Convair F2Y Sea Dart - Florida Air Museum - Lakeland, FL
Posted by: 
lazyCachers
N 27° 58.929 W 082° 01.674
17R E 398914 N 3095650
Located in front of the Florida Air Museum at the Lakeland Regional Airport in Lakeland, Florida.
Waymark Code: WM5JND
Location: Florida, United States
Date Posted: 01/14/2009
Views: 14
Convair design people, along with the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics who had been putting forth efforts in the direction of hydroskis instead of floats for water operation of aircraft, produced an interesitng proposal which became the first jet seaplane fighter, the F2Y-1 or Sea Dart with hydroskis.
On January 19, 1951 the Navy Bureau of Aeronautics ordered two prototypes for testing. The F2Y-1 had a span of 33 feet 8 inches and wing area of 563 square feet. Even with shock absorbing struts, skis pounding on the water surface at high speeds made for a rough ride at over 60 knots. Ships lifted off at about 120 knots and took one mile to achieve this.
The dark blue with yeloow stripes made a handsome paint job for a handsome airplane. F2Y-1 test work ran through most of 1957 when it was finally closed.
Type of Aircraft: (make/model): Sea Dart - Convair Model YF2Y-1
Tail Number: (S/N): 135763
Construction:: original aircraft
Location (park, airport, museum, etc.): Museum
inside / outside: outside
Other Information:: Not listed
Access restrictions: Not listed
|
Visit Instructions:
Photo of aircraft (required - will be interesting to see if the aircraft is ever repainted or progress if being restored)
Photo of serial number (required unless there is not one or it is a replica)
Photo(s) of any artwork on the aircraft (optional but interesting)
Tell why you are visiting this waymark along with any other interesting facts or personal experiences about the aircraft not already mentioned.