Convair F2Y-1 Sea Dart
The Convair F2Y Sea Dart is an American seaplane fighter aircraft that rode on one or two hydro-skis during takeoff and landing. It flew only as a prototype, and never entered mass production. It is the only seaplane to have exceeded the speed of sound. It was created in the 1950s, to overcome the problems with supersonic planes taking off and landing on aircraft carriers. The program was canceled after a series of unsatisfactory results and a tragic accident on 4 November 1954, in which test pilot Charles E. Richbourg was killed when the Sea Dart he was piloting disintegrated in midair. The four surviving planes were retired in 1957, but some were kept in reserve until 1962.
Summary from Wikipedia, photo via Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY-SA.
- Manufacturer
- Convair
- Category
- Fighters
- First flight
- 1953-01-14
Specifications
- Cruise speed
- 604 kt
- Max speed
- 717 kt
- Range
- 446 nm
- Service ceiling
- 36,000 ft
- Rate of climb
- 17,100 ft/min
- Max takeoff weight
- 24,373 lb
- Empty weight
- 16,725 lb
- Fuel capacity
- 1,000 US gal
- Powerplant
- 2 × Westinghouse J46-WE-12B afterburning turbojet engines
- Engines
- 2
- Seats
- 1
- Length
- 51.1 ft
- Wingspan
- 35.3 ft
- Height
- 16 ft
- Number built
- 5
Specifications are approximate and may vary by variant. Compiled from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA).
Reference and training only. Specifications vary by variant — consult the manufacturer and the official documents.