Lockheed Model 10 Electra

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lockheed_Model_10_Electra

The Lockheed Model 10 Electra is an American twin-engined, all-metal monoplane
airliner developed by the Lockheed Aircraft Corporation in the 1930s to compete
with the Boeing 247 and Douglas DC-2. The type gained considerable fame as one
was flown by Amelia Earhart on her ill-fated around-the-world expedition in
1937.

Some of Lockheed's wooden designs, such as the Orion, had been built by Detroit
Aircraft Corporation with metal fuselages. However, the Electra was Lockheed's
first all-metal and twin-engined design by Lloyd Stearman and Hall Hibbard. The
name Electra came from a star in the Pleiades. The prototype made its first
flight on February 23, 1934, with Marshall Headle at the controls.

Wind-tunnel work on the Electra was undertaken at the University of Michigan.
Much of the work was performed by a student assistant, Clarence Johnson. He
suggested two changes be made to the design: changing the single tail to double
tails (later a Lockheed trademark), and deleting oversized wing fillets. Both of
these suggestions were incorporated into production aircraft. Upon receiving his
master's degree, Johnson joined Lockheed as a regular employee, ultimately
leading the Skunk Works in developing advanced aircraft such as the Lockheed
SR-71 Blackbird.

The Lockheed Electra was one of the first commercial passenger aircraft with
retractable landing gear to come equipped with mudguards as standard equipment,
although aircraft with fixed landing gear commonly had mudguards much earlier
than this.


Role
Light airliner

Manufacturer
Lockheed

Designer
Hall Hibbard

First flight
February 23, 1934

Introduction
1935

Number built
149

Developed from
Lockheed Model 9 Orion

Variants
Lockheed XC-35

Developed into
Lockheed Model 12 Electra Junior
Lockheed Model 14 Super Electra

After October 1934 when the US government banned single-engined aircraft for use
in carrying passengers or in night flying, Lockheed was perfectly placed in the
market with its new Model 10 Electra. In addition to deliveries to US-based
airlines, several European operators added Electras to their prewar fleets. In
Latin America, the first airline to use Electras was Cubana de Aviación,
starting in 1935, for its domestic routes.

Besides airline orders, a number of non-commercial civil operators also
purchased the new Model 10. In May 1937, H.T. "Dick" Merrill and J.S. Lambie
accomplished a round-trip crossing of the Atlantic Ocean. The feat was declared
the first round-trip commercial crossing of that ocean by any aircraft. It won
them the Harmon Trophy. On the eastbound trip, they carried newsreels of the
crash of the Hindenburg, and on the return trip from the United Kingdom, they
brought photographs of the coronation of King George VI. Bata Shoes operated the
Model 10 to ferry its executives between their European factories.

Probably the most famous use of the Electra was the highly modified Model 10E
flown by aviatrix Amelia Earhart. In July 1937, she disappeared in her Electra
during an attempted round-the-world flight.

Many Electras and their design descendants (the Model 12 Electra Junior and
Model 14 Super Electra) were pressed into military service during World War II,
for instance the USAAF's C-36. By the end of the war, the Electra design was
obsolete, although many smaller airlines and charter services continued to
operate Electras into the 1970s.

Electras were popular as private planes for royalty in Asia and Europe. In
India, the Maharaja of Jammu and Kashmir and the Maharaja of Jodhpur both
purchased them for their personal use in 1937.

Specifications (Electra 10A)

General characteristics
Crew: two
Capacity: ten passengers
Length: 38 ft 7 in (11.8 m)
Wingspan: 55 ft 0 in (16.8 m)
Height: 10 ft 1 in (3.1 m)
Wing area: 458 ft² (42.6 m²)
Empty weight: 6,454 lb (2,930 kg)
Loaded weight: 10,500 lb (4,760 kg)
Powerplant: 2 × Pratt & Whitney R-985 Wasp Junior SB, 450 hp (340 kW) each

Performance
Maximum speed: 202 mph (325 km/h) 175 knots
Cruise speed: 190 mph (306 km/h) 165 knots
Range: 713 mi (1,150 km) 620 nm
Service ceiling: 19,400 ft (5,910 m)
Rate of climb: 1,000 ft/min (300 m/min)
Wing loading: 22.9 lb/ft² (111.7 kg/m²)
Power/mass: 11.7 lb/hp (142 W/kg)




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