@ Lakeland, FL
September 2025
From my first visit to the Florida Air Museum. First flown in 1954, the Lockheed XFV-1 was a concept demonstrator for a shipborne vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) fighter for protecting convoys. These VTOL aircraft would operate aboard platforms mounted on the afterdecks of conventional ships. The XFV-1 made a total of 32 test flights, none involving any vertical takeoffs or landings, although in flight transitions to hover were accomplished. Realizing that the XFV’s performance would be eclipsed by contemporary fighters and that only highly experienced pilots could fly the aircraft, the project was cancelled in June 1955. A second prototype was never completed.