The Douglas A2D Skyshark starting up its contra-rotating propellers and taking flight- 5000hp, 500mph top speed, 500m range and 13 hardpoints for bombs and rockets, 1950

Posted by Xeelee1123@reddit | WeirdWings | View on Reddit | 33 comments

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Any-Ticket3352@reddit

Not really, no one wants that anymore, the crew had headaches and ware hospitalised!

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cloudubious@reddit

The plane whose propeller and gearbox would detach in flight at random.

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jar1967@reddit

It lost to the A-4 Skyhawk. The Skyhawk was 100mph faster and had twice the bomb load.

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I believe this is the one that suffered total gearbox failure and loss of power on 5 August 1954. Douglas test pilot George Jansen ejected safely. I've visited the crash site near Lake Los Angeles, California.

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Clean-List5450@reddit

If memory serves, either that or another flight, the pilot actually managed to land the plane despite the cockpit being covered in oil, and, y'know, the propellers having torn themselves off the aircraft.

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Peter_Merlin@reddit

Yeah, that must have been a different flight. The one I mentioned crashed on a farm. The airplane was a total loss.

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Clean-List5450@reddit

Ah, I found it, that flight was CG 'Doc' Livingston in June 1953. After the fatal crash of High Wood, but before Jansen's incident you mentioned.

That engine/gearbox combo was cursed.

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xerberos@reddit

Turboprop and tail wheel must be an unusual combo.

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BealeStAviator@reddit

And now the Air Force has another one: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L3Harris_OA-1K_Skyraider_II?wprov=sfti1#

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Cornishlee@reddit

That is the plane from Pixar’s Planes, surely!

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BealeStAviator@reddit

Dusty was modeled off an AT-602. The OA-1 is a heavily modified AT-802.

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LightningFerret04@reddit

Yeah actually, his design was heavily inspired by the Air Tractor family

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Jessie_C_2646@reddit

Yes. It's an Air Tractor 802 painted grey. Pixar used the Air Tractor as its model for Dusty Crophopper.

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Deez_Ducks@reddit

Dusty crophopper needs to pay for college

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Cornishlee@reddit

I’ve never understood with these prop setups how they are better than one prop. I can probably find a video on YouTube if I try.

The first prop is pushing air at a certain speed straight into the second prop. How is that then turned into even more thrust by the second prop?

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Jessie_C_2646@reddit

It's not so much of a case of more thrust but of cancelling out the torque effect from the high-powered engine.

A high-powered engine needs a very large propeller, which increases the torque effect through gyroscopic forces. Contraprops eliminated the torque and at the same time reduced the propeller diameter.

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Cornishlee@reddit

That all makes sense. Thank you

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m-in@reddit

WHAT DID YOU SAY????

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domesystem@reddit

I love this thing so damn much. Looks like something Messier 82 would build in Flyout

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BrtFrkwr@reddit

The Navy hung onto propeller airplanes far too long.

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Apexnanoman@reddit

For too long? They use em. The Hawkeye is carrier capable and has twin turboprops.

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BrtFrkwr@reddit

More accurate to say resisted going to jets for too long. Same thing happened in the civilian world when Rickenbacker had to be retired for Eastern Airlines to get jets to compete with other airlines.

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richdrich@reddit

You could fly that off an Invincible-class, if they had been in service at the same time. Cheaper than a Harrier.

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Xeelee1123@reddit (OP)

Source: https://youtu.be/211png6pF9U

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Douglas_A2D_Skyshark

Source: https://www.usni.org/magazines/naval-history-magazine/2021/december/missing-douglas-aircraft

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Acc87@reddit

uh that source video sure is AI slop hell (not your clip, but so much of the rest. Was hoping for sound)

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DukeBradford2@reddit

I love this plane. We could have had an A-10 level of close air support but carrier born and 30 years before the warthog

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BinturongHoarder@reddit

Pointiest point defence interceptor of all time with that 500m range

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Xeelee1123@reddit (OP)

Sorry, I usually only use SI units, but for once wanted to use Imperial ones because it looked nice in the title. I should have known that ´miles´ is abbreviated as ´mi'.

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