Lockheed Air Express Explained

The Lockheed Air Express was the second aircraft design created by the Lockheed Aircraft Company after its founding in 1927; the type first flew in April 1928.^[1]

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.^[2] 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

• Panair do Brasil

• American Airways
• New York, Rio, and Buenos Aires Line
• Pan American Airways
• Texas Air Transport
• Western Air Express

References

Notes

Bibliography

• Francillon, René J. Lockheed Aircraft since 1913. London:Putnam, First edition, 1982. .
• Francillon, René J, Lockheed Aircraft since 1913. Naval Institute Press: Annapolis, 1987.

Notes and References

1. Francillon 1982, p.85.
2. Francillon 1982, pp. 84–85.