The Convair XFY-1 Pogo is an experimental V/STOL (vertical/short takeoff and landing) aircraft developed during the early years of the Cold War.

[1] The XFY-1 featured a unique design with delta wings and three-bladed contra-rotating propellers powered by a turboprop engine.

Ultimately, technical and operational challenges, along with the superiority of jet-engined fighters, led to the project's suspension in 1955.

[2] 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.

[6] 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.

No previous aircraft with a similar weight, engine power, or size had ever attempted to take off and land vertically.

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.

It became evident that even if technical problems could be overcome, such VTOL aircraft would be flown only by the most experienced pilots.