I have designed my own 'fighter planes' based off of both sci-fi concepts as well as actual planes... This one, the F6A Skyray, kept coming back to me, and I now have made a "modern" version of it, what I've deemed the F36 Zeus...

It was the USAF's version of the Phantom, the F-110, that was the primary cause of the uniform designation system.

Okay, so you have covered the Demon and the Skyray, that means you are contractually obligated to talk about the F7U Cutlass at some point.

The F-4 Phantom was designed as a fleet air defense aircraft. As was the Skyray. But the Phantom proved adaptable for every imaginable mission. The Skyray couldn’t do that

Don't forget GE using Skyrays to flight test the J79 and its civil variant, the CJ805.

I still like how the airplane looks with the unique manta wings.

It was at least as good at ground attack as the Air Force's F-100, which was employed extensively in that role in Vietnam, not to mention early versions of its dedicated ground attack cousin, the Douglas A4D. The Skyray's designer, Ed Heinemann, was a big believer in giving fighters a secondary attack role. In fact the Air Force's Tactical Air Command evaluated the Skyray specifically for use in the air to ground role, though obviously they didn't buy any. I am not sure why it didn't serve longer, though it had a problem with the skin debonding from the structure below. It could also be that the Navy just had too many types in service at the time and Vought;s excellent the F8U was the preferred fighter. The F4D is unique in that one Navy squadron (VF (AW)-3) was bailed to NORAD and stood alert on North Island as the air defense for the San Diego area. They were the only Navy fighter unit in NORAD. The airplane also had an interesting feature in the cockpit.. The stick telescoped. If the hydraulics failed, the pilot could pull the stick up a few inches to get more leverage to muscle the thing around manually. The Skyray could also carry its own starter cart along with it on a ferry flight. It was a most extraordinary machine and an absolute beauty to look at too.

Always loved this plane

It would have been great to have seen it fly in formation with an Avro Vulcan, in the early sketches there is a striking similarity to each other, just a different scale.

Absolutely a beautiful aircraft to look at.

Flying wings can have tail fins.

Looks like a mini Avro Vulcan.

What were the control surfaces near the engine exhaust used for?

Kind of the same story as the F8F Bearcat ,

Would have been fun to see more performance data on the two Skyrays that were modified with J-79's installed. If I remember correctly they spent their life at Edwards but most of that info is lost to history. The locally invented (At squadron level) refueling probe/external fuel tank modification was pretty cool too and helped extend range which is always a good thing.