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One of the study sketches from yesterday. The Vought Cutlass was one of the most radical 2nd generation jets to serve in the US Navy. Arriving too late to participate in the Korean War it represented the almost feverish pace of aircraft development in the early postwar years.
Incorporating both US research and recovered technical papers and engineers from Germany it's tailless swept-wing design was a bold change from the somewhat stodgy jet designs that had populated carrier flight decks during late 40's and early 50's. For its time it possessed an exceptional rate of climb and was one of the first aircraft to carry the Sidewinder missile, but the plane was also difficult for deck crews to maintain. Also the Cutlass had several flight characteristics that were less than desirable; one of those being a very high angle of attack when landing. This resulted in the Cutlass having probably the longest front landing gear of any fighter aircraft. Not even the later Royal Navy Phantoms had a front strut that long!
As result of the experience gained from the F7U-3, Vought's next aircraft was the much more practical iconic F8 Crusader http://www.furaffinity.net/view/1683138/ With a relatively small production run, a high accident rate, and the relentless pace of development and breakthroughs in aviation design, the Cutlass had a relatively short service life. Within less than a decade it had disappeared carrier flight deck and naval flight lines along with other jets like the Douglas F-4 Skyray http://www.furaffinity.net/view/1456853/ . Today only a few exist as museum pieces and gate guardians.
Incorporating both US research and recovered technical papers and engineers from Germany it's tailless swept-wing design was a bold change from the somewhat stodgy jet designs that had populated carrier flight decks during late 40's and early 50's. For its time it possessed an exceptional rate of climb and was one of the first aircraft to carry the Sidewinder missile, but the plane was also difficult for deck crews to maintain. Also the Cutlass had several flight characteristics that were less than desirable; one of those being a very high angle of attack when landing. This resulted in the Cutlass having probably the longest front landing gear of any fighter aircraft. Not even the later Royal Navy Phantoms had a front strut that long!
As result of the experience gained from the F7U-3, Vought's next aircraft was the much more practical iconic F8 Crusader http://www.furaffinity.net/view/1683138/ With a relatively small production run, a high accident rate, and the relentless pace of development and breakthroughs in aviation design, the Cutlass had a relatively short service life. Within less than a decade it had disappeared carrier flight deck and naval flight lines along with other jets like the Douglas F-4 Skyray http://www.furaffinity.net/view/1456853/ . Today only a few exist as museum pieces and gate guardians.
Category All / All
Species Unspecified / Any
Size 930 x 830px
File Size 93.8 kB
Yeah the plane falls into that same category as Gloster Javelin, Supermarine Scimitar, Douglas F3-D Skynight and other aircraft that were procured in small numbers and gone in less than decade. It seems so odd now since just getting an aircraft into service takes over a decade and we tend to think over modern military aircraft as long-term expenses in a country's defense.
Yeah the J40 was the bane of several US designs that counted on its "on paper" performance that never manifested in real life. It seriously crippled the F3H McDonnell Demon and several other aircraft of the period when they had to install other less powerful engines.
one of the most successful unsuccessful aircraft made. I cant really think of any achievements the cutless had, other than being the most dangerous plane to land on a carrier. Though the design is pretty good, I think it would have benefitted more from the lifting wing used in the Crusader for carrier landings and takeoffs rather than that ginormous main landing gear up front. Nice work btw. I always find the Cutless design interesting to look at
Yeah it has that Johnny Quest, Tom Swift pulp quality to it. My dad was just getting out of the US Navy when they were coming in. Everyone thought they looked really weird in a cool kind of way, but the pilots were less than happy with them, except that they'd go straight up in a climb if given a head start, and the ground crews positively dislike them!
Yeah but for the time it believe it not did have one of the fastest rate of climb, 13,000 ft per minute from sea level, of any fighter then in service. Unfortunately it was hampered by a whole raft of other problems that really made it a bitch to fly except under ideal conditions.
Yeah. It was a good plane, just...configured weirdly, and had engine and landing problems. Kinda reminds me of the star fighter, though without the high angle landing gear. I think the star fighter also has a good climb rate, and had a high speed, but those stubby wings also hurt is maneuverability and it made it unstable at high AoA or at low speed.
I wonder if they also helped make the lowriders? ^_^ In any case, I've studied lots of military aircraft, but that is a design I've never seen before. Kudos for showing me a plane that I can add to my list of WTF designs.
The entire designs looks like it belongs in a sci-fi film and not on the deck of a carrier.
The entire designs looks like it belongs in a sci-fi film and not on the deck of a carrier.
Despite a very short career in service, the Cutlas was one of my favourite planes as a kid. It was futuristic, and quickly became obscure. I must have had an early model kit of it, to remember it so fondly. Some years ago I found a Japanese kit I was able to afford -- etched metal instrument panels and so on. I built it, but have never gotten around to painting the model.
I suspect they might have been able to fix the high angle of attack with some canards to create lift forward of the center of gravity. This might have allowed a more nose-down posture during landing. But in those days money was almost no object. Why fix a design. Junk it and build someting brand new!
I suspect they might have been able to fix the high angle of attack with some canards to create lift forward of the center of gravity. This might have allowed a more nose-down posture during landing. But in those days money was almost no object. Why fix a design. Junk it and build someting brand new!
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