F5D Skylancer

**DJStratoArt** · #1 04-20-2018, 12:26 PM

This is my F5D Skylancer. The model was designed by Christopher Stahl Stahlhart Papercraft â€“ Paper Models of Aircraft, Buildings and Figures

I really liked building this easy kit. I built it for an engineer that I work with at the University of Dayton Research Institute, and it sits at his desk now.

**MichaelS** · #2 04-20-2018, 12:29 PM

Wow! Great build. I love me some Stahlhart...

**DJStratoArt** · #3 04-20-2018, 12:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MichaelS

Wow! Great build. I love me some Stahlhart...

Thanks!! I was quite pleased with the results. It's a rare aircraft and rare card model.

Right now, they are restoring the F5D Skylancer up the road in Wapakoneta Ohio at the Armstrong Air & Space Museum not too far from where I live in Dayton.

https://www.armstrongmuseum.org

**chaparral2d** · #4 04-20-2018, 01:10 PM

Beautiful job. I have always thought that the Skylancer was a very graceful looking aircraft.

Dave

**Butelczynski** · #5 04-20-2018, 03:36 PM

Skylancer not so much but F4D Sryray is one of the best looking jets of that age IMHO. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.Alexander Lippisch got it right on the money.

**MichaelS** · #6 04-20-2018, 03:42 PM

Have to agree Butel

**Isaac** · #7 04-20-2018, 04:25 PM

I stopped by the Neil Armstrong museum last year and here are some pics of the actual plane.

graceful looking plane

Isaac

**Rata** · #8 04-20-2018, 05:56 PM

What an absolute treat for the eyes your model is. Just perfect.

Regards, Garry G.

**southwestforests** · #9 04-20-2018, 06:03 PM

Good looking model of a good looking airplane.
Hmm, let's see ... paging through book Killer Rays by Mark Frankel that color scheme makes it the number 4 prototype at NASA Dryden in 1967.
Interestingly the first prototype airframe had tail number with reversed digits, 208.

This one, the #4 prototype having tail number 802 here, was numbered 350 for Douglas testing at Edwards in 1957; and 213 at NACA/NASA Ames in 1962 and 1967.

While preserved display is orange in Isaac's photos the planes are red in photos in book. whether that is different paint or different image recording technologies I do not know and within the book there is the matter of Navy F4D TPS 4806 where the very same trim paint is rendered as red in some photos and orange in some others.

A couple random F5D notes from book, noticed in text while looking at pictures:
some change involving pitch trimmers and elevons allowed F5D to pull 5G supersonic, twice what F4D was allowed.
Skylancer had excellent stall warning with buffeting above stall speed of 70 knots.

Anyway, book is copyright 2010 by specialty Press, 238 pages, and worth it for Skyray and Skylancer fans.

**Butelczynski** · #10 04-20-2018, 06:04 PM

Side note-for me Skylancer came up way back when I was looking closer into history of F4D.If I understood the reasons for development of it Douglas tried to just about the same think as Saab did with their Draken except for few additional major requirements needed for naval use.They also used the same set of principals and German engineering documents (funny thing-rumor has it they are still required reading in Skunk Works) but they failed.Draken succeeded since it wasn't restricted in such a way (it was in other respects).

Years later when NASA got few Drakens they were surprised just how similar those two planes were yet Draken was capable of a lot more than Skylancer ever was.