Developed as an all-weather version of the Douglas F4D, the F5D Skylancer first flew on 21 April 1956. It used a more powerful engine (Pratt & Whitney J57 – the first 45kN thrust class turbojet engine). Compare to the F4d, the wing was thinner, but more reinforced, the fuselage was area-ruled, reducing transonic drag and was 2.4m longer.
Originally nine test aircraft were ordered, with a 51 production run to follow, although only four of the test aircraft were built. During testing, the US Navy decided that the Skylancer was too similar to the Vought F8U Crusader that was already in service and canceled the contract.
The F5Ds continued as test aircraft, being passed on to NASA in the early 1960s, two were grounded and used for spare parts. One was used as a testbed for the American supersonic transport program, fitted with an ogival wing platform (the type eventually used on Concorde). Data from the program was shared with the European designers.
Both of the aircraft used by NASA were used to support the Dyna-Soar project. One was retired in 1968 followed by the second in 1970.
Douglas XF5D Skylancer line drawingF5D-1 139208 being manufactured next to a F4D-1Douglas F5D-1 142349 under constructionDouglas F5D-1 139208 being prepared for its first flightDouglas F5D-1 139208Douglas F5D-1 139208 in 1956Douglas F5D-1 139208Douglas F5D-1 139208Douglas F5D Skylancer 319208Douglas F5D Skylancer 319208Douglas F5D Skylancer 319208 in flightDouglas F5D Skylancer 319208Douglas F5D Skylancer 319208 in flightDouglas F5D Skylancer 319208 in flightDouglas F5D Skylancer 319208Douglas F5D Skylancer 319208 in flightDouglas F5D-1 139209Douglas F5D Skylancer 319209All four Douglas F5D-1sAll four Douglas F5D SkylancersDouglas F5D Skylancer 319208 operated by NASADouglas F5D Skylancer NASA 212 (319208)Douglas F5D Skylancer NASA 213 (142350)Douglas F5D Skylancer NASA 213 (142350)Douglas F5D Skylancer NASA 213 (142350) in 1961Douglas F5D Skylancer 212 operated by NASADouglas F5D Skylancer NASA 212 modified as the X-20 Dyna-Soar vision field simulatorDouglas F5D Skylancer NASA 212 (319208) modified with the Ogee wingDouglas F5D-1 cockpit mockupDouglas F5D-1 cockpit mockupDouglas F5D-1 cockpit mockup
Like this:
LikeLoading…
Manage Consent
To provide the best experiences, we use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behaviour or unique IDs on this site. Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions.
Functional
Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes.The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
