Lockheed L-10 Electra

infobox Aircraft
name =L-10 Electra/C-36
type =Utility aircraft
manufacturer =Lockheed

---

caption =Amelia Earhart's Electra 10E
designer =Hall Hibbard
first flight = February 23, 1934 in aviation
introduced =1935
retired =
status =
primary user =
more users =
produced =
number built =149
unit cost =
variants with their own articles = Electra Junior Super Electra

The Lockheed L-10 Electra was a twin-engine, all-metal monoplane airliner developed by the Lockheed Aircraft Corporation in the 1930s to compete with the Boeing 247 and Douglas DC-2.

Design and development

The Electra was Lockheed's first all-metal and twin-engine design by Hall Hibbard. (However, some of Lockheed's wooden designs, such as the Orion had been built by Detroit Aircraft Corporation with metal fuselages.) The name Electra came from a star in the Pleiades. The prototype made its first flight on 23 February, 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 SR-71 Blackbird.

Operational history

In July 1937, aviatrix Amelia Earhart disappeared in a highly-modified Electra during an attempted round-the-world flight.

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, and it won them the Harmon Trophy.Fact|date=February 2008 On the eastbound trip, they carried newsreels of the crash of the "Hindenburg", and on the return trip, they brought photographs of the coronation of King George VI.

Many Electras and their design descendants (the L-12 Electra Junior and L-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.

Variants

The Electra was produced in several variants, for both civilian and military customers. Lockheed built a total of 149 Electras.

;Electra 10A:Powered by two Pratt & Whitney R-985-13, 450 hp. each; 101 produced.:* Three built as Y1C-36 / C-36 / UC-36.:* Fifteen impressed as C-36A, but later re-designated UC-36A.:* Three built as XR20-1 / R20-1 for Secretary of the Navy.:* One built as Y1C-37 / C-37 / UC-37 for Chief of National Guard Bureau;Electra 10B:Powered by Wright R-975-13, 440 hp (340 kW) each; 18 produced:* Seven impressed as C-36C, but later re-designated UC-36C.:* One built as XR30-1 for use by the Secretary of Treasury, operated by the US Coast Guard.;Electra 10C:Powered by Pratt & Whitney Wasp SC1, 450 hp (336-kW) each; eight produced for Pan American Airways.;Electra 10-D:Proposed military transport version; none built.;Electra 10-E:Powered by Pratt & Whitney R-1340-49 radials of 600 hp (450 kW) each; 15 produced. The version used by Amelia Earhart.:* Five impressed as C-36B, but later re-designated UC-36B;XC-35:Experimental pressurized research model powered by supercharged Pratt & Whitney XR-1340-43, 550 hp (410 kW) each. The one production model was tested for the War Department by Lieutenant Ben Kelsey. For this work, the Army Air Corps was awarded the 1937 Collier Trophy. The XC-35 is currently in storage in the collection of the National Air and Space Museum.

Operators

Military operators

;ARG
*Argentine Air Force;BRA
*Brazilian Air Force;flag|Canada|1921
*Royal Canadian Air Force;HON
*Honduran Air Force;flag|Spain|1931
*Spanish Air Force;UK
*Royal Air Force;flag|United States|1912
*US Army Air Corps
*US Army Air Force
*United States Navy
*United States Coast Guard;flag|Venezuela|1930
*Venezuelan Air Force

Civil operators

;AUS
*Guinea Airways, an Australian airline serving New Guinea.
*MacRobertson Miller Airlines;BRA
*Panair do Brasil
*VARIG;flag|Canada|1921
*Canadian Airways
*Trans-Canada Air Lines;CHI
*LAN Chile;CUB
*Compania Cubana de Aviacion;flag|Mexico|1934
*Compania Mexicana de Aviacion;NLD
*KLM Westindies;NZL
*Union Airways of N.Z. Ltd;POL
*LOT Polish Airlines operated ten aircraft between 1936 and 1939.;flag|Romania
*LARES;UK
*British Airways
*Hanford;flag|United States|1912
*Chicago and Southern Air Lines
*Continental Airlines
*Delta Air Lines
*Eastern Airlines
*Mid-Continent Airlines
*National Airlines
*Northeast Airlines
*North Central Airlines
*Northwest Airlines
*Pan American (Alaska Division);flag|Venezuela|1930
*Linea Aeropostal Venezolana;flag|Yugoslavia|kingdom
*Aeroput

urvivors

Canada is the home of two Model 10As. The first aircraft in the Air Canada (then called Trans-Canada Air Lines) fleet was an Electra L10A, "TCA." Two Electras were delivered to Trans-Canada Air Lines (TCA) in 1937. They were based in Winnipeg and used for pilot training. Trans-Canada Air Lines ordered three more for transcontinental service; "CF-TCC" was one of those three. These former TCA machines and other 10As were acquired by the RCAF during Second World War, and later sold to private operators.

TCA survived into the 1960s when Ann Pellegreno between June 7 and July 10, 1967 flew TCA on a round-the-world flight to commemorate Amelia Earhart’s last flight in 1937. The Canada Aviation Museum acquired this aircraft after the commemorative flight. Manufactured in 1937, the Museum example was the first new aircraft purchased by Trans-Canada Air Lines and served with the company until transferred to the RCAF in 1939. Sold in 1941 to a private operator, it was flown until 1967 by various owners. Air Canada restored the aircraft in 1968 and donated it to the Museum.

TCC was another former Trans-Canada Air Lines original. CF-TCC was found in Florida by a vacationing Air Canada employee in the early 1980s. Arrangements were made for it to be brought back to Winnipeg where it was restored. It was flown across Canada in 1987 to commemorate Air Canada's 50th Anniversary.

Air Canada maintains the aircraft and uses it to promote the airline. The aircraft was placed on display at Expo 86 after recreating the original TCA cross-country flight in 1937 and continues to be displayed at air shows and conferences. In 2006, it was flown from Toronto to Washington DC for the Airlines International Show. [ [http://www.achorizons.ca/en/issues/2006/NewHorizons.pdf] ] For most of the year, TCC resides at the Western Canada Aviation Museum where it is one of the feature aircraft displayed.

Two L10 Electras are also preserved in New Zealand's Museum of Transport and Technology at Auckland. Another Auckland-based Electra, owned by Kaipara Aviation Trust, is under restoration to flying condition.

A military version designated as UC-36A Electra is preserved at the Pima Air Museum in Tucscon, AZ, USA.

pecifications (Electra 10A)

aircraft specification

plane or copter?=plane
jet or prop?=prop

crew=2
capacity=
length main=38 ft 7 in
length alt=11.8 m
span main=55 ft 0 in
span alt=16.8 m
height main=10 ft 1 in
height alt=3.1 m
area main=458 ft
area alt=42.6 m
airfoil=
empty weight main=6,454 lb
empty weight alt=2,930 kg
loaded weight main=10,500 lb
loaded weight alt=4,760 kg
max takeoff weight main= lb
max takeoff weight alt= kg
more general=
engine (jet)=
type of jet=
number of jets=
thrust main= lbf
thrust alt= kN
thrust original=
thrust more=
afterburning thrust main= lbf
afterburning thrust alt= kN
engine (prop)=Pratt & Whitney R-985-13
type of prop=
number of props=2
power main=450 hp
power alt=340 kW
power original=
power more=
max speed main=202 mph
max speed alt=325 km/h
max speed more=
range main=713 mi
range alt=1,150 km
range more=
ceiling main=19,400 ft
ceiling alt=5,910 m
climb rate main=1,000 ft/min
climb rate alt=300 m/min
loading main=22.9 lb/ft²
loading alt=111.7 kg/m²
thrust/weight=
power/mass main=11.7 lb/hp
power/mass alt=142 W/kg
more performance=
armament=

ee also

aircontent
related=
*Lockheed L-12 Electra Junior
*Lockheed L-14 Super Electra
*Howard 500
similar aircraft=
*Boeing 247
*Douglas DC-2
sequence=
lists=
*List of military aircraft of the United States
*List of military aircraft of the United States (naval)
*List of Lockheed aircraft
see also=

References

Notes

Bibliography

* Francillon, René J. "Lockheed Aircraft since 1913". Annapolis: Naval Institute Press, 1987. ISBN 0-85177-835-6.

External links

* [http://www.nasm.si.edu/research/aero/aircraft/lockheed_xc35.htm XC-35 in the collection of the National Air and Space Museum]
* [http://www.wpafb.af.mil/museum/research/cargo/c3/c35.htm XC-35 from National Museum of the United States Air Force]
* [http://lockheedelectra10a.com Lockheed Electra 10A Restoration]