Lockheed Orion
Encyclopedia
The Lockheed Model 9 Orion was a single engine passenger aircraft built in 1931 for commercial airlines. It was the first airliner
to have retractable landing gear and was faster than any military aircraft
of that time. Designed by Richard A. Von Hake, it was the last wooden monoplane design produced by the Lockheed Aircraft Corporation.
, but included a forward top cockpit
similar to the Vega
, plus the NACA cowling
introduced in the Air Express. Lockheed used the same basic fuselage mold and wing for all these wooden designs (the Explorer wing was unique), hence the close similarities between them. The Orion featured an enclosed cabin with seating for six passenger
s. The Orion received its Approved Type Certificate
on May 6, 1931.
Gerard F. Vultee was Lockheed's chief engineer in 1928 through 1931 and was involved in the designs of all the Lockheed variants of that time and specifically designed Charles Lindbergh’s Sirius
.
of 1931 had a showing of two Orions and three Altairs and one Vega in a race that had only nine aircraft competing. On 11 July 1935, Laura H. Ingalls
flew a Lockheed Orion, powered by a Pratt & Whitney Wasp
engine, from Floyd Bennett Field
to Burbank, California
, establishing an East-West record for women. Two months later she flew it back to set a West-East record.
The first Orion entered service with Bowen Air Lines at Fort Worth, Texas
, in May 1931. American Airways, renamed American Airlines
in 1934, operated several 9D Orions. Many safe miles were flown in airline service and the headlines won by a few expert speed pilots proved the advanced design and reliability of the "Orion". Those that went into airline use as a passenger transport had their life span limited, however. In 1934 the Civil Aeronautics Authority issued a ruling prohibiting further use of single engine passenger aircraft from operating on all major networks. It also became mandatory to have a co-pilot and thus a two-seat cockpit arrangement on all such flights. The requirements of the ruling brought an end to the "Orion" as a passenger carrying airlines' airplane. They were then used for cargo
or mail
carrying or sold for private use and charter. Because the aircraft had a complicated wood construction and needed to be sent back to Lockheed in Burbank California to be repaired, they were often disposed of after any type of significant accident. At least 12 of the used "Orions" were purchased for service in the Spanish Civil War
and destroyed in use.
In 1935 a single 9 Orion was modified by Lockheed as a news camera plane for the Detroit News. To work in the role, a pod was built into the frontal leading edge of right wing about 8 feet out from the fuselage. This pod had a glass dome on the front and mounted a camera. To aim the camera the pilot was provide with a primitive grid like gun sight on his windshield.
The Orion Explorer was a modified 9E. It had a damaged wing replaced with the wing of the Explorer 7 after a crash, and was fitted with a 600 hp (482 kW) Pratt & Whitney Wasp
S3H1 engine. Fixed landing gear and later floats were also fitted. It was used by Wiley Post
and Will Rogers
for a round-the-world flight attempt, but both men died when the aircraft crashed in Alaska
on 15 August 1935.
A or 420 hp (313 kW) Pratt & Whitney Wasp
C
Orion 9A Special: one aircraft with 450 hp (336 kW) Pratt & Whitney Wasp
SC engine
Orion 9B: two aircraft supplied to Swissair
, 575 hp (429 kW) Wright R-1820
-E engine
Orion 9C: redesignated Altair DL-2A
Orion 9D: 13 built
Orion 9E: three aircraft with 450 hp (336 kW) Pratt & Whitney Wasp
SC-1 engine
Orion 9F: one executive aircraft with a 645 hp (481 kW) Wright R-1820-F2 engine
Orion 9F-1: one executive aircraft with a 650 hp (485 kW) Wright SR-1820-F2 engine
UC-85: one Orion 9D to USAAF in June 1942
Orion-Explorer: modified Orion 9E, 600 hp (482 kW) Pratt & Whitney Wasp
S3H1 engine
In all, Lockheed built a total of 35 Orions costing $25,000 each new. It is not known if any survived past the 1940s except the one that survives to the present day. This lone remaining Orion was originally built as an experimental Altair with a metal fuselage. This Altair (built in 1931) was damaged in a belly-landing accident in Columbus, Ohio, in 1933. It was returned to Lockheed where it was converted in 1934 to an Orion 9C configuration by the original designer of the Orion, Richard A. Von Hake, and others who worked for free during a slow period when the Lockheed factory was going into bankruptcy. A valid argument has been raised that since the fuselage, wing and tail of both planes are identical, and that it was also rebuilt by the original designer at the Lockheed plant, it may be considered an actual Orion (#36) instead of a modified Altair. In any case, it was sold to Shell Aviation Corp., painted yellow-orange and red and named "Shellightning." It was used by Shell's aviation manager, James H. Doolittle, on cross-county and exhibition flights. Jimmy Doolittle made hundreds of trips in this Lockheed, and the ship was very much in evidence at air shows, airport dedications, and business meetings across the territories of all three Shell companies in the United States. In 1936, "Shellightning" was again involved in an accident, in St. Louis, and was stored there. Two years later, Paul Mantz caught the racing bug in addition to his aeronautical movie work. He bought the damaged "Shellightning" and had it rebuilt at Parks Air College in St. Louis, Missouri with a more powerful Wright Cyclone engine and some streamlining to add to its speed. It re-painted red with white trim and Mantz flew the plane in the Bendix Races in 1938 and 1939, coming in third both times. In 1943, he sold the plane and it went through a series of owners until Mantz bought it back in 1955. He retained ownership until selling it to TallMantz Aviation, Inc. in 1962. In 1964, the plane was sitting out in the open on the flightline at Orange County Airport, now John Wayne Airport, in blue-and-white American Airways trim. Some time in the 1960s it was purchased by Swiss Air
and rebuilt to flying status by the famous "Fokker" restoration team and is on display at the Swiss Transport Museum
in Lucerne
, Switzerland
in the livery of the original Swiss Air Orion.
Switzerland
Spain
Airliner
An airliner is a large fixed-wing aircraft for transporting passengers and cargo. Such aircraft are operated by airlines. Although the definition of an airliner can vary from country to country, an airliner is typically defined as an aircraft intended for carrying multiple passengers in commercial...
to have retractable landing gear and was faster than any military aircraft
Military aircraft
A military aircraft is any fixed-wing or rotary-wing aircraft that is operated by a legal or insurrectionary armed service of any type. Military aircraft can be either combat or non-combat:...
of that time. Designed by Richard A. Von Hake, it was the last wooden monoplane design produced by the Lockheed Aircraft Corporation.
Design
The Orion was the last design using many identical elements from the Lockheed designs preceding it. It primarily used all the elements of the AltairLockheed Altair
-See also:-References:* Francillon, René J, Lockheed Aircraft since 1913. London:Putnam, 1982. ISBN 0-370-30329-6.* Francillon, René J, Lockheed Aircraft since 1913. Naval Institute Press: Annapolis, 1987....
, but included a forward top cockpit
Cockpit
A cockpit or flight deck is the area, usually near the front of an aircraft, from which a pilot controls the aircraft. Most modern cockpits are enclosed, except on some small aircraft, and cockpits on large airliners are also physically separated from the cabin...
similar to the Vega
Lockheed Vega
|-See also:-References:NotesCitationsBibliography* Allen, Richard Sanders. Revolution in the Sky: Those Fabulous Lockheeds, The Pilots Who Flew Them. Brattleboro, Vermont: The Stephen Greene Press, 1964....
, plus the NACA cowling
NACA cowling
The NACA cowling is a type of aerodynamic fairing used to streamline radial engines for use on airplanes and developed by the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics in 1927...
introduced in the Air Express. Lockheed used the same basic fuselage mold and wing for all these wooden designs (the Explorer wing was unique), hence the close similarities between them. The Orion featured an enclosed cabin with seating for six passenger
Passenger
A passenger is a term broadly used to describe any person who travels in a vehicle, but bears little or no responsibility for the tasks required for that vehicle to arrive at its destination....
s. The Orion received its Approved Type Certificate
Type certificate
A Type Certificate, is awarded by aviation regulating bodies to aerospace manufacturers after it has been established that the particular design of a civil aircraft, engine, or propeller has fulfilled the regulating bodies' current prevailing airworthiness requirements for the safe conduct of...
on May 6, 1931.
Gerard F. Vultee was Lockheed's chief engineer in 1928 through 1931 and was involved in the designs of all the Lockheed variants of that time and specifically designed Charles Lindbergh’s Sirius
Lockheed Sirius
The Lockheed Model 8 Sirius was single engine, propeller-driven monoplane designed and built by Jack Northrop and Gerard Vultee while they were engineers at Lockheed in 1929, at the request of Charles Lindbergh...
.
Operational history
Although designed with the passenger market in mind, its speed made it a natural for air races. The first Bendix raceBendix trophy
The Bendix Trophy is a U.S. aeronautical racing trophy. The transcontinental, point-to-point race, sponsored by industrialist Vincent Bendix founder of Bendix Corporation, began in 1931 as part of the National Air Races. Initial prize money for the winners was $15,000...
of 1931 had a showing of two Orions and three Altairs and one Vega in a race that had only nine aircraft competing. On 11 July 1935, Laura H. Ingalls
Laura Ingalls (aviator)
-Birth:She was born in Brooklyn, New York to Francis Abbott Ingalls I and Martha Houghtaling . Martha was the daughter of David Harrison Houghtaling of Kingston, New York, who was a descendant of Jan Willemsen Hoogteling, who arrived in New York on May 9, 1661.Regarding her mother, Laura wrote: "My...
flew a Lockheed Orion, powered by a Pratt & Whitney Wasp
Pratt & Whitney Wasp
-External links:*...
engine, from Floyd Bennett Field
Floyd Bennett Field
Floyd Bennett Field is New York City's first municipal airport. While no longer used as an operational commercial, military or general aviation airfield, the New York Police Department still flies its helicopters from its heliport base there...
to Burbank, California
Burbank, California
Burbank is a city in Los Angeles County in Southern California, United States, north of downtown Los Angeles. The estimated population in 2010 was 103,340....
, establishing an East-West record for women. Two months later she flew it back to set a West-East record.
The first Orion entered service with Bowen Air Lines at Fort Worth, Texas
Fort Worth, Texas
Fort Worth is the 16th-largest city in the United States of America and the fifth-largest city in the state of Texas. Located in North Central Texas, just southeast of the Texas Panhandle, the city is a cultural gateway into the American West and covers nearly in Tarrant, Parker, Denton, and...
, in May 1931. American Airways, renamed American Airlines
American Airlines
American Airlines, Inc. is the world's fourth-largest airline in passenger miles transported and operating revenues. American Airlines is a subsidiary of the AMR Corporation and is headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas adjacent to its largest hub at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport...
in 1934, operated several 9D Orions. Many safe miles were flown in airline service and the headlines won by a few expert speed pilots proved the advanced design and reliability of the "Orion". Those that went into airline use as a passenger transport had their life span limited, however. In 1934 the Civil Aeronautics Authority issued a ruling prohibiting further use of single engine passenger aircraft from operating on all major networks. It also became mandatory to have a co-pilot and thus a two-seat cockpit arrangement on all such flights. The requirements of the ruling brought an end to the "Orion" as a passenger carrying airlines' airplane. They were then used for cargo
Cargo
Cargo is goods or produce transported, generally for commercial gain, by ship, aircraft, train, van or truck. In modern times, containers are used in most intermodal long-haul cargo transport.-Marine:...
or mail
Mail
Mail, or post, is a system for transporting letters and other tangible objects: written documents, typically enclosed in envelopes, and also small packages are delivered to destinations around the world. Anything sent through the postal system is called mail or post.In principle, a postal service...
carrying or sold for private use and charter. Because the aircraft had a complicated wood construction and needed to be sent back to Lockheed in Burbank California to be repaired, they were often disposed of after any type of significant accident. At least 12 of the used "Orions" were purchased for service in the Spanish Civil War
Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil WarAlso known as The Crusade among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War among Carlists, and The Rebellion or Uprising among Republicans. was a major conflict fought in Spain from 17 July 1936 to 1 April 1939...
and destroyed in use.
In 1935 a single 9 Orion was modified by Lockheed as a news camera plane for the Detroit News. To work in the role, a pod was built into the frontal leading edge of right wing about 8 feet out from the fuselage. This pod had a glass dome on the front and mounted a camera. To aim the camera the pilot was provide with a primitive grid like gun sight on his windshield.
The Orion Explorer was a modified 9E. It had a damaged wing replaced with the wing of the Explorer 7 after a crash, and was fitted with a 600 hp (482 kW) Pratt & Whitney Wasp
Pratt & Whitney Wasp
-External links:*...
S3H1 engine. Fixed landing gear and later floats were also fitted. It was used by Wiley Post
Wiley Post
Wiley Hardeman Post was a famed American aviator, the first pilot to fly solo around the world. Also known for his work in high altitude flying, Post helped develop one of the first pressure suits. His Lockheed Vega aircraft, the Winnie Mae, was on display at the National Air and Space Museum's...
and Will Rogers
Will Rogers
William "Will" Penn Adair Rogers was an American cowboy, comedian, humorist, social commentator, vaudeville performer, film actor, and one of the world's best-known celebrities in the 1920s and 1930s....
for a round-the-world flight attempt, but both men died when the aircraft crashed in Alaska
Alaska
Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
on 15 August 1935.
Variants
Orion 9: 14 built, 410 hp (306 kW) Pratt & Whitney WaspPratt & Whitney Wasp
-External links:*...
A or 420 hp (313 kW) Pratt & Whitney Wasp
Pratt & Whitney Wasp
-External links:*...
C
Orion 9A Special: one aircraft with 450 hp (336 kW) Pratt & Whitney Wasp
Pratt & Whitney Wasp
-External links:*...
SC engine
Orion 9B: two aircraft supplied to Swissair
Swissair
Swissair AG was the former national airline of Switzerland.It was formed from a merger between Balair and Ad Astra Aero , in 1931...
, 575 hp (429 kW) Wright R-1820
Wright R-1820
|-See also:-References:* Bridgman, L, Jane's Fighting Aircraft of World War II. Crescent. ISBN 0-517-67964-7* Eden, Paul & Soph Moeng, The Complete Encyclopedia of World Aircraft. Amber Books Ltd. Bradley's Close, 74-77 White Lion Street, London, NI 9PF, 2002, ISBN 0-7607-3432-1), 1152...
-E engine
Orion 9C: redesignated Altair DL-2A
Orion 9D: 13 built
Orion 9E: three aircraft with 450 hp (336 kW) Pratt & Whitney Wasp
Pratt & Whitney Wasp
-External links:*...
SC-1 engine
Orion 9F: one executive aircraft with a 645 hp (481 kW) Wright R-1820-F2 engine
Orion 9F-1: one executive aircraft with a 650 hp (485 kW) Wright SR-1820-F2 engine
UC-85: one Orion 9D to USAAF in June 1942
Orion-Explorer: modified Orion 9E, 600 hp (482 kW) Pratt & Whitney Wasp
Pratt & Whitney Wasp
-External links:*...
S3H1 engine
Survivors
Swissair
Swissair AG was the former national airline of Switzerland.It was formed from a merger between Balair and Ad Astra Aero , in 1931...
and rebuilt to flying status by the famous "Fokker" restoration team and is on display at the Swiss Transport Museum
Swiss Transport Museum
The Swiss Transport Museum or Verkehrshaus der Schweiz, in Lucerne, is a museum, opened in July 1959 and exhibiting all forms of transport as well as communications...
in Lucerne
Lucerne
Lucerne is a city in north-central Switzerland, in the German-speaking portion of that country. Lucerne is the capital of the Canton of Lucerne and the capital of the district of the same name. With a population of about 76,200 people, Lucerne is the most populous city in Central Switzerland, and...
, Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
in the livery of the original Swiss Air Orion.
Operators
Switzerland
- SwissairSwissairSwissair AG was the former national airline of Switzerland.It was formed from a merger between Balair and Ad Astra Aero , in 1931...
Spain
- Spanish Republican Air ForceSpanish Republican Air ForceThe Spanish Republican Air Force, , was the air arm of the Second Spanish Republic, the legally established government of Spain between 1931 and 1939...
- American AirwaysAmerican AirlinesAmerican Airlines, Inc. is the world's fourth-largest airline in passenger miles transported and operating revenues. American Airlines is a subsidiary of the AMR Corporation and is headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas adjacent to its largest hub at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport...
- Air Express
- Bowen Air Lines
- Northwest AirwaysNorthwest AirlinesNorthwest Airlines, Inc. was a major United States airline founded in 1926 and absorbed into Delta Air Lines by a merger approved on October 29, 2008, making Delta the largest airline in the world...
- Transcontinental and Western AirTrans World AirlinesTrans World Airlines was an American airline that existed from 1925 until it was bought out by and merged with American Airlines in 2001. It was a major domestic airline in the United States and the main U.S.-based competitor of Pan American World Airways on intercontinental routes from 1946...
- United States Army Air ForcesUnited States Army Air ForcesThe United States Army Air Forces was the military aviation arm of the United States of America during and immediately after World War II, and the direct predecessor of the United States Air Force....
- Varney Speed Lines
- Wyoming Air Service