- F5D Skylancer
Infobox Aircraft
name=F5D Skylancer
type=Fighter aircraft
manufacturer=Douglas Aircraft Company
caption=Douglas F5D Skylancer prototype in use by NASA forDyna-Soar abort training
designer=
first flight=21 April 1956
introduced=
retired=
status=
primary user=United States Navy
more users=United States Marine Corp
produced=
number built=4
unit cost=
developed from=F4D Skyray
variants with their own articles=TheUnited States Douglas F5D Skylancer was a development of theF4D Skyray jet fighter for theUnited States Navy . Starting out as the F4D-2N, an all-weather version of the Skyray, the design was soon modified to take full advantage of the extra thrust of thePratt & Whitney J57 eventually fitted to the Skyray instead of the Westinghouse J40 originally planned.Design and development
Soon the design became too different from the Skyray to be considered just a variation of it, and the aircraft was assigned a new designation as the F5D Skylancer. Almost every part of the airframe was modified, though the basic form remained the same as did the wing shape, though it became much thinner. The wing skinning was reinforced, correcting a problem found in the F4D. The fuselage was eight feet (2.4 m) longer and
area rule d to reduce transonic drag, being thinner in the region of the wing roots. Everything was shaped to reduce drag and increase stability at high speed.Although the four 20 mm cannon in the wing roots were retained, primary armament was to be missiles or rockets; four
AIM-9 Sidewinder s or twoAIM-7 Sparrow s, and/or a battery of spin-stabilized unguided 2 in (51 mm) rockets.Nine test airframes were ordered, with a 51-aircraft production order to follow. Production aircraft were to be powered by the more powerful J57-P-14 engine, while there were plans to use the even more powerful
General Electric J79.Testing
The first flight was on
21 April 1956 and was supersonic; the aircraft proved easy to handle and performed well. After four aircraft had been constructed, however, the Navy cancelled its order. The stated reason was that the aircraft was too similar to the already-orderedF8U Crusader , but it is believed by some historians that politics played as big a part; Douglas was already building a very large proportion of the Navy's planes, and giving them the F5D contract would have made it even closer to monopoly. Gunston 1981, p. 73.]The four aircraft continued to fly in various military test programs. Two were grounded in 1961, but the other two continued to fly. Transferred to NACA (soon to become
NASA ) in the early 1960s, one was used as a testbed for the Americansupersonic transport program, fitted with an ogival wing platform (the type eventually used onConcorde ; data from the program was shared with the European designers). This aircraft was retired in 1968. The other (pictured) was used for simulation of abort procedures for theX-20 DynaSoar , because it had a very similar shape and handling characteristics. Following the DynaSoar cancellation, it was used as a chase plane and for various other programs until it was retired in 1970. This last plane still exists at theNeil Armstrong Air and Space Museum atWapakoneta, Ohio , sinceNeil Armstrong flew the aircraft during the DynaSoar research program. A second example of the F5D with NASA markings exists as part of Merle Maine's private collection in Ontario, Oregon.pecifications (F5D)
aircraft specifications
plane or copter?=plane
jet or prop?=jet
ref="The American Fighter" Angelluci 1987, p. 191.]
crew=1
length main=53 ft 9¾ in
length alt=16.40 m
span main=33 ft 6 in
span alt=10.21 m
height main=14 ft 10 in
height alt=4.52 m
area main=557 ft²
area alt=51.7 m²
empty weight main=17,444 lb
empty weight alt=7,912 kg
loaded weight main=24,445 lb
loaded weight alt=11,088 kg
max takeoff weight main=28,072 lb
max takeoff weight alt=12,733 kg
engine (jet)=Pratt & Whitney J57 -P-8
type of jet=turbojet
number of jets=1
thrust main=10,200 lbf
thrust alt=45 kN
afterburning thrust main=16,000 lbf
afterburning thrust alt=71 kN
max speed main=990 mph
max speed alt=860 knots, 1,590 km/h
range main=1,335 mi
range alt=1,160 nm, 2,148 km
ceiling main=57,500 ft
ceiling alt=17,500 m
climb rate main=20,730 ft/min
climb rate alt=105.3 m/s
loading main=43.9 lb/ft²
loading alt=214 kg/m²
thrust/weight=0.65
avionics=
* X-24A radar
guns=4× 20 mm (0.787 in) cannon
missiles=
** 4×AIM-9 Sidewinder "or"
** 2×AIM-7 Sparrow
rockets=72× 2 in (51 mm) rocketsee also
aircontent
related=
*F4D Skyray
similar aircraft=
*F8U Crusader
lists=
*List of fighter aircraft
*List of military aircraft of the United States (naval)
see also=References
Notes
Bibliography
* Angelucci, Enzo. "The American Fighter". Sparkford, Somerset, UK: Haynes Publishing Group, 1987. ISBN 0-85429-635-2.
* Ginter, Steve. "Douglas F5D-1 Skylancer (Naval Fighters No. 35)". Simi Valley, California: Ginter Books, 1996. ISBN 0-94261-235-3.
* Gunston, Bill. "Fighters of the Fifties". Cambridge, UK: Patrick Stephens Limited, 1981. ISBN 0-85059-463-4.
* Winchester, Jim, ed. "Douglas F4D Skyray." "Military Aircraft of the Cold War (The Aviation Factfile)". London: Grange Books plc, 2006. ISBN 1-84013-929-3.External links
* [http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/aircraft/f5d.htm F5D-1 Skylancer]
* [http://www.dfrc.nasa.gov/gallery/photo/F-5D/Small/EC62-128.jpgNASA Dryden F5D-1 Skylancer Photo Collection]
* [http://www.vectorsite.net/avskyray.html#m4 F5D-1 Skylancer (section 4)]
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