Feightner had just one question: What airplane would the team fly? “He said the F7U-1 Cutlass,” recalls Feightner, at the time a Navy test pilot with the most flight time in that very aircraft.

We often write about great American warplanes, like the modern F-35 or F-22. The F-14 makes our list of impressive warbirds.

Lastly, the Vought F7U Cutlass had an unusual design but was underpowered and unreliable, leading to its early retirement.

My father went for the rare types: a prototype North American XP-82 Twin Mustang, then an F-82E Twin Mustang with Allison engines, an early Jet Age Chance-Vought F7U Cutlass, and a prototype of ...