Sky King poster

Sky King (1951)

Adventure · Drama · Family

Sky King is an American radio and television adventure series. The title character is Arizona rancher and aircraft pilot Schuyler "Sky" King. The series was likely based on a true-life personality of the 1930s, Jack Cones, the "Flying Constable" of Twentynine Palms in San Bernardino County, California, although this claim is unverified. Although the series had strong western elements, King mostly captured criminals and spies, and found lost hikers with the use of his plane, the Songbird. Though the planes used changed during the course of the series, the later model was not given a number, but was still known as the Songbird. King and his niece, Penny, lived on the Flying Crown Ranch, near the town of Grover, Arizona. Penny and Clipper were also pilots, though still relatively inexperienced and looking to their uncle for guidance and mentoring. Penny was an accomplished air racer and rated multi-engine pilot, whom Sky trusted to fly the Songbird. In the third TV episode, Penny refers to Clipper as "my brother", so they are siblings. The musical score was largely the work of Herschel Burke Gilbert.

IMDb rating
7.7 (638 votes)
Episode average
7.4 -0.3 vs IMDb
Seasons
4
Language
EN
Type
TV series

Rating trend: this show's seasons do not settle into one shape. Rising Shows ranks whole shows by the shape of their rating trend rather than one average score, which is how you find a show that got better rather than a show that started well.

Ratings refreshed Oct 3, 2026 · 4 seasons indexed

Cast

Seasons

Season 1 (1952)

7.82 avg 12 episodes 6.8 → 6.5 27 min avg

Ep 1: 6.8 · 12 votesEp 2: 8.8 · 13 votesEp 3: 7.8 · 11 votesEp 4: 8.4 · 9 votesEp 5: 8.8 · 9 votesEp 6: 8.4 · 8 votesEp 7: 7.6 · 10 votesEp 8: 8.6 · 8 votesEp 13: 8.3 · 9 votesEp 14: 6.8 · 15 votesEp 15: 7.0 · 9 votesEp 16: 6.5 · 9 votes
Season 1 episodes - IMDb ratings
#TitleRatingVotes
1Operation Urgent6.812
2Carrier Pigeon8.813
3Stage Coach Robbers7.811
4Deadly Cargo8.49
5Jim Bell's Triumph8.89
6Designing Woman8.48
7One for the Money7.610
8Danger Point8.68
13Two-Gun Penny8.39
14Formula for Fear6.815
15The Giant Eagle7.09
16Blackmail6.59

Season 2 (1956)

7.05 avg 4 episodes 6.9 → 7.3 30 min avg

Ep 2: 6.9 · 12 votesEp 3: 6.1 · 11 votesEp 11: 7.9 · 10 votesEp 13: 7.3 · 12 votes
Season 2 episodes - IMDb ratings
#TitleRatingVotes
2Manhunt6.912
3The Plastic Ghost6.111
11The Silver Grave7.910
13Fish Out of Water7.312

Season 3 (1958)

7.32 avg 6 episodes 7.2 → 7.4 26 min avg

Ep 5: 7.2 · 7 votesEp 7: 6.4 · 7 votesEp 11: 8.0 · 10 votesEp 14: 8.0 · 7 votesEp 15: 6.9 · 10 votesEp 17: 7.4 · 11 votes
Season 3 episodes - IMDb ratings
#TitleRatingVotes
5Fight for Oil7.27
7The Brain and the Brawn6.47
11Cindy, Come Home8.010
14Triple Exposure8.07
15The Haunted Castle6.910
17Danger at the Sawmill7.411

Season 4 (1958)

6.98 avg 6 episodes 7.2 → 7.6 28 min avg

Ep 1: 7.2 · 30 votesEp 2: 6.1 · 36 votesEp 3: 6.8 · 30 votesEp 4: 6.2 · 25 votesEp 8: 8.0 · 8 votesEp 13: 7.6 · 8 votes
Season 4 episodes - IMDb ratings
#TitleRatingVotes
1The Wild Man7.230
2Sky Robbers6.136
3A Dog Named Barney6.830
4Bullet Bait6.225
8Operation Urgent aka Runaway Truck8.08
13Mickey's Birthday7.68