Lockheed Vega
| Lockheed Vega | |
|---|---|
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| Red Lockheed Vega 5b flown by Amelia Earhart in breaking two world records. | |
| Role | transport |
| Manufacturer | Lockheed Aircraft Limited |
| Designed by | John Knudsen Northrop and Gerrard Vultee |
| First flight | July 4, 1927 |
| Introduced | 1928 |
| Status | 6 surviving examples (?) |
| Primary users | Commercial air carriers USAAC |
| Number built | 132 |
The Vega was a six-passenger monoplane built by the Lockheed company starting in 1927. It became famous for its use by a number of record breaking pilots who were attracted to the rugged and very long-ranged design. Amelia Earhart became the first woman to fly the Atlantic single handed in one, and Wiley Post flew his around the world twice.
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Design and development
Designed by John Knudsen Northrop and Gerrard Vultee, both of whom would later form their own companies, the plane was originally intended to serve with Lockheed's own airline routes. They set out to build a four-seat aircraft that was not only rugged, but the fastest aircraft as well. Utilizing the latest designs in monocoque fuselages, cantilever wings and the best engine available, the Vega delivered on the promise of speed.
The fuselage was monocoque, built from sheets of plywood, skinned over wooden ribs. Using a large concrete mold, a single half of the fuselage shell was laminated in sections with glue and then a rubber bladder was lowered into the mold and inflated with air to compress the lamination into shape. Two fuselage halves were then nailed and glued over a previously made rib framework. With the fuselage constructed in this fashion, the wing spar had to be kept clear, so they decided to make a single spar cantilever mounted on the very top of the aircraft. The only part of the aircraft that wasn't particularly streamlined was the landing gear although production versions wore sleek "spats". For power they chose the Wright Whirlwind, which delivered 225 horsepower (168 kW).
Operational history
The first Vega 1, named the Golden Eagle, flew from Lockheed's Los Angeles plant on July 4, 1927. It could cruise at a then-fast 120 mph (193 km/h), and had a top speed of 135 mph (217 km/h). However. the four-passenger (plus one pilot) load was considered too small for airline use. A number of private owners placed orders for the design however, and by the end of 1928, they had produced 68 of this original design. In the 1928 National Air Races in Cleveland, Vegas won every speed award.
Looking to improve the design, Lockheed delivered the Vega 5 in 1929. Adding the Pratt & Whitney R-1340 Wasp engine of 450 hp (336 kW) improved weights enough to allow two more seats to be added. A new NACA cowling increased cruise speed to 155 mph (249 km/h) and top speed to 165 mph (266 km/h). However, even the new six-seat configuration proved to be too small, and the 5 was purchased primarily for private aviation and executive transport. A total of 64 Vega 5s were built. In 1931, the US Air Corps bought two Vega 5s; one designated C-12 and one as the C-17. The C-17 differed by having an extra set of fuel tanks in the wings.
The Vega could be difficult to land. In her memoir, Elinor Smith wrote that it had "all the glide potential of a boulder falling off a mountain."[1] In addition, forward and side visibility from the cockpit was extremely limited; Lane Wallace, a columnist for Flying magazine, wrote that "Even [in level flight], the windscreen would offer a better view of the sky than anything else, which would make it more of a challenge to detect changes in attitude or bank angle. On takeoff or landing, there'd be almost no forward visibility whatsoever."
Variants
- Vega 1
- Five-seat cabin monoplane, accommodation for one pilot and four passengers, powered by a 225-hp (168-kW) Wright J-5, J-5A, J-5AB or J-5C Whirlwind radial piston engine.
- Vega 2
- Five-seat cabin monoplane, powered by a 300-hp (224-kW) Wright J-6 Whirlwind radial piston engine.
- Vega 2A
- Redesignation of one Vega 2 aircraft, modified for higher gross weights operators.
- Vega 2D
- Redesignation of two Vega 1s and one Vega 2, each fitted with a 300-hp (224-kW) Pratt @ Whitney Wasp radial piston engine.
- Vega 5
- Improved version, powered by a 410-hp (306-kW) Wasp A, 450-hp (336-kW) Wasp B or 420-hp (313-kW) Wasp C1 radial piston engine.
- Vega 5A Executive
- Executive transport version, with a plush interior.
- Vega 5B
- Seven-seat passenger transport version, built for higher gross weight operations with commercial operators.
- Vega 5C
- Seven-seat cabin monoplane, with revised tail surfaces, built for higher gross weight operations.
- DL-1
- Vega 5C with a light alloy fuselage. Built by the Detroit Aircraft Corporation.
- DL-1B
- Seven-seat cabin monoplane, similar to the DL-1. Built by the Detroit Aircraft Corporation.
- DL-1 Special
- One-off air racing and record breaking version. One was built by the Detroit Aircraft Corporation, exported to the United Kingdom.
- Y1C-12
- One DL-1 acquired by the US Army Air Corps for service tests and evaluation.
- Y1C-17
- One DL-1B acquired by the US Army Air Corps for service tests and evaluation.
- UC-101
- One Vega 5C impressed into service with the US Army Air Force in 1942.
Survivors
- Both Wiley Post's Winnie Mae and Amelia Earhart's Vegas [2] are a part of the collection of the National Air and Space Museum. Earhart's Transatlantic Vega is on display at the original National Air and Space Museum building in Washington, D.C. The "Winnie Mae" is on display at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center.
- In 1969, cn/72 first owned by the Independent Oil and Gas Company of Tulsa, Oklahoma was restored by Dave Jameson in the paint scheme of the Winnie Mae. The aircraft was also a airborne electronics laboratory for the General Electric company. It differs from the original with a larger R-1340 engine installation.[3] It currently resides at the Fantasy of Flight Museum in Polk City, Florida
- The Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Michigan has c/n 40 ex-N965Y currently painted to represent one of Earhart's Vegas.
Operators
- Royal Australian Air Force - one aircraft only
Specifications (Vega 5)
General characteristics
- Crew: 1
- Length: 27 ft 6 in (8.38 m)
- Wingspan: 41 ft in (12.49 m)
- Height: 8 ft 6 in (2.59 m)
- Wing area: 259 sq ft (25.548 m2)
- Airfoil: Clark Y
- Empty weight: 2,565 lb (1,163 kg)
- Loaded weight: 4,500 lb (2,041 kg)
- Powerplant: 1× Pratt & Whitney Wasp R1340C, 500 hp (372.5 kW)
Performance
- Maximum speed: 185 mph (298 km/h)
- Cruise speed: 165 mph (265 km/h)
- Range: 725 mi (1,165 km)
- Service ceiling: 15,000 ft (4,570 m)
- Rate of climb: 1,300 ft/min (6.6 m/s)
See also
Related development
- Lockheed Air Express
- Lockheed Explorer
- Lockheed Sirius
- Lockheed Altair
- Lockheed Model 9 Orion
Related lists
- List of Lockheed aircraft
References
- Notes
- ↑ Smith 1981, p. 94.
- ↑ Lockheed 5B Vega Note: Amelia Earhart's Vega 5B, a company demonstrator was c/n 22 NC7952.
- ↑ "The Return of the Winnie Mae." Sport Aviation, October 1969.
- Bibliography
- Allen, Richard Sanders. Revolution in the Sky: Those Fabulous Lockheeds, The Pilots Who Flew Them. Brattleboro, Vermont: The Stephen Greene Press, 1964.
- Boyne, Walter J. Beyond the Horizons: The Lockheed Story. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1998. ISBN 0-312-19237-1.
- Francillon, René J. Lockheed Aircraft since 1913. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press, 1987. ISBN 0-85177-835-6.
- Smith, Elinor. Aviatrix. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1981. ISBN 0-15110-372-0.
External links
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