1927, FIRST FLIGHT OF THE LOCKHEED VEGA MONOPLANE

Today, The Grandma has been reading about the Lockheed Vega, the American monoplane airliner, whose first flight was on a day like today in 1927.

The Lockheed Vega is an American five- to seven-seat 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 its high speed and long range.

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 flying 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-passenger (plus pilot) 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 168 kW.

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 190 km/h, and had a top speed of 217 km/h. A number of private owners placed orders for the design, and by the end of 1928, 68 had been produced. 

In the 1929 National Air Races in Cleveland, Ohio, Vegas won every speed award.

More information: National Air and Space Museum

 

Aviation is proof that given, the will, 
we have the capacity to achieve the impossible.

 

Eddie Rickenbacker