F2Y Sea Dart, The Amazing Prototype Sea Plane From 1950 | Original Footage Upscaled

The Convair F2Y Sea Dart was an American seaplane fighter aircraft that rode on twin 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.
The Sea Dart began as Convair's entry in a 1948 U.S. Navy contest for a supersonic interceptor aircraft. At the time, there was much skepticism about operating supersonic aircraft from carrier decks. In order to address this issue, the U.S. Navy ordered many subsonic fighters. 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.
he aircraft was built in Convair's San Diego facility at Lindbergh Field and was taken to San Diego Bay for testing in December 1952. On 14 January 1953, with E. D. "Sam" Shannon at the controls, the aircraft inadvertently made its first short flight during what was supposed to be a fast taxi run; its official maiden flight was on 9 April.
An XF2Y-1 in flight
The underpowered engines made the fighter 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 legs improved this situation somewhat, but they were unable to resolve the sluggish performance. The Sea Dart proved incapable of supersonic speed in level flight with the J34 engines; not helping was its pre-area rule shape, which meant higher transonic drag.
General characteristics
Crew: 1
Length: 51 ft 1.5 in (15.583 m)
Wingspan: 35 ft 4 in (10.77 m)
Width: 5 ft 5 in (1.65 m) fuselage / hull beam
Draught (skis retracted): 40 in (1,000 mm)
Draught (skis extended): 96.5 in (2,450 mm)
Height: 16 ft (4.9 m) on 3-point beaching gear
7 ft 5 in (2.26 m) aircraft in horizontal rigging position
Wing area: 568 sq ft (52.8 m2)
Aspect ratio: 1.02
Airfoil: root: NACA 0003.30-65 (mod.) 3% thickness ; tip (station 173.7): NACA 0004-65 (mod.) 4% thickness ; average thickness 3.83%
Empty weight: 16,725 lb (7,586 kg)
Gross weight: 24,373 lb (11,055 kg)
Fuel capacity: 1,000 US gal (830 imp gal; 3,800 l) usable fuel + 6.5 US gal (5.4 imp gal; 25 l) unusable fuel
Powerplant: 2 × Westinghouse J46-WE-12B afterburning turbojet engines, 4,500 lbf (20 kN) thrust each dry, 6,100 lbf (27 kN) with afterburner
XF2Y-1 137634 2x Westinghouse J34-WE-32 3,400 lbf (15,000 N) (dry only)
Performance
Maximum speed: 695 mph (1,118 km/h, 604 kn) at 8,000 ft (2,400 m)
825 mph (717 kn; 1,328 km/h) at 36,000 ft (11,000 m)
Maximum speed: Mach 1.25
Range: 513 mi (826 km, 446 nmi)
Rate of climb: 17,100 ft/min (87 m/s)
Time to altitude: 35,000 ft (11,000 m) in 1 minute 42 seconds
Wing loading: 29 lb/sq ft (140 kg/m2)
Thrust/weight: 0.56 (max. loaded); 0.96 (empty)
Take-off run: 5,500 ft (1,700 m)
Landing run: 1,500 ft (460 m)
Take-off time in calm air: 35 seconds
Landing speed at 20° alpha: 130 mph (113 kn; 209 km/h) in landing configuration with 10% fuel
Armament
Guns: 4x fixed forward-firing 20 mm (0.787 in) Colt Mk 12 cannon (production aircraft)
Rockets: Fin-Folding Aerial Rockets (production aircraft)
Missiles: 2 × air-to-air missiles (production aircraft)
The second prototype was canceled, so the first service test aircraft was built and flown. This was fitted with the J46 engines, which 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. On 4 November 1954, Sea Dart BuNo 135762 disintegrated in midair over San Diego Bay during a demonstration for naval officials and the press, killing Convair test pilot Charles E. Richbourg when he inadvertently exceeded the airframe's limitations. Richbourg was a 31-year-old Navy veteran of the Second World War. He was quickly pulled from the water but did not survive the airframe breakage. He was buried in St. Augustine National Cemetery in Florida.
Footage courtesy of the San Diego Air and Space Museum Archives
#aircraft #seadart #seaplane

[@Dronescapes]

Click the link to watch more aircraft, heroes and their stories, missions: www.youtube.com/@Dronescapes

[@roberthuber1936]

Before anyone can possibly withstand life and death situation with the quality of the music after 60+ years on film you can read the book that that is still available. It is written with the test pilots words on that Landing in Sea State 5 where he was racked up pretty good and made the takeoff afterwards and made it back now that's someone who can withstand a lot more than people who cannot tolerate the music. We are very fortunate to have this film available and yes it's in a bad State, it's off of 16 mm flim print in poor condition be happy for what we have.

[@Dronescapes]

Finally some perspective! ❤

[@K-Effect]

I remember watching all the stuff on the big C-Band satellite dish when I was a kid back in the late 80s and early 90s. It was called “Wings” on the Discovery Channel, before the Discovery Channel turned into garbage. I think I still have multiple dozens of VHS tapes recorded with these episodes.

[@life_of_riley88]

Engineering seemed to be able to make leaps and bounds back then, in short order. It's truly amazing what was done in the 50's and 60's, yet today it takes decades for a new aircraft to become operational.

[@godthisisannoying]

That's the thing, the 50's and 60's took care of doing all the weird little experiments, and left us with a handful of functional ideas that we've been working with ever since. You can see a parallel with the cellphone market just before the IPhone. In the late 90's, early 00's, we had cellphones of every shape and size, twisting and sliding every each way. Then one design took hold of the market and all the experimentation died down. It happens everywhere. Buildings, bridges, trains, cars, TVs, computers, phones, even software.

[@frankpienkosky5688]

many bizarre and interesting experimental aircraft built in the 50's...this was one of them...the navy also tried to use the same concept in the development of a jet-powered strategic bomber...

[@jamie0]

Meanwhile Spacex went from idea to reusable self landing rockets in a few years. Granted, a lot of the regular rocketry they only had to build on.

[@WalkerKlondyke]

todays engineering leaps happen in ones and zeros

[@slice1208]

They have this plane on display in Lakeland, Florida. I remember seeing it as a kid and thought it was the coolest thing.

[@ronjones1077]

Always fun to look back at the struggles we humans put ourselves through that lead to a dead end. We gained knowledge in any case.

[@frankpienkosky5688]

....the military has a practically unlimited budget back then....

[@kennethrini2932]

They use to have a Sea Dart as a static display at NAS NTTC Patuxent River Md naval air station

[@derekpierkowski7641]

Sound Track ROCKS!!!!!

[@Dronescapes]

😄😎

[@robozstarrr8930]

. . . More Cowbell!

[@Blue_Dingo]

When I was sent to NAS Millington, Tennessee, in the USMC, in 1979 there was Sea Dart in the Boneyard. Very cool to see one in person, up close.

[@mollybell5779]

I apologize for going off topic here, but I can't stop myself. I was stationed at Millington in the summer of '77, going to electronics school. After attending the self-paced class for a few weeks, a Navy Relief Drive had started. One Monday morning, a 1st class PO visited our classroom and announced that if you bought a $5 book of raffle tickets, you could take the afternoon off. And that if you bought two $5 books of tickets, you could take the whole day off. Well that was right up my alley, so I handed him 10 bucks and headed out the door to enjoy an unexpected day off. What surprised me though, was that the next morning he showed up again with the same deal. Of course, with me being me and all, I bought two more books of raffle tickets and took that day off, too. To my amazement, I show up on Wednesday, and the dude is there offering the same deal. And I was happy to support the Navy Relief Drive. By the time Friday rolled around, I had spent 50 bucks on raffle tickets, but had taken the whole week off. And to my complete bewilderment and utter joy, came to class on Monday after being off for 9 days straight, including the weekends, the dude was there again, offering the same deal. LOL! So yeah. Took the whole next week off for 50 bucks. Granted, I did have to show up each weekday morning, but only long enough to get my two books and head out the door. I could not believe my good fortune. Free housing and food and collecting a paycheck twice a month that was more than enough to buy every single day off? Oh, yeah. It eventually caught up with me, and I got in trouble, but I sure enjoyed those few weeks supporting the Navy Relief Drive, even if I didn't bother to check and see if I won a prize. Go Navy!😂

[@mollybell5779]

After all these years, it just occurred to me of possibly why they named the triangular style wing as a delta wing (at least, I think so). Because the Greek letter D (delta) is denoted by a triangle?! Anyway, cool video so far. Thank you. 😁

[@scottross617]

Bingo!👍

[@matthewjurak7445]

"It may look like Men at play, but this was no game!" The pinnacle and marvel of design IMHO is the SR-71 Blackbird, all engineered without AI or advanced computers and chips, engineered 'on-paper' essentially ... Yet somehow we consider our current humanity far more evolved and sophisticated than those of the past. I'm not so sure.

[@breth8159]

The sea dart is on display in front of the San Diego aerospace museum along with the Lockheed A12

[@stephensarkany3577]

Yes, I remember seeing it there in the mid 80's when I was stationed at Point Loma.

[@genefinney9319]

I believe that there was a Sea Dart on static display near Base Operations at Sand Point Naval Air Station in Seattle. It was severely neglected and in sad condition as it sat near the runway for many years. After NAS Sand Point closed it was moved somewhere that it could be appreciated by aviation enthusiasts. I have often wondered how it came to Seattle and if it was ever tested there on Lake Washington

[@ricksgarage8069]

I'm sure one of these aircraft was on a static display at NAS Willow Grove, PA. It may still be.

[@olsonspeed]

I saw the Sea Dart at Bremerton Naval Shipyard for many years, it was then moved to Renton Field, WA. I did not know it was a gate guardian at Standpoint NAS. The Sea Dart has always been one of my favorite aircraft, I can imagine that salt water ingestion and corrosion were major design challenges.

[@fastone942]

There one at Lakeland Linder airport it’s part of the Florida air museum Navy bureau number 135765 last time I recall it’s still in good shape I went by there for one of the last sun and fun fly in I flew into

[@ericbrammer2245]

Plausibly the Worst Music soundtrack, ever!? Otherwise, great story about the Sea Dart!

[@Dronescapes]

Original music, what can you do! Love it or leave it. It should help getting you back to those times.

[@dmitryshusterman9494]

Lethal soundtrack

[@juliedy1574]

It sounds like almost every school educational film I ever watched in the 1970s. It's kinda like the music is nauseous.

[@juliedy1574]

Thanks for making this film a available!

[@Dronescapes]

@@juliedy1574 It makes sense, the music is from 70 years ago. Back then they did not think what the taste of people in 2022 could have been, especially for a promotional video.

[@JohnMosbarger]

My parents took a drive around Harbor Drive (I was relegated the back seat!) and just by chance a Sea Dart was taxiling for takeoff. We waited a while and watched it take off. Near the ramp was a Pogo Stick that was there for several years but I never saw it fly.

[@LuciferThe1]

Great background to listen to as you fall to sleep.

[@kingoftadpoles]

I only knew this from an entry in the Observer's Book of Aircraft, 1954. Great to see actual footage.

[@Dronescapes]

👍👍❤

[@stijnvandamme76]

designed when Lsd was still legal, listen to that music, and distortion.. you know I'm right. They was tripping in them days. And those test pilots had massive balls.. that's for sure.

[@mollybell5779]

Great video. I'd never heard of this aircraft before. I wonder if they were considering making a submarine that could carry one or more of these.

[@frankpienkosky5688]

the japs pioneered the concept of a submersible aircraft carrier.....

[@Xeemix]

God I love this thing, so damn cool

[@kennethrini2932]

The Navy also had a program called Surface Effect Ship in the 1970's. Two different sized vessels. Used Jet engines for lift a thrust. Almost like the Marines Amphibious Hover landing crafts. When the program ended Coke A Cola ought them for scrap aluminum to make soda cans out of them. I still think the largest one would have great catamaran conversion.

[@frankpienkosky5688]

the russians were playing around with this concept too...and also produced some really strange aircraft.....

[@rmccain99]

Time for the F22 Sea Dart.

[@Retroscoop]

Don't you think the normal F 22 is already expensive enough ?

[@rmccain99]

@@Retroscoop I think we need to look at what was so good about the still in use F4 Phantom.

[@dmitryshusterman9494]

The only mystery is why did anyone need this thing. No clue given.

[@redcat9436]

Three quarters of the Earth's surface becomes an airfield.

[@xodiaq]

If they could have taken advantage of ground effect lift, they could have stayed well below radar until they needed to be high up.

[@grahamallen1970]

Looks like a 5th gen fighter years before

[@Dronescapes]

It was VERY interesting indeed.

[@alexandrec9372]

Muito bom! Obrigado por compartilhar!

[@hmcredfed1836]

7:30 this is what they call practical xD

[@jeromewagschal9485]

That magnificent aircraft looks like it could have come out of Jules Verne's 20 000 leagues under the sea...

[@jonathanvince8173]

one huge problem Britain all ready built a floating jet fighter called Saunders-Roe SR.A/1 back in 1947.

[@kennethrini2932]

The Brits also designed the first jet engine America used

[@frankpienkosky5688]

@@kennethrini2932 ...and gave their knowledge to the russians over a pool table....thus the Mig-15...

[@southerncross4956]

Watching this plane splashing and lumbering around in the water is painful to watch. Of all the problems it had, underpowered engines is the most obvious to me.

[@ChileMiPais]

As I recall it was one of the worst handling aircraft in the water the shocks came off the skids onto the pilot's back was almost unsustainable

[@balinetwork]

Next big idea in Fifties wait to be used practical and efficient in the future

[@QinShou96]

surely it's a great movie if you could repair the sound.

[@rmccain99]

This greatly reduces aircraft carrier logistics and operations near the China sea. Now how do we keep it operational?

[@JoaoPedro-qm2nc]

Great America.

[@USNVA11]

All that effort and it wasn’t put into production.

[@frankpienkosky5688]

lot of competition between the armed services back then....and there's lots of money made when contracts are awarded....

[@rmccain99]

Most of the research has been done. Let's divert some money for research. Time for new thinking.

[@drewstools1770]

The question here is what was the point, just use an airfield

[@WesternkindUnited]

Dependency on an airfield is a liability. Access to aircraft capable of circumventing this necessity renders utility and flexibility that would be advantageous in various circumstances of conflict.

[@drewstools1770]

@@WesternkindUnited This aircraft would be a duck in a duck shoot, any missiles would need to be mounted on top of the aircraft aerodynamically this is a complete no go, the weight would be severely restricted limiting range, sea state would need to be low for it to take off. Its a complete white elephant.

[@WesternkindUnited]

@@drewstools1770, I will concur that the implementation of the concept needs refinement, and that this particular model is not the one that I would commission for production.

[@davidwatson2399]

Unwatchable due to the music.

[@Dronescapes]

David, this video is 70 years old. Perhaps back then they did not factor in the taste of people in 2022, or perhaps they cared about the substance of the aircraft and not music. Personally when I see a feat of engineering that is tha timpressive I can't help by be amazed, let alone even notice a rusty soundtrack.

[@davidwatson2399]

@@Dronescapes Fully aware of that, but the facts remain the same. It's not about taste.

[@rmccain99]

Needs canards to get the nose up and down.

[@rmccain99]

WE can do better now.

[@dicksatan6444]

Giant waste of money, as is all military spending.

[@Dronescapes]

Until you need to defend yourself Dick...

[@joshuajuarez3471]

Potential for a great doc. But they failed this one.

[@Yevgeni_Prigozhin]

I'm 3 minutes in and already can't stand the music. Worst sounds ever made? Can't finish.

[@Dronescapes]

Blame those guys from the 50s that chose a music you do not like 70 years later! 😬

[@frankpienkosky5688]

@@Dronescapes just hit the mute button and use the captions...