Lockheed Vega

Infobox Aircraft
name= Lockheed Vega
type=transport
manufacturer=Lockheed Aircraft Limited

---

caption = Red Lockheed Vega 5b flown by Amelia Earhart in breaking two world records.
designer = John Knudsen Northrop and Gerrard Vultee
first flight=4 July 1927
introduced=avyear|1928
retired=
status= 6 surviving examples (?)
primary user= Commercial air carriers
more users= USAAC
produced=
number built= 132
unit cost=
variants with their own articles=

The Vega was a six-passenger monoplane built by the Lockheed company 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-ranged design. Amelia Earhart became the first woman to fly the Atlantic single handed in one, and Wiley Post flew his around the world twice.

Design and development

Designed by John Knudsen Northrop and Gerrard Vultee, both of whom would later form their own companies, the plane 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 the fastest aircraft as well. Utilizing the latest designs in monocoque fuselages, cantilever wings and the best engine available, the Vega delivered on the speed promises.

The fuselage was monocoque, 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 and then a rubber bladder was lowered into the mold and inflated with air to compress the lamination into shape. Two fuselage halves were then nailed and glued over a previously made rib framework. With the fuselage constructed in this fashion, the wing spar had to be kept clear, so they decided to make a single spar cantilever mounted on the very top of the aircraft. The only part of the aircraft that wasn't particularly streamlined was the landing gear although production versions wore sleek "spats". For power they chose the Wright Whirlwind, which delivered 225 horsepower (168 kW).

Operational history

The first Vega 1, named the "Golden Eagle", flew from Lockheed's Los Angeles plant on 4 July 1927. It could cruise at a then-fast 120 mph (193 km/h), and had a top speed of 135 mph (217 km/h). However. the four-passenger (plus one pilot) load was considered too small for airline use. A number of private owners placed orders for the design however, and by the end of 1928, they had produced 68 of this original design. In the 1928 National Air Races in Cleveland, Vegas won every speed award.

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) improved weights enough to allow two more seats to be added. A new NACA cowling increased cruise speed to 155 mph (249 km/h) and top speed to 165 mph (266 km/h). However, even 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 US Air Corps bought two Vega 5s; one designated C-12 and one as the C-17. The C-17 differed by having an extra set of fuel tanks in the wings.

urvivors

Both Wiley Post's "Winnie Mae" and Amelia Earhart's Vegas [ [http://www.nasm.si.edu/research/aero/aircraft/lockheed_5b.htm Lockheed 5B Vega] Note: Amelia Earhart's Vega 5B, a company demonstrator was c/n 22 "NC7952". ] are a part of the collection of the National Air and Space Museum. Earhart's Vega is on display at the original National Air and Space Museum building in Washington, D.C. The "Winnie Mae" is on display at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center. Four others are believed to exist, at least one of which is still in flying condition.

Specifications (Vega 5)

aircraft specification
plane or copter?=plane
jet or prop?=prop

crew=1
capacity=
length main=27 ft 6 in
length alt=8.38 m
span main=41 ft in
span alt=12.49 m
height main=8 ft 6 in
height alt=2.59 m
area main=259 sq ft
area alt=25.548 m²
empty weight main=2,565 lb
empty weight alt=1,163 kg
loaded weight main=4,500 lb
loaded weight alt=2,041 kg
max takeoff weight alt= kg
more general=
engine (prop)=Pratt & Whitney Wasp R1340C
type of prop=
number of props=1
power main= 500 hp
power alt= 372.5 kW
power original=
power more=
max speed main=185 mph
max speed alt=298 km/h
cruise speed main=165 mph
cruise speed alt=265 km/h
range main=725 mi
range alt=1,165 km
ceiling main=15,000 ft
ceiling alt=4,570 m
climb rate main=1,300 ft/min
climb rate alt=6.6 m/s

ee also

aircontent
related=
* Lockheed Air Express
* Lockheed Explorer
* Lockheed Sirius
* Lockheed Altair
* Lockheed L-9 Orion
similar=
sequence=
lists=
* List of Lockheed aircraft

References

Notes

Bibliography

* Boyne, Walter J. "Beyond the Horizons: The Lockheed Story." New York: St. Martin's Press, 1998. ISBN 0-312-19237-1.
* Francillon, René J. "Lockheed Aircraft since 1913". Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press, 1987. ISBN 0-85177-835-6.

External links

* [http://www.nasm.si.edu/research/aero/aircraft/lockheed_5b.htm Lockheed Vega 5B Vega]