan J67 mereka, supaya terhadap th. 1955 Convair mengalihkan pilihan mesin ke twin-spool Pratt & Whitney J75, axial-flow afterburning turbojet engine – mesin yang udah terbukti saat digunakan oleh pembom taktis Republic F-105 Thunderchief dan dikenal juga oleh penerbangan sipil sebagai JT4A. Tetapi ukuran mesin yang lebih besar dan peningkatan kebutuhan aliran hawa terhadap J75 perlu air intake yang lebih besar dan modifikasi saluran intake internal. Asupan hawa terhadap mesin dilengkapi bersama pengatur variabel dan intake dipindahkan lebih dekat ke mesin, perihal ini menjadi tidak benar satu ciri yang membedakan “the Deuce” dan “the Six”, dimana terhadap Delta Dart, air intake ada di belakang kokpit. Dilengkapi bersama sayap yang sedikit lebih besar, bersama penampakg badan pesawat yang lebih elips, dan ditambahkan rem hawa type clamshell yang dipasang di anggota basic vertikal stabilizer, prototipe F-106 yang baru lantas diuji terbang. Pengujian awal mengungkapkan hasil kinerja yang dibawah ekspektasi bersama bersama munculnya persoalan mesin dan avionik yang bisa menggagalkan program F-106 seluruhnya.

Alih-alih membatalkan F-106, Angkatan Udara memutuskan untuk memesannya didalam kuantitas lebih sedikit berasal dari yang direncanakan. Convair selamanya repot menyelesaikan masalahnya, dan meskipun kuantitas jet yang dipesan (350) jauh lebih sedikit berasal dari yang direncanakan (1.000), terhadap sementara F-106A Delta Dart jadi beroperasi terhadap Oktober 1959, jet ini sudah mendekati performa yang direncanakan dibanding terhadap sementara penerbangan awalnya. Type Kursi tunggal F-106A dan jenis latih dua kursi F-106B yang juga punya kapabilitas tempur, mampu menjadi proses senjata pertahanan udara utama Amerika sepanjang bertahun-tahun setelahnya.

Pada Agustus 1958, interceptor hebat ini selesai, jadi beroperasi terhadap Mei 1959. Radius tempurnya bersama bahan bakar internal adalah 575 mil, dan jangkauannya mampu ditingkatkan sampai 2.700 mil bersama tanki eksternal. Ketinggian operasional pesawat ini adalah 57.000 kaki. Pada ketinggian 35.000 kaki, Delta Dart mampu mencegat bersama kecepatan sampai Mach 2. Pada 15 Desember 1959, Mayor Joseph W. Rogers mencatat rekor kecepatan dunia bersama 1.525,96 mph (2.455,79 km / jam) di Delta Dart terhadap 40.500 kaki (12.300 m). Tahun itu juga, Charles E. Myers menerbangkan pesawat jenis yang sama terhadap mencatat kecepatan sedikit lebih tinggi yaitu 1.544 mph (2484 km / jam).

Sistem avionik

Desain F-106 dilengkapi bersama proses pengendali penembakan terintegrasi Hughes MA-1, yang kala dihubungkan bersama Semi-Automatic Ground Environment (SAGE) untuk misi intersepsi yang dikontrol oleh operator di daratan (GCI), terlalu mungkin pesawat dikemudikan oleh pengendali berbasis darat. Atau setidaknya seperti itulah rencananya. MA-1 beberapa kali diganggu oleh masalah dan konsisten diperbarui / ditingkatkan puluhan kali (60 kali tepatnya). Sistem ini juga tidak mengontrol pengaturan daya mesin – hal itu diserahkan ke pilot. Pada prinsipnya sesudah terlepas landas, proses MA-1 mengendalikan pesawat (meskipun pilot memberi tambahan input terhadap throttle) dan pengendali darat SAGE memandu F-106 ke daerah intersep, di mana pilot dapat mengunci pesawat penyusup dan menembakkan senjatanya. Pengontrol SAGE sesudah itu mengembalikan Delta Dart ulang ke daerah pangkalan udara, sementara itu pilot ulang mengambil alih kendali dan melakukan mendarat. Pada masanya proses senjata dan pemeriksaan Delta Dart juga paling canggih, karena nyaris semua berasal dari proses tinggal landas, mendeteksi, sampai proses intersept ditunaikan sebisa bisa saja secara otomatis. Tugas pilot “hanyalah” menerbangkan, menembak dan mendaratkan pesawat.

14 January 1953: During a high-speed taxi test on San Diego Bay, Convair Chief Test Pilot Ellis Dent (“Sam”) Shannon inadvertently made the first flight of the prototype XF2Y-1 Sea Dart, Bu. No. 137634. The airplane flew approximately 1,000 feet (305 meters) across the bay.

Sam Shannon with the Convair XF2Y-1 Sea Dart. (Image courtesy of Neil Corbett, Test and Research Pilots, Flight Test Engineers)
The Sea Dart was a prototype single-seat, twin-engine, delta-winged fighter designed and built by the Convair Division of General Dynamics Corporation at San Diego, California. It was equipped with retractable skis in place of ordinary landing gear to allow it to take off and land on water, snow or sand.

The XF2Y-1 was 52 feet, 7 inches (16.027 meters) long with a wingspan of 33 feet, 8 inches (10.262 meters) and height of 16 feet, 2 inches (4.928 meters) with the skis retracted. The airplane had an empty weight of 12,625 pounds (5,727 kilograms) and maximum takeoff weight of 21,500 pounds (9,752 kilograms).

The prototype XF2Y-1 was powered by two Westinghouse J34-WE-32 single-shaft axial-flow turbojet engines. The engine used an 11-stage compressor and 2-stage turbine. It was rated at 3,370 pounds (14.99 kilonewtons) of thrust, and 4,900 pounds (21.80 kilonewtons) with afterburner. The J34-WE-32 was 15 feet, 4.0 inches (4.674 meters) long, 2 feet, 1.6 inches (0.650 meters) in diameter, and weighed 1,698 pounds (770.2 kilograms).

The YF2Y-1 service test prototypes that followed were powered by Westinghouse XJ46-WE-2 engines. The J46 was also a single-shaft axial-flow turbojet, but had a 12-stage compressor and 2-stage turbine. These were rated at 4,080 pounds of thrust (18.15 kilonewtons), and 6,100 pounds (27.13 kilonewtons) with afterburner. The J46-WE-2 was 15 feet, 11.7 inches (4.869 meters) long, 2 feet, 5.0 inches (0.737 meters) in diameter and weighed 1,863 pounds (845 kilograms).

The YF2Y-1 service test aircraft had a maximum speed of 695 miles per hour (1,118 kilometers per hour) at 8,000 feet (2,438 meters), and 825 miles per hour (1,328 kilometers per hour)—Mach 1.25— at 36,000 feet (10,973 meters). The service ceiling was estimated at 54,800 feet (16,073 meters), and the range was 513 miles (826 kilometers).

There was one XF2Y-1 and four YF2Y-1 aircraft built, but only two of the service test aircraft ever flew. The XF2Y-1 prototype is in storage at the Smithsonian Institution National Air and Space Museum’s restoration facility. One YF2Y-1, Bu No. 135763, is displayed at the San Diego Air and Space Museum, and another, Bu. No. 135764, is in the collection of the Harold F. Pitcairn Wings of Freedom Aviation Museum at Horsham, Pennsylvania, about 30 minutes north of Philadelphia.

About the Project
The Little Jet Company make bespoke replica large scale UAV aircraft for those that are inspired by a love of aviation. Each aircraft is individually crafted to meet the clients’ requirements plus all the parts are designed plus assembled in the UK.

The US NAVY YF2Y-1 Sea Dart: designed by Convair in 1948 was the world’s first plus last supersonic water-based interceptor, it was the only seaplane to fly beyond the speed of sound.

The Challenge
The Little Jet Company was approached by a client to commission the design plus build of the Convair Sea Dart on a smaller scale that would have the ability to be controlled remotely. This lead to the first tahap in the process which began with the manufacture of a replica static type produced by Fighteraces, who produced the type from a pack of 1950’s drawings of the original design. The dimensions from the drawings were scaled down by a quarter, which became the ‘Master’ to which the entire external panel work tooling was produced.

3D Scanning
PES Scanning came into the process using a high fidelity optical scanner to capture the surface geometry of the Master Model. The type geometry was captured in the form of point cloud data which is polygonised to provide a facetted 3D stl file. The GOM scanner is impressively accurate for example, a 70mm measurement volume can produce a 29-micron (0.029mm) point spacing/resolution. See more about the scanning of the type here.

Engineering the Sea Dart
Our engineering design team began the process of taking the facetted data retrieved by PES Scanning plus surfaced this so that the body could be shelled to the desired thickness to match the laminate layup of the scale aircraft’s outer panel work.

In the meantime, the Master type is then used to emboss the tooling with an impression of the Sea Dart geometry which is then used to replicate parts. In this case we have only produced one aircraft, but this process can be used to make a much higher quantity until the surface quality of the parts degrades; at which point a new set of tools is then produced again using the master model. K.S Composites produced all the composited panel work plus tooling.

Our engineers used original photos plus drawings to then ensure the airframe geometry, surface data plus structural cermat were correctly designed as per the original aircraft. The engineers had to ensure that the internal framework was structurally sound plus operated in accordance with the original design brief from the client.

The time taken was made longer since the Master Model was not completely symmetrical, due to the hand-crafted nature of the model. So, instead of mirroring one side of the aircraft, which is typical of modern airframe design these days, the structure had to be individually tailored for both sides of the plane. Incidentally, if you mirrored the left side to the right side plus compared the difference, it was only within a couple of millimetres, which is a testimony to the type makers painstaking attention to cermat plus craftsmanship.

Our engineering team found that the skis were a difficult part of the design as they formed both an aerodynamic plus hydrodynamic surface i.e. they had to be a smooth surface on the aircraft plus also act as skis when deployed. The fact that proved this aspect of the design was difficult in the original aircraft was made obvious when the drawings plus the scan of the aircraft differed slightly from each other, indicating that subtle tweaks were applied to the aircraft to ensure the mechanism worked correctly in reality.

On this day in aviation history, January 14, 1953, the Convair F2Y Sea Dart took off from San Diego Bay on its first flight. Although it never got past the prototype stage, the Sea Dart is unique in the annals of aviation history for being the only seaplane to have gone supersonic.

Platinum B 729
VAN Today in Aviation History BannerOn this day in aviation history, January 14, 1953, the Convair F2Y Sea Dart took off from San Diego Bay on its first flight. Although it never got past the prototype stage, the Sea Dart is unique in the annals of aviation history for being the only seaplane to have gone supersonic.

In the early days of the Cold War, the development of a seaplane fighter seemed an anachronism. While there had indeed been seaplanes fighters in both global wars, the construction of more airbases around the global for land-based aircraft plus the surplus of aircraft carriers seemed to relegate the idea of a seaplane fighter being obsolete. However, as supersonic aircraft were now emerging from the realm of fantasy to practical tools in military air forces, some in the US Navy felt that with these designs often requiring long takeoff rolls, low speed stability concerns, plus landing approach speeds in excess of contemporary naval fighters, especially at a time when angled flight decks had not yet been developed for carriers. It was also hoped that a seaplane fighter could also operate from remote areas that had nomor airbases but enough water for seaplane operations.

In light of this, the Navy began a design contest in 1948 for a supersonic seaplane interceptor, with Convair entering the competition on October 1, 1948. Convair designed several concepts for water-based jet aircraft, including a swept wing concept known as Projct Skate, but apart from a few scale models, these never left the drawing board. However, since Convair was also developing the XF-92 delta wing prototype for a future Air Force interceptor, the design team at Convair, led by Ernest Stout, proposed a new delta wing aircraft with retractable hydro-skis for takeoffs plus landings, a watertight hull, plus a single delta tail. In the end, the entry by Convair was selected by the Navy, plus on January 19, 1951, Convair was awarded a contract for two prototypes (Bureau Numbers 137634 plus 137635) for the XF2Y Sea Dart. Production aircraft were to be armed with four forward firing 20mm Colt Mk 12 cannons, M4 Fin-Folding Aerial Rockets (nicknamed “Mighty Mouse”), plus two air-to-air missiles

On this date in 1954, Convair’s experimental Sea Dart supersonic seaplane exploded in a fireball over San Diego Bay on it’s first test run, killing test pilot Charles “Chuck” Richbourg.

Among the eyewitnesses to the tragedy were dozens of reporters who had gathered to view the Navy exhibition plus Union-Tribune photojournalist Leslie A.”Les” Dodds.

Dodds’ photo sequence of the Sea Dart jet explosion appeared on front pages across the nation the following day plus won the Sigma Delta Chi news picture award of 1954. It resulted in a Pulitzer Prize nomination plus earned him numerous other press honors.

The Sea Dart was the first supersonic seaplane in the world. Convair built five Sea Dart jet fighters for the Navy, plus only three of them ever flew. One is now mounted at the front entrance to the San Diego Air plus Space Museum in Balboa Park.

A Convair Sea Dart, the fastest jet seaplane in the world, exploded in the air yesterday afternoon plus fell in pieces into the bay. The pilot, Charles E. Richbourg, 31, of 952 Moana Dr., was fatally injured.

The black plus yellow delta-winged fighter crashed from an altitude of about 500 feet during a demonstration flight for 200 aircraft plus military officials plus press representatives.

The seaplane plunged in flames into the bay 300 yards from the grup of observers assembled on the Convair ramp near the Coast Guard air station. The accident occurred at 3:05 p.m.

REACHED BY DIVERS

Richbourg died soon after Convair divers pulled him from the wreckage . He still was strapped in the cockpit when the divers reached him.

The flight was part of a Navy-sponsored demonstration of the new aircraft plus was witnessed by 80 reporters plus photographers from throughout the United States.

More than 100 Convair employes saw the crash. Hundreds of San Diegans in scattered parts of the city also saw it.

The Sea Dart, or XF2Y1, took off from the bay near the ramp, retracted its ski landing gear plus circled Coronado, gaining altitude for its first pass.

As the onlookers watched, took notes or aimed cameras, Richbourg put the plane into a shallow dive plus picked up speed as he came in for a run over the takeoff course.

Shot down by a Sea Dart SAM fired by the Royal Navy ship HMS Exeter during the Falklands War.

On Sunday 13th June a number of Canberras were detached on stand-by to Rio Gallegos to fly night-support missions for the Argentinian troops in Port Stanley, Falklands Islands. Two B.62 Canberras were tasked and readied along with two Mirage IIIEAs as fighter escort. Take off was 21:00 (local) and the B.62s climbed to 36,000ft setting course for Mount Kent. The Mirages took off some time later and held steady about 30k behind while the Canberras positioned to the south for their bomb run from 36,000ft. Both B.62s ran in and dropped their loads (unknown results) and made a 180 degree turn to clear the area. Just after the escape turn, B-108, the lead aircraft, was hit by a Sea Dart fired from HMS Exeter. The missile hit the lower front section of the fuselage causing explosive decompression of the cockpit and a No 1 tank fire. Elevator control was also lost and the pilot tried to reduce speed and prevent a spin. As it fell below 13,000ft, the navigator was ordered to eject but there was no response. With the Canberra now falling passed 7,000ft the pilot ejected and was eventually picked up by a British helicopter. He was repatriated at the end of the conflict.

English translation of Argentine report: “Fragmentary Order 1326, two BMK-62, indicative BACO, armed with MK-17 bombs five thousand pounds, with SSQ fuse each. Mission: horizontal bombing Port Harriet House. Crew: 1 (B-108) Captain Roberto Pastrán, Captain Fernando Casado. 2 (B-109) First Lieutenant Robert Rivollier, First Lieutenant George Annino.

Took off from Rio Gallegos at 21:30. During the approach to the launch (from south to north), the No. 1 deviated a little east and 2 lost sight. What came before and exceeded the target material (confirmed with Doppler radar indications Malvinas). He released his bombs and turned left, confirming the explosion of the same. Until that moment there was no anti-aircraft fire but then immediately began an intense reaction if flak.

It was, at that time, when the No. 1 flew over the target material and made ​​its launch, a few seconds later was hit by a missile that destroyed part of his plane, and entered flat spin. The pilot, Captain Pastrán, managed to eject , not the master browser Married fell and crashed into the wreckage. Captain Pastrán fell into the sea, near the coast, inflated his life boat, landed and was taken prisoner.

After 10 months flying in space, NASA’s Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) – the world’s first planetary defense technology demonstration – successfully impacted its asteroid target on Monday, the agency’s first attempt to move an asteroid in space.

Mission control at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) in Laurel, Maryland, announced the successful impact at 7:14 p.m. EDT.

As a part of NASA’s overall planetary defense strategy, DART’s impact with the asteroid Dimorphos demonstrates a viable mitigation technique for protecting the planet from an Earth-bound asteroid or comet, if one were discovered.

“At its core, DART represents an unprecedented success for planetary defense, but it is also a mission of unity with a real benefit for all humanity,” said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson. “As NASA studies the cosmos and our home planet, we’re also working to protect that home, and this global collaboration turned science fiction into science fact, demonstrating one way to protect Earth.”

DART targeted the asteroid moonlet Dimorphos, a small body just 530 feet (160 meters) in diameter. It orbits a larger, 2,560-foot (780-meter) asteroid called Didymos. Neither asteroid poses a threat to Earth.

The mission’s one-way trip confirmed NASA can successfully navigate a spacecraft to intentionally collide with an asteroid to deflect it, a technique known as kinetic impact.

The investigation team will now observe Dimorphos using ground-based telescopes to confirm that DART’s impact altered the asteroid’s orbit around Didymos. Researchers expect the impact to shorten Dimorphos’ orbit by about 1%, or roughly 10 minutes; precisely measuring how much the asteroid was deflected is one of the primary purposes of the full-scale test.

“Planetary Defense is a globally unifying effort that affects everyone living on Earth,” said Thomas Zurbuchen, associate administrator for the Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington. “Now we know we can aim a spacecraft with the precision needed to impact even a small body in space. Just a small change in its speed is all we need to make a significant difference in the path an asteroid travels.”

The spacecraft’s sole instrument, the Didymos Reconnaissance and Asteroid Camera for Optical navigation (DRACO), together with a sophisticated guidance, navigation and control system that works in tandem with Small-body Maneuvering Autonomous Real Time Navigation (SMART Nav) algorithms, enabled DART to identify and distinguish between the two asteroids, targeting the smaller body.

If everything aeronautical seemed possible in the heady post-war jet age, some aircraft designs found where the limitations were.

The Convair F2Y Sea Dart was one of four delta-wing jets in design or production by that San Diego company in the 1950s. Convair embraced the delta planform as its ticket to supersonic performance.

But early supersonic jet fighters plus the restrictions of aircraft carrier decks were problematical, plus one alternative was to create supersonic seaplane fighters for the U.S. Navy.

Anyone who has ever skipped a flat stone across a pond knows the physics involved in a planing surface that, when moving fast enough, does not sink beneath the waves. Hydro skis leveraged that phenomenon into flat plates that could keep a moving aircraft skimming on top of the water.

Convair amalgamated hydro skis, a delta wing, plus two turbojets into a floating fighter that could get up on extendable skis plus take off from a bobbing start on the ocean’s surface.

A Sea Dart in flight over San Diego shows hydro skis extended. High mounted engine inlets were an effort to keep the Sea Dart from ingesting excessive amounts of sea water. (Peter M. Bowers collection)
The Sea Dart was said to be theoretically capable of operations from snow or ice as well. During its test program at San Diego, the F2Y used small wheels on each hydro ski plus the lower aft fuselage to permit it to taxi up plus down a seaplane ramp.

The idea of a supersonic Navy jet fighter that was mandiri of aircraft carriers looked attractive.

When at rest on the sea surface, the Sea Dart floated low in the water, its delta wing nearly awash at the trailing edge. As the two Westinghouse jet engines were throttled up, the F2Y gained speed while floating on its hull until sufficient forward motion was achieved to extend the hydro skis plus rise into the planing position. From here, the jet’s vastly decreased water friction made takeoff possible.

On the last day of May in 2009, as night enveloped the airport in Rio de Janeiro, the 216 passengers waiting to board a flight to Paris could not have suspected that they would never see daylight again, or that many would sit strapped to their seats for another two years before being found dead in the darkness, 13,000 feet below the surface of the Atlantic Ocean. But that is what happened. Air France Flight 447 carried a crew of nine flight attendants plus three pilots—their numbers augmented because of duty-time limitations on a 5,700-mile trip that was expected to last nearly 11 hours. These were highly trained people, flying an immaculate wide-bodied Airbus A330 for one of the premier airlines of the world, an iconic company of which all of France is proud. Even today—with the flight recorders recovered from the sea floor, French technical reports in hand, plus exhaustive inquests under way in French courts—it remains almost unimaginable that the airplane crashed. A small glitch took Flight 447 down, a brief loss of airspeed indications—the merest blip of an information problem during steady straight-and-level flight. It seems absurd, but the pilots were overwhelmed.

To the question of why, the facile answer—that they happened to be three unusually incompetent men—has been widely dismissed. Other answers are more speculative, because the pilots can nomor longer explain themselves plus had slid into a state of frantic incoherence before they died. But their incoherence tells us a lot. It seems to have been rooted in the very advances in piloting plus aircraft design that have improved airline safety over the past 40 years. To put it briefly, automation has made it more plus more unlikely that ordinary airline pilots will ever have to face a raw crisis in flight—but also more plus more unlikely that they will be able to cope with such a crisis if one arises. Moreover, it is not clear that there is a way to resolve this paradox. That is why, to many observers, the loss of Air France 447 stands out as the most perplexing plus significant airline accident of moderen times.

The crew arrived in Rio three days before the accident plus stayed at the Sofitel hotel on Copacabana Beach. At Air France, the layover there was considered to be especially desirable. The junior co-pilot, Pierre-Cédric Bonin, 32, had brought along his wife for the trip, leaving their two young sons at home, plus the captain, Marc Dubois, 58, was traveling with an off-duty flight attendant plus opera singer. In the French manner, the accident report made nomor mention of Dubois’s private life, but that omission then required a finding that fatigue played nomor role, when the captain’s inattention clearly did. Dubois had come up the hard way, flying many kinds of airplanes before hiring on with Air Inter, a domestic airline subsequently absorbed by Air France; he was a veteran pilot, with nearly 11,000 flight hours, more than half of them as captain. But, it became known, he had gotten only one hour of sleep the previous night. Rather than resting, he had spent the day touring Rio with his companion.

The Russian plane that crashed in Egypt was not struck from the outside and the pilot did not make a distress call before it disappeared from radar, a source in the committee analysing the flight recorders said today.
The source declined to give more details but based his comments on the preliminary examination of the black boxes recovered from the Airbus A321 which crashed in the Sinai Peninsula on Saturday killing all 224 people on board.

A civil aviation source said only that Egyptian investigators aided by Russian and French experts had not yet finished examining the black boxes.

Russian officials have said the plane, carrying holidaymakers from the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh to St Petersburg, likely broke up in mid-air but said it was too early to say what caused it to crash.

The first bodies recovered from the wreckage arrived on board a Russian government plane at St Petersburg’s Pulkovo Airport, where grieving Russians left piles of flowers.

A Reuters photographer saw a white lorry leaving the airport, escorted by police cars, heading for a St Petersburg morgue, where the bodies were to be identified.

Russian news agencies said the plane carried 144 bodies and a second government plane was due to leave Cairo on Monday evening.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, who had declared Sunday a national day of mourning, said on Monday the crash was a great tragedy. “Without any doubt everything should be done so that an objective picture of what happened is created,” Putin said in comments cited by ITAR-TASS. “So that we know what happened.”

When asked if a terrorist attack could be to blame, Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov said nomor theory could yet be ruled out.An Egyptian militant kelompok affiliated with Islamic State said on Saturday it brought down the plane “in response to Russian air strikes that killed hundreds of Muslims on Syrian land”. Russia’s transport minister dismissed the claim, saying it “can’t be considered accurate”.

The Sea Dart was an attempt at a seaplane fighter jet that would not have the challenges early jets had operating from aircraft carriers due to high approach speeds and long take-off rolls. Plus, not having a large runway would reduce the risk of the operating base being targeted.

So Convair proposed a delta-winged fighter with extending water skis to launch off of the water. The skis would extend only during the take-off roll and shortly before landing to make an airborne shape able of handling the water environment. However, there were wheels on the skis so the Sea Dart could wheel itself into and out of the water. Also there were some Sea Darts with two skis, and some with one.

According to the San Diego Air and Space Museum about the watertight design of the Sea Dart;

“The hull of the Sea Dart had multiple watertight compartments in the lower fuselage to prevent sinking in the event of a puncture. It was fitted with a set of dive brakes on the lower rear fuselage which also doubled as water brakes and as a water rudder while taxiing on the surface. When sitting at rest in the water, the Sea Dart floated with the trailing edge of the wing and the twin hydro-skis flush with the water, and the leading edge of the delta wing at the juncture of the fuselage about 18 inches above the water.”

Although the design was clearly thoughtfully engineered, the execution of the design would face multiple challenges. For one, the intended powerplant of two afterburning Westinghouse XJ46-WE-02 turbojets was unavailable for the prototypes, so twin Westinghouse J34-WE-32 engines were substituted. This would contribute to the short life of the Sea Dart. Flight testing of the Sea Dart would start on January 14, 1953, when E. D. “Sam” Shannon accidentally, during a taxi test, let the Sea Dart fly. The formal first flight was on April 9, 1953.

Initial flight tests found the prototype Sea Darts woefully underpowered. Granted, again, the initial engines were about half the power of the production engines, but still.

The skis would also be insufficient to deal with the stresses of high-speed water takeoff as there were violent vibrations. The aircraft did not handle rough seas well either, to the point that plans to recover the Sea Dart on the open seas were scuttled.

Another gangguan was that even with the intakes on the top of the fuselage, saltwater would still get into the engines. So a freshwater injection system had to be installed.

Furthermore, the aircraft fuselage needed to be modified from its initial shape to an area-rule body, so the Sea Dart could go supersonic. The costs were high and intimidating to the US Naval Aviation Enterprise.