Lockheed Little Dipper

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

The Lockheed Model 33 Little Dipper, also known as Air Trooper, was an American
single-seat monoplane, designed by John Thorp and built by Lockheed at Burbank,
California. Flown in 1944 and offered to the Army as a "flying motorcycle", it
was evaluated as a potential entry for Lockheed into the civilian market, but
the program was cancelled before the second prototype was completed.

The design of the Model 33 originated with a private venture for a two-seat
light aircraft by John Thorp, a Lockheed engineer. In April 1944, the company
agreed to build the aircraft as the Lockheed Model 33. Due to wartime
restrictions on materials, the company gained the interest of the United States
Army in the aircraft as an "aerial flying motorcycle" to equip a "flying
cavalry" under the name Air Trooper. The Army, willing to entertain the concept,
authorized Lockheed to build two prototypes of the Model 33.

The Model 33 was of ordinary light-aircraft design, with a low-mounted
cantilever monoplane wing and conventional empennage; powered by a 50 hp (37 kW)
Franklin 2A4-49 engine, it was fitted with a fixed tricycle landing gear and
proved to have STOL performance.


Role
Single-seat utility monoplane

National origin
United States

Manufacturer
Lockheed

Designer
John Thorp

First flight
August 1944

Number built
1

Developed into
Thorp T-211

The Model 33 prototype first flew in August 1944. The handling characteristics
of the aircraft were considered satisfactory, but the Army had lost interest in
the concept, despite the prototype demonstrating its performance by landing and
taking off again in the courtyard of the Pentagon. Lockheed had intended to
market the type as an inexpensive light aircraft on the civilian market as the
Little Dipper; with the military interest having evaporated, the prototype and
the partially completed second aircraft were scrapped in January 1947 for tax
reasons.

Thorp, the aircraft's designer, would go on to develop the Thorp T-211 with
lessons learned from the Little Dipper project.

Specifications

General characteristics
Crew: One (pilot)
Length: 17 ft 6 in (5.33 m)
Wingspan: 25 ft 0 in (7.62 m)
Height: 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m)
Wing area: 104 sq ft (9.7 m2)
Empty weight: 425 lb (193 kg)
Gross weight: 725 lb (329 kg)
Powerplant: 1 × Franklin 2A4-49 two-cylinder air-cooled horizontally opposed
piston engine, 50 hp (37 kW)

Performance
Maximum speed: 100 mph (161 km/h, 87 kn)
Cruise speed: 91 mph (146 km/h, 79 kn)
Range: 210 mi (340 km, 180 nmi)
Service ceiling: 16,000 ft (4,900 m)
Rate of climb: 900 ft/min (4.6 m/s)
Takeoff run: 100 feet (30 m); with clearance of 50-foot (15 m) obstacle, 400
feet (120 m).




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