The Convair XFY Pogo was an experiment in
vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL)
tail-sitter. The Pogo had
delta wing
A delta wing is a wing shaped in the form of a triangle. It is named for its similarity in shape to the Greek uppercase letter delta (Δ).
Although long studied, it did not find significant applications until the Jet Age, when it proved suitabl ...
s and three-bladed
contra-rotating propellers powered by a
turboprop engine. It was intended to be a high-performance
fighter aircraft
Fighter aircraft are fixed-wing military aircraft designed primarily for air-to-air combat. In military conflict, the role of fighter aircraft is to establish air superiority of the battlespace. Domination of the airspace above a battlefield ...
capable of operating from small
warships. Landing the XFY-1 was difficult, as the pilot had to look over his shoulder while carefully working the throttle to land.
Design and development
After
World War II, the
Cold War
The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...
prompted the
United States Army and
Navy to study VTOL operations. It was envisaged to protect task forces, convoys or any fleet, even without aircraft carriers, by placing VTOL aircraft on any ship. These fighters would be housed within a conical protective housing, saving limited deck space available aboard ships. They would provide first line of airborne defense and reconnaissance capability, before more aircraft could be scrambled to help, with flight performance that helicopters could not provide.
In May 1951,
Lockheed and
Convair were awarded contracts in the attempt to design, construct, and test two experimental VTOL fighters that would be suitable for use by the armed forces. Although contract stipulations stated that each manufacturer have two fighters, each was only able to construct one, with Lockheed producing the
XFV, and Convair producing the XFY, nicknamed the "Pogo". The first XFY-1 prototype was used for engine testing and the third for static testing, and only the second prototype
serial number
A serial number is a unique identifier assigned incrementally or sequentially to an item, to ''uniquely'' identify it.
Serial numbers need not be strictly numerical. They may contain letters and other typographical symbols, or may consist enti ...
''138649'' was flown.
The XFY-1 was designed for the
Allison XT40-A-14 turboprop, which was expected to deliver 7,100 shp (5,295 kW). The production aircraft were intended to use the even more powerful
Allison T54
Allison may refer to:
People
* Allison (given name)
* Allison (surname) (includes a list of people with this name)
* Eugene Allison Smith (1922-1980), American politician and farmer
Companies
* Allison Engine Company, American aircraft engine m ...
which was never built. It was one of the few propeller-driven aircraft with
delta wing
A delta wing is a wing shaped in the form of a triangle. It is named for its similarity in shape to the Greek uppercase letter delta (Δ).
Although long studied, it did not find significant applications until the Jet Age, when it proved suitabl ...
s, swept at 52 degrees, and a fin with a span of 21 ft 8 in (6.5 m). The pilot's seat was mounted on gimbals allowing for movement from 45 degrees in vertical flight to 90 degrees in horizontal flight. The
Curtiss-Wright turbo-electric three-bladed
contra-rotating propellers were 16 feet (4.88 m) in diameter.
Operational history
Testing and evaluation

On 19 April 1954, a Convair engineering test pilot and Marine reservist, Lieutenant Colonel
James F. "Skeets" Coleman, made the first tethered flight in the Pogo. The XFY-1 was like no other propeller driven aircraft before it. No previous aircraft with a similar weight, engine power, or size had ever attempted to take off and land vertically. For the safety of both the craft and its pilot, the propeller hub cover was removed and replaced by safety tether lines for the first flight, in case Coleman lost control of the craft and would need to be tethered to prevent the craft falling to the ground. On the other end of the tether was another engineer, Bob McGreary. If Coleman ever lost control, McGreary controlled the winch which could be turned to raise the tethers to prevent the craft from plummeting to the ground. For further safety precautions, four security cables were fastened to each wing in case control was lost in any axis. The tests were conducted inside of a naval
airship hangar at Moffett Field in Mountain View, California.

Throughout the next few weeks, Coleman logged almost 60 hours in test flights in the Pogo, and by August, the test was moved to outdoor conditions. On 1 August 1954, Coleman logged two outdoor test flights, the second flying into the air, and shortly after he flew 70 takeoff–landing drills at the
Naval Auxiliary Air Station in Brown Field, California. The first conversion to horizontal flight took place on 5 November 1954.
Upon later flights with longer durations, flaws in the design were found. Due to the Pogo's lightweight design, and the lack of spoilers and air brakes, the aircraft lacked the ability to slow down and stop efficiently after moving at high speeds. Landing was also a problem, as the pilot had to look back behind himself during a landing to properly stabilize the craft.
It became evident that even if technical problems could be overcome, such VTOL aircraft would be flown only by the most experienced pilots. Thus, it was not feasible to place VTOL fighters—as previously hoped for—on every ship. Also, whereas jet-engined fighters had top speeds that approached Mach 2, the turboprop VTOL fighter was at a disadvantage with a top speed below Mach 1. Due to these problems, the XFY Project was put on hiatus.
Later testing
Although a test flight was made on 19 May 1955, it again ended with failure, and on 1 August 1955 the project was formally concluded. The last flight of the XFY-1 Pogo took place in November 1956.
Aircraft on display
After several years on static display at
Naval Air Station Norfolk, Virginia, the Pogo was moved to the
National Air and Space Museum
The National Air and Space Museum of the Smithsonian Institution, also called the Air and Space Museum, is a museum in Washington, D.C., in the United States.
Established in 1946 as the National Air Museum, it opened its main building on the Nat ...
in
Suitland, Maryland
Suitland is an unincorporated community and census designated place (CDP) in Prince George's County, Maryland, United States, approximately one mile (1.6 km) southeast of Washington, D.C. As of the 2020 census, its population was 25,839. Prio ...
, where it currently resides.
[Yenne 2009, p. 105.]
Specifications (XFY-1)
See also
References
Notes
Citations
Bibliography
*Allen, Francis J. "Bolt Upright: Convair's and Lockheed's VTOL fighters". ''Air Enthusiast'' (Key Publishing) Volume 127, January/February 2007, pp. 13–20. ISSN 0143-5450.
*Rogers, Mike. ''VTOL: Military Research Aircraft''. New York: Orion Books, 1989. .
*Taylor, Michael. ''The World's Strangest Aircraft''. London: Grange Books plc, 1999. .
* Taylor, John W. R. & Michael J. H. ''Jane's Pocket Book of Research and Experimental Aircraft''. Collier Books: New York, 1977 .
*Winchester, Jim. "Convair XFY1 'Pogo'." ''Concept Aircraft: Prototypes, X-Planes and Experimental Aircraft''. Kent, UK: Grange Books, 2007
005
''005'' is a 1981 arcade game by Sega. They advertised it as the first of their RasterScan Convert-a-Game series, designed so that it could be changed into another game in minutes "at a substantial savings". It is one of the first examples of a ...
.
* Yenne, Bill. ''Convair Deltas from SeaDart to Hustler''. Specialty Press: North Branch, MN, 2009. .
External links
The National Air and Space Museum Web page for the Pogo.This short YouTube clip shows the XFY-1 takeoff, transition, and landing.This longer (nine-minute) clip shows testing of the XFY-1 in an airship hangar, and extended takeoff, flight and landing sequences."Heads Up Fighters."''Popular Mechanics'', May 1954, pp. 96–97.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Convair Xfy
F1Y
Convair FY Pogo
Convair FY Pogo
Tailless delta-wing aircraft
Single-engined tractor aircraft
Single-engined turboprop aircraft
Aircraft with contra-rotating propellers
Tailsitter aircraft
Aircraft first flown in 1954