Lockheed Air Express

Description

The Air Express design incorporated the original fuselage of the Vega, but in order to meet the requirements of Western Air Express, the wing was raised to a parasol configuration above the fuselage and the cockpit was moved behind the wing, while a more powerful Pratt & Whitney Wasp engine was fitted to ease operations over the Sierra Nevada mountains. The design was a commercial success for the company although only seven were built, plus one Air Express Special.

No Air Expresses have survived to the present day. One, registered NR3057, was flown by Roscoe Turner.

Variants

Lockheed 3 Air Express

Single-engined passenger and mail transport aircraft, seating between four and six passengers in an enclosed cabin, able to carry up to 1,000-lb (454-kg) of mail, powered by a 410-hp (306-kW) Pratt & Whitney Wasp radial piston engine; seven built.

Air Express Special

One-off version built for Laura Ingalls, for a non-stop trans-Atlantic flight in 1931; one built.

Operators

 Brazil

Panair do Brasil

 United States

American Airways

New York, Rio, and Buenos Aires Line

Pan American Airways

Texas Air Transport

Western Air Express

Specifications

Data from Lockheed Aircraft since 1913

General characteristics

Crew: 1

Capacity: 4 passengers or 100 cu ft (2.8m³) mail

Length: 27 ft 6 in (8.38 m)

Wingspan: 42 ft 6 in (12.95 m)

Height: 8 ft 4.5 in (2.553 m)

Wing area: 288 sq ft (26.8 m²)

Empty weight: 2,533 lb (1,149 kg)

Gross weight: 4,375 lb (1,984 kg)

Powerplant: 1 × Pratt & Whitney Wasp C , 420 hp (310 kW)

Performance

Maximum speed: 176 mph (283 km/h; 153 kn) (with NACA cowling)

Cruise speed: 151 mph (243 km/h; 131 kn)

Range: 750 mi (652 nmi; 1,207 km)

Service ceiling: 17,250 ft (5,260 m)

Rate of climb: 1,460 ft/min (7.4 m/s)