The Lockheed Altair was a single-engined sport aircraft produced by Lockheed Aircraft Limited in the 1930s. It was a development of the Lockheed Sirius with a retractable undercarriage, and was the first Lockheed aircraft and one of the first aircraft designs with a fully retractable undercarriage.
Altair
The C-23, an Altair 8D purchased by the US Army Air Corps for use as a staff transport
Lockheed designed an alternative wing fitted with a retractable undercarriage for the Lockheed Sirius as a result of a request from Charles Lindbergh, although Lindbergh in the end chose to buy a standard Sirius. The first Altair, converted from a Sirius, flew in September 1930.[1] Like the Sirius, the Altair was a single-engined, low-winged monoplane of wooden construction. The undercarriage, which was operated by use of a hand crank, retracted inwards.
Four Altairs following the prototype were converted from examples of the Sirius, with another six Altairs built from scratch: three by Lockheed, two by the Detroit Aircraft Corporation, and one by AiRover. The AiRover Altair, dubbed The Flying Testbed, was powered by a Menasco Unitwin engine, which used two engines to drive a single shaft.[2] The Unitwin was used in the Vega Starliner, which never went into production.
Operational historyedit
The prototype Altair was purchased by the United States Army Air Corps and designated Y1C-25, with a second Altair, fitted with a metal construction fuselage was also purchased by the Army as the Y1C-23 and used as a staff transport, as was a single similar aircraft operated by the US Navy as the XRO-1.[3]
Altairs were used to carry out a number of record-breaking long-range flights. One aircraft, named Lady Southern Cross was used by Australian aviatorCharles Kingsford Smith to carry out the first flight between Australia and the United States between October 20 and November 4, 1934. Kingsford Smith was killed in the early hours of November 8, 1935, flying Lady Southern Cross during an attempt on the record for flying between England and Australia.[4]
Two Altairs were used by the Japanese newspaper Mainichi Shimbun as high-speed passenger and cargo aircraft, one remaining in use until 1944.[5]
Variantsedit
Lockheed XRO-1 at Langley
8D Altair
Two-seat long-range high-performance sports aircraft, fitted with a retractable undercarriage, powered by a 500 hp (373 kW) Pratt & Whitney SR-1340E Wasp radial piston engine; One prototype, four converted Sirius aircraft, six production aircraft.
One aircraft built for the Australian aviator Charles Kingsford Smith, it was converted into an Altair 8D aircraft, later named the Lady Southern Cross.
Francillon, René J. Lockheed Aircraft since 1913. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press, 1987. ISBN0-87021-897-2.
Layman, R. D. (1993). "Question 15/91: Early USN Aircraft". Warship International. XXX (3): 318. ISSN 0043-0374.
External linksedit
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Lockheed Model 8 Sirius.
Detailed information about Lockheed Altair "Lady Southern Cross".
May 02, 2024
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The Lockheed Altair was a single engined sport aircraft produced by Lockheed Aircraft Limited in the 1930s It was a development of the Lockheed Sirius with a retractable undercarriage and was the first Lockheed aircraft and one of the first aircraft designs with a fully retractable undercarriage Altair The C 23 an Altair 8D purchased by the US Army Air Corps for use as a staff transport Role Civilian sport National origin United States of America Manufacturer Lockheed Aircraft Limited First flight September 1930 Number built 11 Developed from Lockheed Sirius Contents 1 Development and design 2 Operational history 3 Variants 4 Operators 5 Specifications Y1C 23 6 See also 7 References 7 1 Notes 7 2 Bibliography 8 External linksDevelopment and design editLockheed designed an alternative wing fitted with a retractable undercarriage for the Lockheed Sirius as a result of a request from Charles Lindbergh although Lindbergh in the end chose to buy a standard Sirius The first Altair converted from a Sirius flew in September 1930 1 Like the Sirius the Altair was a single engined low winged monoplane of wooden construction The undercarriage which was operated by use of a hand crank retracted inwards Four Altairs following the prototype were converted from examples of the Sirius with another six Altairs built from scratch three by Lockheed two by the Detroit Aircraft Corporation and one by AiRover The AiRover Altair dubbed The Flying Testbed was powered by a Menasco Unitwin engine which used two engines to drive a single shaft 2 The Unitwin was used in the Vega Starliner which never went into production Operational history editThe prototype Altair was purchased by the United States Army Air Corps and designated Y1C 25 with a second Altair fitted with a metal construction fuselage was also purchased by the Army as the Y1C 23 and used as a staff transport as was a single similar aircraft operated by the US Navy as the XRO 1 3 Altairs were used to carry out a number of record breaking long range flights One aircraft named Lady Southern Cross was used by Australian aviator Charles Kingsford Smith to carry out the first flight between Australia and the United States between October 20 and November 4 1934 Kingsford Smith was killed in the early hours of November 8 1935 flying Lady Southern Cross during an attempt on the record for flying between England and Australia 4 Two Altairs were used by the Japanese newspaper Mainichi Shimbun as high speed passenger and cargo aircraft one remaining in use until 1944 5 Variants edit nbsp Lockheed XRO 1 at Langley 8D Altair Two seat long range high performance sports aircraft fitted with a retractable undercarriage powered by a 500 hp 373 kW Pratt amp Whitney SR 1340E Wasp radial piston engine One prototype four converted Sirius aircraft six production aircraft 8G Altair One aircraft built by the AiRover Company as a testbed for the Menasco Unitwin 2 544 engine intended for the Vega Model 2 Starliner Sirius 8 Special One aircraft built for the Australian aviator Charles Kingsford Smith it was converted into an Altair 8D aircraft later named the Lady Southern Cross DL 2A Two Altair 8Ds built by the Detroit Aircraft Corporation Y1C 23 The second Altair 8D was purchased by the US Army Air Corps it was used as a staff transport aircraft Later redesignated C 23 Y1C 25 The Altair 8D prototype was purchased by the US Army Air Corps powered by a 450 hp 336 kW Pratt amp Whitney R 1340 17 Wasp radial piston engine XRO 1 One Altair DL 2A acquired by the U S Navy it was used as staff transport aircraft Operators edit nbsp Japan Mainichi Shimbun nbsp United States United States Army Air Forces United States NavySpecifications Y1C 23 editData from Lockheed Aircraft since 1913 6 General characteristicsCrew 1 Length 28 ft 4 in 8 64 m Wingspan 42 ft 9 in 13 03 m Height 9 ft 6 in 2 90 m Wing area 293 2 sq ft 27 24 m2 Empty weight 3 235 lb 1 468 kg Gross weight 4 895 lb 2 220 kg Powerplant 1 Pratt amp Whitney SR 1340E Wasp 9 cylinder air cooled radial engine 500 hp 373 kW Performance Maximum speed 207 mph 333 km h 180 kn at 7 000 ft 2 140 m Cruise speed 175 mph 282 km h 152 kn Range 580 mi 935 km 504 nmi Service ceiling 23 800 ft 7 255 m Wing loading 52 5 lb sq ft 81 5 kg m2 Power mass 0 10 hp lb 0 17 kW kg Climb to 7 000 ft 2 140 m 9 4 minSee also editRelated development Lockheed Vega Lockheed Air Express Lockheed Explorer Lockheed Sirius Lockheed Orion Related lists List of Lockheed aircraft List of military aircraft of the United States List of United States Navy aircraft designations pre 1962 References editNotes edit Francillon 1982 p 101 Pearce William 24 December 2013 Menasco 2 544 Unitwin Aircraft Engine oldmachinepress com Retrieved 25 May 2016 Francillon 1978 pp 101 106 Francillon 1982 pp 103 104 Francillon 1982 pp 105 106 Francillon 1982 p 106 Bibliography edit Francillon Rene J Lockheed Aircraft since 1913 Annapolis Maryland Naval Institute Press 1987 ISBN 0 87021 897 2 Layman R D 1993 Question 15 91 Early USN Aircraft Warship International XXX 3 318 ISSN 0043 0374 External links edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Lockheed Model 8 Sirius Detailed information about Lockheed Altair Lady Southern Cross Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Lockheed Altair amp oldid 1190297276, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
