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.
39-401: 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
78-661: A chief engineer on the Lockheed Vega transport. He left in 1929 to found Avion Corporation, which he sold in 1930. Two years later, he founded the Northrop Corporation. This firm became a subsidiary of Douglas Aircraft in 1939, so he co-founded a second company named Northrop. Born in Newark, New Jersey , in 1895, Northrop grew up in Santa Barbara, California . In 1916, Northrop's first job in aviation
117-582: A naval amateur he raced a Sunbeam motorcycle up the hill climb in Hong Kong and conducted speed trials on the sands, bringing the bike with him in his submarine which was patrolling the China Station. Kidston entered the 1929 Irish Grand Prix Éireann Cup at Phoenix Park but was narrowly beaten by the Alfa Romeo of former Russian Imperial Guard officer Boris Ivanowski . This was achieved at
156-402: A record-breaking flight from Netheravon , Wiltshire, to Cape Town , South Africa. He completed the journey in 6½ days, flying his own specially adapted Lockheed Vega monoplane and averaging 131 miles per hour (211 km/h). However, Kidston was never to make the return trip. After earlier near misses in aeroplane, motorcycle, speed boat and even submarine accidents, Kidston was killed, only
195-487: A reduced-scale version tested in 1940, ultimately became the giant Northrop YB-35 . The Northrop XP-56 Black Bullet , a welded magnesium fighter was one of the more significant of his World War II designs, along with the Northrop P-61 Black Widow , the first American night interceptor, of which more than 700 were constructed. His inventions continued into the postwar era of jet aircraft, to produce
234-593: A top speed of 135 mph (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. In 1928, Vega Yankee Doodle (NX4769) 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
273-516: A year after his Le Mans triumph, when his borrowed de Havilland Puss Moth broke up in mid-air while flying through a dust storm over the Drakensberg mountains. News of Kidston's death broke in the London evening papers and Margaret Whigham (later Duchess of Argyll) and Barbara Cartland , both amongst Kidston's lovers, claim in their memoirs to have fainted on leaving the theatre and seeing
312-427: Is also known as Jack Northrop Field in his honor. Glen Kidston George Pearson Glen Kidston (23 January 1899 – 5 May 1931) was an English motor racing driver and aviator who completed a record-breaking flight from Netheravon , Wiltshire to Cape Town , South Africa, in 1931. He was one of the " Bentley Boys ". His father, Archibald Glen Kidston, was a grandson of the original A. G. Kidston, founder of
351-774: The American Society of Mechanical Engineers for "meritorious service in the advancement of aeronautics." Investiture in the International Aerospace Hall of Fame came in 1972, and in the National Aviation Hall of Fame in 1974. He was posthumously inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame in 2003. Northrop's passion for tailless flight was honored by the naming of a giant tailless pterosaur Quetzalcoatlus northropi . Hawthorne Municipal Airport
390-476: The B-2 Spirit flying wing to be flown like a conventional aircraft. The flying wing and the pursuit of low drag high lift designs were Northrop's passion and its failure to be selected as the next generation bomber platform after World War II, and the subsequent dismantling of all prototypes and incomplete YB-49s, were a severe blow to him. He retired at age 57 in 1952 and virtually ended his association with
429-735: The Northrop F-89 Scorpion all-weather interceptor, the Northrop YB-49 long-range bomber, the Northrop Snark intercontinental missile, and automatic celestial navigation systems. He produced a number of flying wings, including the Northrop N-1M , Northrop N-9M , and Northrop YB-35 . His ideas regarding flying wing technology were years ahead of the computer and electronic advances of "fly-by-wire" stability systems which allow inherently unstable aircraft like
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#1732773337329468-571: The Northrop Gamma and Northrop Delta . By 1939 the Northrop Corporation had become a subsidiary of Douglas Aircraft, so Northrop founded another completely independent company of the same name in Hawthorne, California , a site located by Moye Stephens , one of the co-founders. While working at this company, Northrop focused on the flying wing design, which he was convinced was the next major step in aircraft design. His first project,
507-695: The Royal Navy , he was torpedoed twice (in the consecutive sinkings of HMS Aboukir and Hogue ) in the same morning during the action of 22 September 1914 against German submarine U-9 under the command of Commander Otto Weddigen . Following repatriation he served in the dreadnought HMS Orion , with the British Grand Fleet at the Battle of Jutland , running gunnery orders on open deck under direct enemy fire. Kidston served on several leading-edge British submarines, including
546-487: The L.5A "Executive" although the 5 was also used by a many airlines, including Pan American Airlines , Pacific Alaska Airways and Transcontinental and Western Air . A total of 64 Vega 5s were built. In 1931, the United States Army Air Corps bought two DL-1 Vegas, with the first designated as Y1C-12 and the second, a DL-1B designated as Y1C-17 . These both had a formed metal fuselage, while
585-664: The UK as G-ABFE , then was re-registered as G-ABGK to incorporate Kidston's initials. He used this Vega for a record-breaking flight from the UK to South Africa in April 1931. Following Kidston's death the following month, the aircraft was eventually sold to Australian airline owner Horrie Miller , who entered it in the MacRobertson Air Race . Flown in the race by Miller's Chief Pilot, Capt. Jimmy Woods, it overturned on landing at Aleppo en route , whereupon Woods withdrew from
624-466: The Y1C-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
663-621: The aircraft were ignored, and it was destroyed in October 1945. It was the only Vega to operate in Australia. A large number of airlines and private owners operated Vegas, many with only a small number of airframes. Data from Lockheed aircraft since 1913. General characteristics Performance Related development Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era Related lists Jack Northrop John Knudsen Northrop (November 10, 1895 – February 18, 1981)
702-454: 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
741-515: The company for the next 30 years. He broke a decades-long silence on the Flying Wing's demise in a 1979 television interview, accusing the Air Force of killing the project to punish him for refusing to merge his company with Consolidated Vultee . He alleged that Air Force Secretary Stuart Symington threatened him by saying, "You’ll be goddamned sorry if you don’t". Symington later left
780-661: The design of the Douglas Round-the-World-Cruiser and worked up to project engineer. In 1927 he rejoined the Loughead brothers and their newly founded (in 1926) Lockheed Aircraft Company , working as chief engineer on the Lockheed Vega , the civilian transport monoplane with a cantilever wing that produced unusually high performance for that period, and was widely used by such top pilots as Wiley Post , Amelia Earhart , and Hubert Wilkins . In 1929 he produced an all-metal monoplane with an engine within
819-479: The design, Lockheed delivered the Vega 5 in 1929. Adding the Pratt & Whitney R-1340 Wasp engine of 450 hp (340 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). A variant of the Vega 5 was built specifically for private aviation and executive transport as
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#1732773337329858-508: The expense of Britons Glen Kidston and Henry Birkin , whose Bentleys were second and third respectively. He also owned and raced the first Bugatti in the UK and entered the Le Mans 24-hour race in 1929 and 1930 . On the second occasion he won the race, driving a Bentley Speed Six in partnership with Woolf Barnato , with the Bentley team delivering a 1-2-3-4 victory. In 1929, Kidston
897-717: The firm A.G. Kidston & Co, who was a metal and machinery merchant in Glasgow with interests in the Clyde Shipping Company , local solicitors, accountants and banking interests amalgamated into the Clydesdale Bank . Kidston was a member of the well-known Bentley Boys of the late 1920s, and possibly the wealthiest of that already wealthy set. Kidston was one of the four, core Grosvenor Square -based Bentley team drivers, whose day-long parties passed into contemporary legend. A lieutenant commander in
936-440: The government to head the very same Consolidated Vultee company Northrop had refused to merge with. Symington called the charge "preposterous and absurd" and told a researcher "There was a tremendous overcapacity in the industry following World War II". He said Northrop came to him, seeking more business to help his struggling company. Symington said, "I may very well have suggested that he merge his company with Convair, who we knew
975-638: The headlines. The Hollywood femme fatale Pola Negri is also reputed to have known Kidston. He married Nancy Miriel Denise Soames in 1925 and had a son, Archibald Martin Glen (1927–1978). Cath Kidston is his granddaughter. His nephew is classic car dealer, collector, commentator and journalist, Simon Kidston . Kidston's gravestone at St. Peter's in Glasbury-upon-Wye on the Welsh borders, his childhood home, reads "Time and tide wait for no man", and has
1014-573: The low drag high lift concept inherent in the flying wing. NASA replied that the idea had technological merit, encouraging Northrop that his flying wing concepts had not been completely abandoned. By the late 1970s a variety of illnesses left him unable to walk or speak. Shortly before his death, he was given clearance to see designs and hold a scale model of the Northrop Grumman B-2 Spirit stealth bomber, which shared design features of his YB-35 and YB-49. The B-2, for example, has
1053-427: 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
1092-711: The notorious X1 , which he served on in North Sea trials. During the trials the X1 became embedded in the seabed as its gauges were faulty. In December 1926 he received command of an H- class submarine, the Beardmore-built H24 . Away from his duties as a submariner, he was an early pioneer of naval flight. Kidston competed in numerous motor races including the Monte Carlo Rally , Isle of Man TT motorcycle races, and Shelsley Walsh hillclimb . As
1131-692: The race and the DL-1A was eventually shipped to Australia. Following repairs and re-registration as VH-UVK , Miller used the aircraft for charter and leisure flying, after which it was impressed by the Royal Australian Air Force in 1941. In 1944 the aircraft was transferred to the Australian Department of Civil Aviation (DCA). Via information from RAAF pilots, DCA declared the Vega to have serious pitch control problems and it would be scrapped. Attempts by James Woods to reclaim
1170-481: The same 172-foot wingspan as the jet-powered flying wing, YB-49. Northrop reportedly wrote on a sheet of paper "Now I know why God has kept me alive for 25 years". B-2 project designer John Cashen said, "As he held this model in his shaking hands, it was as if you could see his entire history with the flying wing passing through his mind." He died ten months later. In 1947 he received the Spirit of St. Louis Medal from
1209-553: 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." A one-off special based on the metal-fuselaged DL-1 was built by the Detroit Aircraft Corporation, and exported to the United Kingdom for Lt. Cmdr. Glen Kidston who named it Puch . It was initially registered in
Lockheed Vega - Misplaced Pages Continue
1248-535: 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 hp (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 120 mph (190 km/h), and had
1287-691: The wing structure. Although this aircraft had booms to attach the tail group, it was in fact the first step toward the flying wing. In 1929, Northrop struck out on his own, founding the Avion Corporation, which he was forced to sell to United Aircraft and Transport Corporation in 1930. In 1932, Northrop, backed by Donald Douglas of Douglas Aircraft, founded another company, the Northrop Corporation in El Segundo, California . This company built two highly successful monoplanes,
1326-404: 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
1365-621: Was an American aircraft industrialist and designer who founded the Northrop Corporation in 1939. His career began in 1916 as a draftsman for Loughead Aircraft Manufacturing Company (founded 1912). He joined the Douglas Aircraft Company in 1923 and worked on the Douglas World Cruiser , where in time he became a project engineer. In 1927 he joined the Lockheed Corporation , where he was
1404-493: Was ejected from the plane and initially survived, but died of his injuries the next day. Kidston was a renowned big game hunter and expert shot, and travelled on pioneering safaris in remote Kenyan districts. Films of these expeditions, of his early naval and other aviation and Bentley teamwork are held at the British Film Institute due to their quality and pioneering footage. In April 1931, Kidston completed
1443-475: Was going to get business." Aviation expert Bud Baker, who studied declassified documents and public records and conducted personal interviews with Symington, Air Force generals and Northrop's chairman, concluded the cancellation "was a sound decision, based on budgetary, technical, and strategic realities." Northrop dabbled in real estate and lost much of his personal fortune. In 1976, with his health failing, he felt compelled to communicate to NASA his belief in
1482-699: Was in working as a draftsman for the Santa Barbara-based Loughead Aircraft Manufacturing Company . After the outbreak of the First World War , Northrop was drafted into the U.S. Army , where he served in the Army Signal Corps . Northrop served in the military for six months before Loughead successfully petitioned for his return to work in the private sector. In 1923, Northrop joined Douglas Aircraft Company , where he participated in
1521-439: Was travelling from Croydon to Amsterdam aboard a German airliner when, 21 minutes into the flight, he sensed an imminent crash and assumed the safety position. On impact, Kidston kicked his way out of the fuselage while his clothing was burning and extinguished the flames by rolling in the wet grass. He was the sole survivor , and was hospitalised with extensive burns. The plane's co-pilot, Prince Eugen von Schaumberg-Lippe ,
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