Douglas F4D-1 "Ford" Skyray
After a very, very long 2 weeks of work, it is finished.
I made an F4D quite a while ago, and let's just say... it was NOT satisfactory. I want to make a promise to you all, that from here on out, I will put a maximal amount of effort into my constructions. After this build, I am going to go back to finishing my B-36, and from there I will see where the water takes me.
I used a lot of codes from my B-36 on this aircraft, and they mostly go into the landing gear, allowing them to have a satisfying retraction sequence. The flight mechanics are super realistic, and yeah. I'll get into that in a second. Here is the history and stuff:
History
In 1947, the United States Navy wanted an aircraft that had the capability to reach 50,000 feet within 5 minutes after take off, and to strike enemy bombers. Lest to say, this did indeed make that requirement, as well as breaking many other records
It was the first Navy aircraft to hold the absolute speed record, holding it at 753 miles per hour (which is over Mach 1 at 20,000 feet). It had a slow pitch control, but a substantially fast roll rate. It was designed as a Fighter aircraft (later redesignated as the F-6A) and was capable of holding rocket pods, 2,000 Ibs bombs, and some of the first air to air missiles
It served from 1956 to 1964, and it never saw use in combat
The version I made has the modifications of the later ones. It has a refueling probe on the left fuel tank, so you can aerial refuel (good luck with that lol)
Flight
I made this aircraft have very realistic control. Acceleration is slow, at low altitudes the aircraft is very slow, and pitch is slow (trim tabs help a lot)
Pilots described the aircraft as being unstable, so I tried to replicate that. This is the most stable unstable I reached, so... yeah lol. It's like the single-engined non-canard Eurofighter
On take off, go to full military power (97% throttle) or full afterburner (100% throttle, 98% engages afterburner)
the trim tabs stay pitched up until you retract the gear
On landing on the ground, decrease throttle slowly, and then use pitch to control the descent. As you get near the ground, open the speed brakes, and then touch the MAIN gear first, do not land on the nose gear
On landing on a carrier, as you near the flight deck, lower the auxiliary gear and the hook. Like the real one, you basically have to plop down onto the deck and touch the gear down. Yet again, do not touch the rear gear down first
Weapons:
2 7-rocket pods
2 AIM-9B Missiles
4 20mm Autocannons
Controls:
VTOL Up = Open Canopy
AG2 = Drop Armament
AG3 = Drop Tanks
AG4 = Fold Wings
AG5.= Auxiliary Gear
AG6 = Arresting Hook
AG7 = Formation Lights
AG8 = Navigation Lights
Special thanks to @PapaKernels, and I hope y'all enjoy!!
Specifications
Spotlights
- This craft is curated
General Characteristics
- Predecessor F4D-1 Skyray Backup 2
- Created On Android
- Wingspan 33.9ft (10.3m)
- Length 46.6ft (14.2m)
- Height 16.7ft (5.1m)
- Empty Weight 16,351lbs (7,416kg)
- Loaded Weight 22,876lbs (10,376kg)
Performance
- Wing Loading 24.2lbs/ft2 (118.2kg/m2)
- Wing Area 945.2ft2 (87.8m2)
- Drag Points 4043
Parts
- Number of Parts 350
- Control Surfaces 0
- Performance Cost 1,688
Yaya!! Curation time
Just to let y'all know, I ran out of parts as I was building this, because I wanted to participate in the VR challenge, so I did not make the full interior.
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If there is enough support, I will make all the details I intended to put on this plane :)
Yee
Thanks! @AndrewGarrison
Sorry, this is very delayed lol
Np man! @LieutenantSOT
Thanks!! @Strikefighter04
Thank you, mate! @Shimamurahougetsu
@PapaKernels thanks!
Vary noice
@BlinIndustry lol, thanks!
Fastest updoot in da west
@PapaKernels