The Convair XFY-1 Pogo is a single-seat experimental fighter built for the U.S. Navy that took off and landed vertically on its tail. One flying example was built, and test pilot James Coleman flew the first full vertical to horizontal transition in it on 2 November 1954. Developed by Convair.
The Convair XFY-1 Pogo is a single-seat experimental fighter built for the U.S. Developed by Convair.
See Specifications for full detail.
The Convair XFY-1 Pogo is a single-seat experimental fighter built by Convair for the U.S. Navy, designed to take off and land vertically on its tail and fly horizontally on a delta wing. A turboprop drove two contra-rotating propellers, and one flying example was built. [1] [2]
Convair test pilot James F. Coleman made the first free flight on 1 August 1954 and the first full transition from vertical to horizontal flight and back on 2 November 1954. His last flight was on 16 June 1955, and the Navy ended the programme on 1 August 1955 before a second pilot had been trained. [1] [3] [2]
The Navy began studying vertical-takeoff fighters in 1947 and 1948, looking for an aircraft that could defend convoys and task forces from small ships without needing carriers. In 1951 it gave Convair and Lockheed contracts to build two experimental VTOL fighters each, and Convair's entry was nicknamed Pogo after the pogo stick. [1] [2] [4]
Each company completed only one aircraft, although the contracts called for two, and the only Convair aircraft to fly carried the serial 138649. Convair tested the engine in April 1954 and then moved the project to Moffett Field in California for tethered flights. [2] [1]
The Pogo had a delta wing swept at 52 degrees, a cruciform tail and a wingspan of 27 ft 8 in (8.43 m). Its landing gear was four castoring wheels on struts at the wingtips and fin tips, with no brakes, and the pilot sat in a gimbal-mounted seat that tilted from 45 degrees for vertical flight to 90 degrees for horizontal flight. [1] [2] [5]
The engine was an Allison YT40, made by joining two T38 turboprops to a single gearbox, and it delivered about 5,850 shp to two contra-rotating propellers of 16 ft (4.8 m) diameter. Maximum takeoff weight was 16,250 lb (7,371 kg). The planned armament was four 20 mm cannon and 48 folding-fin 2.75 in rockets, and published estimates put the top speed at about 610 mph (982 km/h), below Mach 1. [1] [2] [5]
Tethered testing began on 29 April 1954 in the airship hangar at Naval Air Station Moffett Field, California, with Coleman flying while cables and a winch held the aircraft. He logged almost 60 hours in the hangar. The first untethered flights followed on 1 August 1954, and testing then moved to Brown Field near San Diego, where Coleman flew 70 takeoff and landing drills. [1] [2] [6]
On 2 November 1954 Coleman made the first transition from vertical to horizontal flight and back to a vertical landing, including 21 minutes of horizontal flight. It was the first complete VTOL transition by a fixed-wing aircraft, and the Pogo was shown to the public two days later. Coleman was Convair's project test pilot and a Marine Corps reservist. [1] [6] [7] [2]
The Pogo was unstable in the hover and needed constant control inputs. Landing was the hardest phase because the pilot had to look back over his shoulder to judge the descent, and Ryan Aeronautical added a radar altimeter with a light-based rate-of-descent indicator to help. The lightweight airframe had no spoilers or air brakes, which made it hard to slow down after high-speed flight. [1] [2]
Only highly experienced pilots could fly it, and Coleman was the only qualified pilot. Jet fighters were approaching Mach 2 while the Pogo was slower than a MiG-15 and carried a small payload. Coleman made his last flight on 16 June 1955, and the Navy ended the programme on 1 August 1955. [3] [2] [1]
Lockheed's competing tail-sitter was the XFV-1 Salmon, named after chief test pilot Herman Salmon. Lockheed received its order on 19 April 1951, and the aircraft made its official first flight on 16 June 1954 after an unintended hop during taxi tests on 22 December 1953. It made 32 flights, none with a vertical takeoff or landing, because full VTOL testing was waiting on an Allison T54 engine that never became available. Lockheed's project was cancelled in June 1955, and the flying XFV-1 is on outdoor display at the Sun 'n Fun Campus Museum in Lakeland, Florida. [4]
James Francis Coleman was born in Chicago on 2 June 1918, joined the Marine Corps in 1941 and flew fighter missions in the Pacific. After the war he earned an aeronautical engineering degree at UCLA, and he became the Pogo's test pilot at Convair in 1954. He received the Harmon Trophy in 1954 as the first pilot to successfully manoeuvre a VTOL fighter, and his resignation from Convair was announced on 3 April 1956. He died on 13 May 2014 at the age of 95. [8]
The National Air and Space Museum summarises the programme as showing that a VTOL fighter was feasible but that substantial further development would be needed before one could be used operationally. [1]
Serial 138649 was shipped to Naval Air Station Norfolk, Virginia, where it stood as a gate guard for years, and the Navy transferred it to the National Air and Space Museum in 1973. The museum lists it as not currently on display. [1] [3]
The Convair XFY-1 Pogo has a top speed of ~530 kn (~610 mph / ~982 km/h).
A total of 1 were built.
No, the Convair XFY-1 Pogo programme was cancelled.
The Convair XFY-1 Pogo first flew on August 1st 1954.
The only aircraft to fly survives in the collection of the National Air and Space Museum.
Operators included United States Navy and Convair.
The Pogo last flew in 1955, so it cannot appear on Flightradar24. The surviving aircraft is held by the National Air and Space Museum and is not currently on public display.
| Performance | |
| Max Speed | ~530 kn (~610 mph / ~982 km/h) |
|---|---|
| Cruise SpeedCruise Speed — The economical speed an aircraft sustains for the bulk of a flight - lower than maximum speed, chosen for the best balance of time and fuel burn. Glossary → | Not published |
| RangeRange — How far an aircraft can fly without refuelling. Quoted figures vary with payload, speed and reserves - see also ferry range and combat radius. Glossary → | Not publicly disclosed - no range figure is published for the XFY-1 |
| Service CeilingService Ceiling — The highest altitude at which an aircraft can still climb at a useful rate (typically 100 ft/min). Above it, the air is too thin to keep climbing meaningfully. Glossary → | Estimates range from 37,500 ft to 43,700 ft |
| Airframe & Weight | |
| Wingspan | 27 ft 8 in |
| Length | 35 ft |
| Height | Not published - sources disagree |
| WeightMTOW — Maximum Take-Off Weight - the heaviest an aircraft is certified to be at the start of its take-off run, including fuel, crew, payload and the aircraft itself. Glossary → | empty: 11,784 lb; MTOW: 16,250 lb |
| Power & Payload | |
| Engines | 1 x Allison YT40 turboprop (two T38 engines on one gearbox), about 5,850 shp, driving two contra-rotating 16 ft three-blade propellers |
| ArmamentArmament — The weapons an aircraft can carry: guns, missiles, bombs and rockets, whether mounted internally, on wing hardpoints, or in bomb bays. Glossary → | Planned: 4 x 20 mm cannon and 48 x 2.75 in Mk 4 folding-fin rockets |
| Crew | 1 |
| CapacityPayload — Everything an aircraft is carrying that isn't the aircraft or its fuel: passengers, cargo, or weapons. Payload and fuel usually trade off against each other. Glossary → | Single-seat fighter; no cargo or passenger capacity |
| Program & Service | |
| Manufacturer | Convair |
| Origin | United States |
| First Flight | August 1st 1954 |
| Service Entry | Never entered service |
| Retired | 1955 |
| Number Built | 1 |
| Unit Cost | Not publicly disclosed - one experimental aircraft was built, with no per-aircraft price published |
4 notable events involving the XFY-1 Pogo, 1954 to 1955. Curated rather than exhaustive.
Coleman made the first tethered hover in the airship hangar at Naval Air Station Moffett Field, California, with the aircraft held by cables and a winch.
The Pogo made its first untethered vertical flights. Testing then moved to Brown Field near San Diego.
Coleman flew from a vertical takeoff into horizontal flight and back to a vertical landing, the first complete VTOL transition by a fixed-wing aircraft.
Coleman made the last flight of the Pogo. The Navy ended the programme on 1 August 1955.
| XFY-1 (138649) | The only aircraft to fly. It made its first tethered flight on 29 April 1954 at Moffett Field, its first free flight on 1 August 1954 and the first full transition on 2 November 1954. Coleman flew it for the last time on 16 June 1955, and it later went to Naval Air Station Norfolk and then the Smithsonian. |
| XFY-1 (production plan) | The planned production fighter was to use the Allison T54 turboprop in place of the YT40 and to carry four 20 mm cannon and 48 folding-fin rockets. The T54 was never built and the production version did not go ahead, so no fighter reached a squadron. |
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The only aircraft to fly survives in the collection of the National Air and Space Museum.
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