skyray

Very interesting to see the planform view of the A-4 Skyhawk relative to its cousin the F4D Skyray! I had no idea that the Skyray's wing was so much larger.

The XFD-1 was a prototype aircraft for the McDonnell FH Phantom. If you read the picture tag it not even a XF4D it is a F4D Douglas.

This actually is one of two Douglas XF4D-1 Skyray prototypes, BuNo 124587. This particular aircraft set a world speed record of 725.9 mph over a 3 km closed-course on 3 October 1953. 3 October 1953: Lieutenant Commander James B. Verdin, United States Navy, flew the second prototype of the Douglas Aircraft Company’s XF4D-1 Skyray, Bu. No. 124587, over a three kilometer course at the Salton Sea, California. Commander Verdin made four passes, two in each direction. He set a new Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) World Record for Speed over a 3-kilometer course, averaging 1,211.75 kilometers per hour (752.95 miles per hour). This aircraft would go on to serve as a flying testbed for the General Electric J79 jet engine (and its civil CJ805 derivative). See: www.thisdayinaviation.com/tag/douglas-xf4d-1-skyray/ This aircraft is still extant, albeit in the need of at least a new coat of paint. Here is a more recent photo of BuNo 124587 at the China Lake Museum of Armament and Technology, China Lake, CA, by Flickr user G. Verver:

El Centro NAF down there.

DMS Great Picture. Do you have any idea what the small,black bomb-like object that appears to be behind and below the tail of the Skyray is?

Doug Schlagel It must be a bomb. The image was taken at an Air Weapons Show.

Delmar Dart tow target, used for air-to-air gunnery at NAF El Centro... VF-102 was an Atlantic Coast unit.

bigredlancer Thanks for the information. There are several photos at SDASM of the F4D with the tow target. Unique images.