Lockheed Vega

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

The Lockheed Vega is an American six-passenger high-wing monoplane airliner
built by the Lockheed Corporation 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-range design. Amelia Earhart became the first woman to fly solo across the
Atlantic Ocean in one, and Wiley Post used his to prove the existence of the jet
stream after having flown around the world twice.

Designed by John Knudsen Northrop and Gerald 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-seat aircraft that
was not only rugged but also one of the fastest aircraft of its era. Using a
wooden monocoque fuselage, plywood-covered cantilever wings and the best engine
available, the Vega delivered on the promise of speed.

The fuselage was 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 between each layer and then a rubber bladder was lowered into
the mold and inflated with air to compress the lamination into 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 and landing gear
remained essentially unstreamlined, and on the production versions the
undercarriage had teardrop shaped fairings covering the wheels, while only the
earliest versions lacked NACA cowlings and had the engine cylinders exposed to
the airstream. It was powered by the Wright Whirlwind air-cooled radial engine,
which delivered 225 horsepower (168 kW).


Role
transport

Manufacturer
Lockheed Aircraft Limited

Designer
John Knudsen Northrop and Gerald Vultee

First flight
July 4, 1927

Introduction
1928

Status
Retired

Primary users
Commercial air carriers
United States Army Air Forces

Number built
132

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). The four-passenger (plus one pilot) load was
considered too small for airline use. A number of private owners placed orders
for the design, and by the end of 1928, 68 of this original design had been
produced. In the 1929 National Air Races in Cleveland, Vegas won every speed
award.

In 1928, Vega Yankee Doodle (NX4789) was used to break transcontinental speed
records. On August 19–20, Hollywood stunt flier Arthur C. Goebel broke the
coast-to-coast record of Russell Maughan by flying from Los Angeles, California,
to Garden 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 near Prescott, Arizona,
killing him and the aircraft owner, Harry J. Tucker.

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) and a new NACA cowling
improved 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). 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 United States Army Air Corps bought two Vega
5s; one designated C-12 and one as the C-17. The C-17 had additional 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." 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."

Specifications (Vega 5)

General characteristics
Crew: one (pilot)
Capacity: six passengers
Length: 28 ft 6 in (8.7 m)
Wingspan: 41 ft (12.5 m)
Height: 6 ft 5 in (2.0 m)
Wing area: 250 sq ft (23.2 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 R-1340C, 450 hp (335.6 kW)

Performance
Maximum speed: 185 mph (298 km/h)
Cruise speed: 165 mph (265 km/h)
Range: 725 mi (1,165 km)
Service ceiling: 25,000 ft (9,570 m)
Rate of climb: 1,300 ft/min (6.6 m/s)



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