The Skyraider first flew in March 1945 and stayed in frontline service well into the jet age, long enough to be called an anachronism, Wikipedia says. It was nicknamed the Spad, after the French fighter of the First World War.
Douglas built 3,180, and they fought in Korea and Vietnam. Today 15 hold an active US registration, and 14 of the 18 airworthy ones on the survivor list are in the United States.
Register as of October 15, 2026. Survivor list as of November 1, 2026.
Registered under the Navy's old name
The Skyraider was the AD until 1962, when the Navy and Air Force designation systems were unified and it became the A-1. On the register the old name stuck: all 15 active Skyraiders are filed under an AD model name, from AD-1 to AD-6.
Outside the United States, the survivor list marks 4 as airworthy, 3 of them in France. The A-4 Skyhawk page counts the Douglas carrier jet on the same register.
Two ways to count Skyraiders
The FAA register and the survivor list answer different questions, and each has blind spots.
| Count | Skyraiders | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| FAA active registrations | 15 | United States only. Includes aircraft under restoration, in storage or on display. |
| Survivor list, listed airworthy | 18 | Volunteer-edited, not an official record. The list covers 6 countries. |
| Survivor list, US airworthy | 14 | The US share of the list's airworthy aircraft. |
| Survivor list, all statuses | 52 | 18 airworthy, 29 on display, 5 under restoration or in storage. |
Where the airworthy Skyraiders are
Listed as airworthy by country, volunteer list revision of November 1, 2026
Who holds them
2 of the 15 registered Skyraiders belong to an individual. 4 are registered to limited liability companies and 8 to corporations, and 1 is co-owned.
Who the Skyraiders are registered to
Active US registrations by registrant type, October 15, 2026
Where they're registered
Registered addresses span 10 states. Oregon has 3, Delaware 2 and Texas 2. The register records the owner's registered address, which isn't necessarily where the aircraft is kept.
Skyraiders by state of registered address
Top states, active US registrations, October 15, 2026
What powers them
9 of the 12 registered Skyraiders with an engine on record list a Wright R-3350 Duplex-Cyclone radial. The rest list an unidentified engine.
Engines on record for registered Skyraiders
12 of 15 registrations have an engine on record
Which airworthiness category they hold
13 are Experimental, a category the FAA issues for purposes that include exhibition and air racing under 14 CFR 21.191. 2 have no category recorded in the register extract.
The accident record: 3 events
The NTSB database holds 3 Skyraider accident records from 1984 to 2011. All 3 were fatal, with 5 deaths in all. 1 of today's 15 registrations appears on an accident record, and that one after the aircraft was substantially damaged or destroyed. That's a count, not a rate, and with this few events it shouldn't be read as a trend.
More from the same maker: Douglas Aircraft Company warbirds on the US register.
The Warbirds in America hub breaks down all 36 types by purpose of flight, phase of flight and pilot experience.
A piston plane in a jet war
US use of the Skyraider ended in 1973, Wikipedia says, after production had run from 1945 to 1957. The newest registered Skyraider dates to 1956.
The survivor list counts 52 Skyraiders in 6 countries. 18 are marked airworthy, and 14 of those are in the United States.
Questions people ask
How many Skyraiders are still flying?
No official body publishes a count of airworthy Skyraiders. A volunteer-edited Wikipedia list (revision of November 1, 2026) shows 18 listed as airworthy worldwide, 14 of them in the United States. The FAA register shows 15 active US registrations, which includes aircraft under restoration, in storage or on display.
How many Skyraiders were built?
Wikipedia counts 3,180 Skyraiders built, with production running from 1945 to 1957.
Can a private individual own a Skyraider?
Yes. The register shows 2 registered to individuals, 4 to limited liability companies and 8 to corporations.
What engine does a Skyraider use?
9 of the 12 registered Skyraiders with an engine on record list a Wright R-3350 Duplex-Cyclone radial. The rest list an unidentified engine.
How many Skyraiders have been in accidents?
The NTSB database holds 3 Skyraider accident records from 1984 to 2011. All 3 were fatal, with 5 deaths in all. That's a count, not a rate, because the database has no flight hours.
Why is the Skyraider called both the AD and the A-1?
It was designated AD until the 1962 unification of Navy and Air Force designations, when it became the A-1, Wikipedia says. Every Skyraider on the US register is still filed under an AD model name.
Download the data
The counts on this page are available as a CSV: Skyraider register summary. A table covering every warbird type is on the hub. To cite this page: PlanePassion, "How many A-1 Skyraiders are still flying?", based on FAA, NTSB and public records, November 4, 2026.