Lockheed Vega
This articleneeds additional citations forverification.(January 2010) |
Vega | |
---|---|
![]() | |
Role | Transport |
National origin | United States |
Manufacturer | Lockheed Aircraft Limited |
Designer | John Knudsen NorthropandGerald Vultee |
First flight | July 4, 1927 |
Introduction | 1928 |
Status | Retired |
Primary user | Commercial air carriers |
Number built | 132 |
TheLockheed Vegais an American five- to seven-seat high-wingmonoplaneairliner built by theLockheed Corporationstarting in 1927. It became famous for its use by a number of record-breaking pilots who were attracted to its high speed and long range.Amelia Earhartbecame the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean in one, andWiley Postused his to prove the existence of thejet streamafter flying around the world twice.
Design and development
[edit]![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c4/Lockheed_Vega_5B%2C_Amelia_Earhart_-_Blick_ins_Cockpit.jpg/220px-Lockheed_Vega_5B%2C_Amelia_Earhart_-_Blick_ins_Cockpit.jpg)
Designed byJohn Knudsen NorthropandGerald Vultee,both of whom would later form their own companies, the aircraft was originally intended to serve with Lockheed's own airline routes. They set out to build a four-passenger (plus pilot) aircraft that was not only rugged, but also one of the fastest aircraft of its era. Using a woodenmonocoquefuselage, plywood-coveredcantileverwings and the best engine available, the Vega delivered on the promise of speed.
The fuselage was built from sheets ofplywood,skinned over wooden ribs. Using a large concrete mold, a single half of the fuselage shell was laminated in sections with glue between each layer and then a rubber bladder was lowered into the mold and inflated with air to compress thelaminationinto shape against the inside of the mold. The two fuselage halves were then nailed and glued over a separately constructed rib framework. With the fuselage constructed in this fashion, the wing spar couldn't cut through the fuselage, so the single spar cantilever wing was mounted atop the aircraft. Only the engine andlanding gearremained essentiallyunstreamlined,and on the production versions the undercarriage had teardrop shaped fairings covering the wheels, while only the earliest versions lackedNACA cowlingsand had the engine cylinders exposed to the airstream. It was powered by theWright Whirlwindair-cooledradial engine,which delivered 225 hp (168 kW).
Operational history
[edit]![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/80/Lockheed_Vega_5B_of_Amelia_Earhart_c1932.jpg/220px-Lockheed_Vega_5B_of_Amelia_Earhart_c1932.jpg)
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/ff/Lockheed_Vega_cn_122_NR105W_-Winnie_Mae-_1935_%28mfr_via_RJF%29_%2818327531806%29.jpg/220px-Lockheed_Vega_cn_122_NR105W_-Winnie_Mae-_1935_%28mfr_via_RJF%29_%2818327531806%29.jpg)
The firstVega 1,named theGolden Eagle,flew from Lockheed'sLos Angelesplant on July 4, 1927. It could cruise at a then-fast 120 mph (190 km/h), and had a top speed of 135 mph (217 km/h). A number of private owners placed orders for the design, and by the end of 1928, 68 had been produced. In the 1929National Air RacesinCleveland, Ohio,Vegas won every speed award.
In 1928, VegaYankee Doodle(NX4769) was used to break transcontinental speed records. On August 19–20, Hollywood stunt flier Arthur C. Goebel broke the coast-to-coast record ofRussell Maughanby flying fromLos Angeles, California,toGarden City, New York,in 18 hours and 58 minutes, in what was also the first nonstop flight from west to east. On October 25, barnstormer and former mail pilot Charles B.D. Collyer broke the nonstop east to west record set in 1923 by the U.S. Army Air Service in 24 hours and 51 minutes. Trying to break the new West-to-East record on November 3, Collyer crashed nearPrescott, Arizona,killing him and the aircraft owner, Harry J. Tucker.[1]
Looking to improve the design, Lockheed delivered the Vega 5 in 1929. Adding thePratt & Whitney R-1340 Waspengine of 450 hp (340 kW) and a newNACA cowlingimproved performance enough to allow the addition of two more seats, and increased cruising speed to 155 mph (249 km/h) and top speed to 165 mph (266 km/h). A variant of the Vega 5 was built specifically for private aviation and executive transport as the L.5A "Executive" although the 5 was also used by a many airlines, includingPan American Airlines,Pacific Alaska AirwaysandTranscontinental and Western Air.A total of 64 Vega 5s were built.
In 1931, theUnited States Army Air Corpsbought two DL-1 Vegas, with the first designated asY1C-12and the second, a DL-1B designated asY1C-17.These both had a formed metal fuselage, while the Y1C-17 had additional fuel tanks in the wings.
The Vega could be difficult to land. In her memoir,Elinor Smithwrote that it had "all the glide potential of a boulder falling off a mountain."[2]In addition, forward and side visibility from the cockpit was extremely limited; Lane Wallace, a columnist forFlyingmagazine,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."
Vega DL-1A special
[edit]A one-off special based on the metal-fuselaged DL-1 was built by the Detroit Aircraft Corporation, and exported to the United Kingdom for Lt. Cmdr.Glen Kidstonwho named itPuch.It was initially registered in the UK asG-ABFE,then was re-registered asG-ABGKto incorporate Kidston's initials.[3]He used this Vega for a record-breaking flight from the UK to South Africa in April 1931. Following Kidston's death the following month, the aircraft was eventually sold to Australian airline ownerHorrie Miller,who entered it in theMacRobertson Air Race.Flown in the race by Miller's Chief Pilot, Capt. Jimmy Woods, it overturned on landing atAleppoen route,whereupon Woods withdrew from the race and the DL-1A was eventually shipped to Australia. Following repairs and re-registration asVH-UVK,Miller used the aircraft for charter and leisure flying, after which it was impressed by theRoyal Australian Air Forcein 1941. In 1944 the aircraft was transferred to the Australian Department of Civil Aviation (DCA). Via information from RAAF pilots, DCA declared the Vega to have serious pitch control problems and it would be scrapped. Attempts by James Woods to reclaim the aircraft were ignored, and it was destroyed in October 1945. It was the only Vega to operate in Australia.[3]
Variants
[edit]![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5e/Lockheed_Vega_1_L%27Air_December_15%2C1928.jpg/220px-Lockheed_Vega_1_L%27Air_December_15%2C1928.jpg)
- 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 (220 kW) Wright J-6 Whirlwind radial piston engine.
- Vega 2A
- Redesignation of one Vega 2 aircraft, modified for higher gross weight operation.
- Vega 2D
- Redesignation of two Vega 1s and one Vega 2, each fitted with a 300 hp (220 kW) Pratt & Whitney Wasp radial piston engine.
- Vega 5
- Improved version, powered by a 410 hp (310 kW) Wasp A, 450 hp (340 kW) Wasp B or 420 hp (310 kW) Wasp C1 radial piston engine.
- Vega 5A Executive
- Executive transport version, with a plush interior.
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/77/Lockheed_5C_Vega_of_Lithuanian_Air_Force.jpg/220px-Lockheed_5C_Vega_of_Lithuanian_Air_Force.jpg)
- 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 an aluminum fuselage. Built by theDetroit Aircraft Corporation.[4]
- DL-1A/DL-1 Special
- One-off air racing and record breaking version, c/n 155.
- DL-1B
- Seven-seat cabin monoplane, similar to the DL-1. Built by the Detroit Aircraft Corporation.
- Y1C-12
- One DL-1 acquired by the U.S. Army Air Corps for service tests and evaluation.
- Y1C-17
- One DL-1B acquired by the U.S. Army Air Corps for service tests and evaluation.
- UC-101
- One Vega 5C impressed into service with the U.S. Army Air Force in 1942.
Operators
[edit]Commercial operators
[edit]A large number of airlines and private owners operated Vegas, many with only a small number of airframes.
Military operators
[edit]- Royal Australian Air Force– one aircraft
- Lithuanian Air Force- one aircraft (s/n. 134, former registration NC926Y), 1935-1940, purchased after the trans-Atlantic flight (Lituanica II)[5]
- Spanish Republican Air Force– one aircraft
- United States Army Air Corps/United States Army Air Forces– three aircraft
Aircraft on display
[edit]![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/89/NASM-NASM2014-01653.jpg/220px-NASM-NASM2014-01653.jpg)
- 22 – Vega 5B on static display at theNational Air and Space MuseuminWashington, D.C.This was Amelia Earhart's aircraft.[6][7]
- 40 – Vega 2D on static display atThe Henry FordMuseum inDearborn, Michigan.It was used byDonald Baxter MacMillanfor exploration and mapping.[8][9]
- 72 – Vega 5C under restoration to airworthy status by Kevin Kimball inMount Dora, FloridaforFantasy of FlightinPolk City, Florida.[10][11]First owned by the Independent Oil and Gas Company of Tulsa, Oklahoma; it was restored by Dave Jameson in 1969 in the paint scheme of the Winnie Mae. The aircraft was also an airborne electronics laboratory for theGeneral Electriccompany. It differs from the original with a larger R-1340 engine installation.[12]
- 122Winnie Mae– Vega 5C on static display at theNational Air and Space MuseuminWashington, D.C.It was flown around the world twice and for high altitude testing by Wiley Post.[13][14]
- 161 – DL-1B on display with Mid America Flight Museum ofMount Pleasant, Texas.It was originally registered as NC12288. Its first post-restoration flight, by John O. Magoffin Jr. and Rick Barter, was on the centenary of powered flight, 17 December 2013.[15][16][17]
- 203Shell Oil Number 7– Vega 5C owned and operated by Walter Bowe. It was flown byJimmy Doolittle.[18][19]
Specifications (Vega 5C)
[edit]![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/52/Lockheed_Vega_3-view_NACA_Aircraft_Circular_No.61.jpg/220px-Lockheed_Vega_3-view_NACA_Aircraft_Circular_No.61.jpg)
Data fromLockheed aircraft since 1913.[20]
General characteristics
- Crew:1
- Capacity:6 pax
- Length:27 ft 6 in (8.38 m)
- Wingspan:41 ft (12 m)
- Height:8 ft 6 in (2.59 m)
- Wing area:275 sq ft (25.5 m2)
- Airfoil:root:Clark Y (18%);tip:Clark Y (9.47%)[21]
- Empty weight:2,565 lb (1,163 kg)
- Vega 5C floatplane 3,153 lb (1,430 kg)
- Gross weight:4,500 lb (2,041 kg)
- Vega 5C floatplane 4,880 lb (2,210 kg)
- Fuel capacity:160 US gal (130 imp gal; 610 L)
- Powerplant:1 ×Pratt & Whitney R-1340C Wasp9-cylinder air-cooled radial piston engine, 450 hp (340 kW)
- Propellers:2-bladed fixed-pitch propeller
Performance
- Maximum speed:185 mph (298 km/h, 161 kn) withNACA cowling
- Vega 5C floatplane withNACA cowling175 mph (282 km/h)
- Cruise speed:165 mph (266 km/h, 143 kn)
- Vega 5C floatplane withNACA cowling160 mph (260 km/h)
- Range:725 mi (1,167 km, 630 nmi)
- Vega 5C floatplane 620 mi (1,000 km)
- Service ceiling:19,000 ft (5,800 m)
- Vega 5C floatplane 17,000 ft (5,200 m)
- Rate of climb:1,300 ft/min (6.6 m/s)
- Vega 5C floatplane 1,100 ft/min (5.6 m/s)
- Wing loading:16.4 lb/sq ft (80 kg/m2)
- Vega 5C floatplane 17.7 lb/sq ft (86 kg/m2)
- Power/mass:0.1 hp/lb (0.16 kW/kg)
- Vega 5C floatplane 0.0926 hp/lb (0.1522 kW/kg)
See also
[edit]Related development
- Lockheed Air Express
- Lockheed Altair
- Lockheed Explorer
- Lockheed Model 8 Sirius
- Lockheed Model 9 Orion
Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era
Related lists
References
[edit]Notes
[edit]Citations
[edit]- ^"Charles B.D. Collyer."Davis-Monthan Aviation Field Register,December 25, 2011. Retrieved: December 27, 2012.
- ^Smith 1981, p. 94.
- ^abGoodall, Geoff. "Vega VH-UVK: The Story of a Unique Aeroplane."Journal of the Aviation Historical Society of Australia,Volume 17, Issue 4.
- ^Budd Davidson (June 2014). "A Superstar Reborn".Sport Aviation:52.
- ^Stašaitis, Vytautas."Antrosios" Lituanica "skrydis (" Flight of the Second Lituanica - in Lithuanian) ".Plieno Sparnai.
- ^"Amelia Earhart's Lockheed Vega 5B".Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum.Archived fromthe originalon 21 July 2019.Retrieved25 September2017.
- ^"FAA Registry [N7952]".Federal Aviation Administration.U.S. Department of Transportation. Archived fromthe originalon 26 September 2017.Retrieved25 September2017.
- ^"1929 Lockheed Vega 5B Monoplane, Used by Explorer Donald MacMillan".The Henry Ford.Retrieved25 September2017.
- ^"Airframe Dossier - Lockheed Vega 2D, c/n 40, c/r N965Y {2}".Aerial Visuals.AerialVisuals.ca.Retrieved25 September2017.
- ^Weeks, Kermit (15 July 2012)."Lockheed Vega heads off for Restoration!".Fantasy of Flight.Retrieved25 September2017.
- ^Clukey, Pete."Vega Number 72: Keeping History Alive".Lockheed Martin.Lockheed Martin Corporation.Retrieved25 September2017.
- ^"The Return of the Winnie Mae."Sport Aviation,October 1969.
- ^"Lockheed Vega Winnie Mae".Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum.Archived fromthe originalon 6 February 2020.Retrieved25 September2017.
- ^Swopes, Bryan R. (15 July 2017)."15 July 1933".This Day in Aviation.WordPress.Retrieved25 September2017.
- ^"Lockheed Vega Restoration Update".Antique Airfield.Antique Aircraft Association and Airpower Museum. 6 March 2013. Archived fromthe originalon 28 July 2021.Retrieved25 September2017.
- ^Phelps, Mark (19 December 2013)."Video: Vintage Lockheed Vega Flies Again".Flying.Flying Magazine.Retrieved25 September2017.[permanent dead link]
- ^"FAA Registry [N12288]".Federal Aviation Administration.U.S. Department of Transportation. Archived fromthe originalon 26 September 2017.Retrieved25 September2017.
- ^Namowitz, Dan (16 June 2016)."Doolittle Center acquires historic Lockheed Vega".AOPA.AOPA.Retrieved25 September2017.
- ^"FAA Registry [N13705]".Federal Aviation Administration.U.S. Department of Transportation. Archived fromthe originalon 9 July 2018.Retrieved25 March2020.
- ^Francillon, Rene J. (1988).Lockheed aircraft since 1913(2nd reprint ed.). Annapolis: Naval Institute Press. pp. 67–86.ISBN0870218972.
- ^Lednicer, David."The Incomplete Guide to Airfoil Usage".m-selig.ae.illinois.edu.Retrieved16 April2019.
Bibliography
[edit]- 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.ISBN0-312-19237-1.
- Francillon, René J.Lockheed Aircraft since 1913.Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press, 1987.ISBN0-85177-835-6.
- Grant, Robert S. (July–August 2002). "There's Gold in Them Thar Hills... or is There?: The Mitchell Expedition of 1932".Air Enthusiast.No. 100. pp. 50–55.ISSN0143-5450.
- Lawrence, Joseph (1945).The Observer's Book Of Airplanes.London and New York: Frederick Warne & Co.
- Smith, Elinor.Aviatrix.New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1981.ISBN0-15-110372-0.
External links
[edit]![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)
- Lockheed Vega 5BArchived28 December 2011 at theWayback Machine
- The Lockheed Vegain the filmFlying Down to Rio
- "Wiley Post seeks New Record"Popular Mechanics,October 1934 pp. 492–494. Drawing ofWinnie Maemodified for high altitude record attempt