Trip Report F4D Skyray (Santa Monica Bay, CA -- 205 fsw)

[beldridg]

Another epic dive in Southern California.

This time, on a very unique fighter/interceptor jet that was built by Douglas aircraft company in the 1950s. The "Skyray" name is based on the shape of the delta wings.

It broke a record for a climb to 50,000 feet from a standing start in 2 minutes and 36 seconds. This was from a jet designed and built in the early 1950s.

The jet malfunctioned during a routine flight and the pilot bailed out at 650mph! The rescue & recover story is amazing. Details along with a lot of photos are in the post below:

F4D Skyray (Santa Monica Bay, 205 fsw)

- brett

 

[Fishyhead]

Great article! I've never heard of this airplane let alone the crash. Thanks for sharing.

FYI the pictures are taking a long time to load. The wing section photos are mostly there but landing gear section is maybe 10% while the wiring harness hasn't started to load at all.

 

[CathyCA]

Wow! Amazing dive and piece of history.

 

[beldridg]

Thanks, @Fishyhead. It is hosted on Wordpress so I'm not sure why it is slow to load.

 

[beldridg]

Wow! Amazing dive and piece of history.

Thanks, @CathyCA. I feel very fortunate to have had the opportunity to dive it. We have some other cool projects in the planning so stay tuned.

 

[OTF]

great post. really enjoyed the writeup on your website. never heard of this plane or incident either - fascinating! awesome pics too.

 

[beldridg]

great post. really enjoyed the writeup on your website. never heard of this plane or incident either - fascinating! awesome pics too.

Thanks! We have more coming....

- brett

 

[beldridg]

I built a 3D photogrammetry model of the wreck site. It isn't complete, but definitely gives you a sense of the wing shape and the site:

F4D Skyray — Photogrammetry Model

F4D Skyray (Santa Monica Bay) - 3D model by Brett Eldridge (@beldridg) [b2cbe5f]