Vultee V-1

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vultee_V-1

The Vultee V-1 was a 1930s American single-engined airliner built by the
Airplane Development Corporation, designed by Gerard Vultee and financed by
automobile manufacturer Errett Cord.

The prototype (designated the V-1) was an all-metal low-wing cantilever
monoplane with a retractable tailwheel landing gear. It had accommodation for a
pilot and six passengers and first flew on February 19, 1933.

The production aircraft were designated the V-1A and had a slightly larger and
longer fuselage for two pilots and eight passengers. Production ended in 1936
after 24 aircraft plus the prototype had been built.

A floatplane version, sold to the USSR along a manufacturing license was
designated V-1AS and an executive transport version was designated V-1AD (for
Deluxe). No production ensued in the USSR.


Role
Eight-passenger transport

Manufacturer
Airplane Development Corporation

Designer
Gerard Vultee

First flight
19 February 1933

Introduction
1934

Status
retired

Primary users
Spanish Republican Air Force
American Airlines and LAPE

Produced
1933–1936

Number built
25 (including prototype)

American Airlines bought at least 13 V-1As and the V-1 prototype (after it had
been modified for two pilot operation) and they entered service in 1934. On
introduction, they were the fastest commercial airliners of their day. They were
used on routes from the Great Lakes to Texas. Bowen Airlines of Texas also
operated the type. By 1936, they were sold, having been replaced with
twin-engined aircraft when the Bureau of Air Commerce severely limited the use
of single engine airliners.

V-1ADs were operated by several private companies or individuals as high-speed
executive aircraft. The sole V-1AD Special was used prewar by newspaper magnate
Randolph Hearst. It later served airlines in Panama and Nicaragua before
returning to the United States postwar.

Fitted with twin floats and extra fuel tanks, the sole V-1AS Special was sold to
the Soviet Union and used for a 10,000 mile Santa Monica to Moscow flight.

A V-1AD was used in 1936 during an attempt at the first New York-London-New York
double crossing, flown by Harry Richman and Henry T. "Dick" Merrill, in the
famous "Ping Pong" flight, when to ensure buoyancy in case of ditching, empty
spaces in the aircraft were filled with ping pong balls. It was later used by
Nationalist forces in Spain as a transport and high speed bomber.

Seven former American Airlines aircraft, plus eight others were used by the
Republicans in the Spanish Civil War, with machine guns and under-fuselage bomb
racks fitted. Four of the aircraft were captured by the Nationalists.

The V-1 was used in the filming of Jungle Queen (1944) with Clark Gable, and The
Tarnished Angels (1957).

Specifications (V-1A)

General characteristics
Crew: 2
Capacity: 8 passengers
Length: 37 ft 0 in (11.28 m)
Wingspan: 50 ft 0 in (15.24 m)
Height: 10 ft 2 in (3.10 m)
Wing area: 348 ft2 (32.3 m2)
Empty weight: 5,332 lb (2,424 kg)
Gross weight: 8,500 lb (3,864 kg)
Powerplant: 1 × Wright Cyclone R-1820-F2, 735 hp (548 kW)

Performance
Maximum speed: 235 mph (378 km/h)
Cruise speed: 215 mph (346 km/h)
Range: 1,000 miles (1,610 km)
Service ceiling: 20,000 ft (6,100 m)
Rate of climb: 1,000 ft/min (5.1 m/s)




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