Lockheed L-100 Hercules N1130E, in flight. Both outboard engines are shut down and the propellers feathered. (Lockheed Martin)
20–21 April 1964: Nearly ten years after the first flight of the Lockheed YC-130 Hercules prototype, the Lockheed Model 382, serial number 3946, the commercial version of the military C-130E, made the longest first flight in history when it flew for 25 hours, 1 minute, after taking off from Marietta, Georgia.
The flight crew, led by Chief Production Pilot Joe Garrett, flew the Hercules in a racetrack pattern over Georgia and Alabama, and for all but 36 minutes of the flight, the outboard engines were shut down and their propellers feathered.
The Lockheed Model 382 was certified by the Federal Aviation Administration 16 February 1965.
Lockheed personnel celebrate the 25 hour, 1 minute first flight of the commercial L-100 Hercules. (Lockheed Martin)
The L-382 was powered by four Allison 501-D22 turboprop engines, rated at 3,755 shaft horsepower at 13,820 r.p.m., and driving four-bladed Hamilton Standard Hydromatic constant-speed, reversible-pitch propellers with a diameter of 13 feet, 6 inches (4.115 meters). at 1,020 r.p.m.
Maximum operating altitude 32,600 feet (9.936 meters)
N1130E at Fairbanks, leased to Alaska Airlines, 1965. (Lockheed Martin)
N1130E was retained by Lockheed as a demonstrator, however it was briefly leased to Alaska Airlines in March 1965, and returned the following month.
The L-382 was converted to the L382E-44K-20 standard in April 1968, with a 5 foot, 0 inch (1.524 meters) segment added to the fuselage behind the cockpit, and a 3 foot, 4 inch (1.016 meter) section behind the wing.
N1130E’s fuselage was cut in two places to accommodate an 8 foot, 4 inch (2.540 meter) stretch. (c-130hercules.net)N1130E after conversion to the L100-20 configuration, at Lockheed-Burbank Airport, 1968. (c-130hercules.net)
N1130E was leased to Delta Air Lines in October 1968, and returned after six months.
Lockheed sold N1130E to Pepsico Airlease Corporation, who leased the freighter to Flying W Airways. It was reregistered as N50FW. In March 1973 Pepsico sold it to Philippine Aerotransport and it was operated for the Philippine government, first as PI-97, then RP-97, and finally, RP-C97. The Hercules was placed in storage in March 1981. With a total flight time of 13,144.8 hours, it was scrapped 18 February 2014.
The first commercial Lockheed L-100, s/n 3946, in service with the Republic of the Philippines. (Ken Fielding via flickr)
After sixty-four years, the Lockheed Hercules remains in production, and both military and civil versions are in service worldwide.
Lockheed Martin Model 382J Super Hercules, N100J. (Lockheed Martin)
Lockheed C-69 Constellation. (Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Company)
17 April 1944: The first production Lockheed C-69 Constellation, 43-10310, was delivered to the Air Transport Command at National Airport, Arlington, Virginia. The new transport carried the markings of Transcontinental and Western Airlines (T.W.A.), and was flown by that company’s owner, Howard Robard Hughes, Jr., and T.W.A.’s president, William John (“Jack”) Frye.
Lockheed C-69 Constellation 43-10310 ready to depart Lockheed Air Terminal, 17 April 1944. (Image scanned from Queen of the Skies, by Claude G. Luisada. Schiffer Publishing Ltd., Atglen, Pennsylvania, 2014. Chapter 5, Page 76, Fig. 5–1.)
The C-69 departed Lockheed Air Terminal, Burbank, California, at 3:56:45 a.m., Pacific War Time. The other crew members were Edward T. Bolton, Navigator; R. L. Proctor, Flight Engineer; and Charles L. Glover, Radio Operator. Also on board were 12 passengers representing the Air Corps, T.W.A. and Lockheed.¹
The Dayton Herald reported:
Constellation Sets Record; To Be in Dayton Thursday
(BULLETIN)
WASHINGTON, April 17.—(UP)—The giant transport Constellation landed at Washington National Airport at 1:59 p.m. EWT today, setting a new trans-continental airplane speed record.
The huge four-motor transport made the crossing from Burbank, Calif., in approximately 7 hours and three minutes on the basis of unofficial timing. Howard Hughes, who set the previous record, piloted the plane here for delivery to the Army.
The Constellation, Transcontinental and Western Airline’s (TWA) super transport, which left Burbank, Calif., today for delivery to the air transport command at Washington, will fly to Wright Field Thursday afternoon, Material Command officials said here.
Considered the largest land-based cargo plane in the country, the “Constellation” took off from Lockheed Air Terminal at 5:56 a.m., (Dayton time) today with veteran pilot Howard Hughes and Jack Frye, TWA president, co-designers of the plane, as pilot and co-pilot, respectively. It passed over Butler Mo., 50 miles south of Kansas City, at 10:20 a.m. (Dayton time).
Materiel Command officials said the plane was expected to make the trip in nine hours. They estimated she could fly from Los Angeles, Calif., to Honolulu in 12 hours.
Also aboard were Lt. Col. Clarence Shoop, resident Material Command inspector at the Lockheed Burbank plant, 17 Lockheed and TWA technical experts and a civilian air expert.
The ship originally was designed to carry 57 passengers, TWA officials said. The airline company commissioned Lockheed to build the plane two years ago.
Hughes described the trip as a “routine delivery mission” and would not say whether he would attempt to break any speed records or whether the flight would be non-stop.
“It all depends on the performance of the Connie,” he said.
The 40-ton ship, which has a cruising speed of 300 miles an hour, took off with enough gasoline for a non-stop trip. Cargo and airline planes in general use now cruise at around 180 miles an hour. Her takeoff was clocked by Larry Therkelsen, National Aeronautical Association timekeeper and official timer of the national air races before the war.
The Constellation is powered by four, 2,000-horsepower Wright air-cooled, radial engines, with 18 cylinders each, the Materiel Command said. It has three-bladed Hamilton Standard propellers and is equipped with a pressurized cabin for stratosphere flights. Its service ceiling is from 20,000 to 35,000 feet.
—The Dayton Herald, Vol. 65, No. 91, Monday, 17 April 1944, Page 1, Columns 5 and 6
Lockheed C-69-LO Constellation 43-10310, c/n 049-1962, was the first production airplane. It had been flown to Las Vegas, Nevada, on the previous day, where T.W.A. personnel applied the company’s livery to the Army Air Corps-owned airplane. Flown by Lieutenant Colonel C. A. Shoup, it then returned to Burbank to prepare for the transcontinental flight.
Lockheed C-69-LO Constellation 43-10310, the first production airplane. (Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Company)
The plan called for Howard Hughes to fly as pilot-in-command for the first half of the flight, with Captain Frye in the right seat. They would switch positions at the half-way point. Both men were experienced four-engine pilots but the Constellation was new to them. In the previous week, they had each made two training flights in the C-69, with Hughes flying 2.9 hours and Frye, 3.4.
Lockheed C-69 Constellation 43-10310 (c/n 1962), the first production airplane. (Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Company via Burbank in focus pub00013)
Initially, the transport followed T.W.A.’s normal transcontinental route. It had climbed to 15,000 feet (4,572 meters) by the time it reached Kingman, Arizona. The night sky was “CAVU”—ceiling and visibility unrestricted—and there was a bright last-quarter moon shining. Passing north of Winslow, Arizona, the C-69 left the T.W.A. route and turned north to pick up a Great Circle course.
Flying over northern New Mexico, they encountered turbulence and thunderclouds. Hughes climbed to 17,500 feet (5,334 meters) to remain clear of the clouds. Light ice began forming on the airplane as they crossed over Kansas. They climbed into colder, drier air at 18,500 feet (5,639 meters).
Lockheed C-69 Constellation 43-10310 (c/n 1962). (Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Company via Burbank in focus pub00019)
Over the eastern part of the state, Jack Frye took over as pilot command and he and Hughes switched places in the cockpit. The C-69 crossed over Butler, Missouri, 50 miles (80 kilometers) south of Kansas City, at 10:20 a.m., Central War Time (8:20 a.m., P.W.T.).
—ST. LOUIS STAR-TIMES, Vol. 58—No. 168, Monday Evening, 17 April 1944, Page 1, Columns 5 and 6
The Constellation crossed overhead Cincinnati, Ohio, at 11:48 a.m., C.W.T. Stormy weather delayed their descent until after crossing the Ohio River.
The Constellation flew overhead National Airport at 1:54 p.m., Eastern War Time (10:54 a.m., P.W.T.). They circled overhead while traffic cleared the runway, then landed four minutes later.
The Lockheed C-69 Constellation, 43-10310, flown by Howard Hughes and Jack Frye, lands at National Airport, Arlington, Virginia, at 1:58 p.m., E.W.T., 17 April 1944. Image edited. (Original image: UNLV Digital Collection whh 001297).
The C-69’s log book showed the Burbank to overhead National Airport flight as having taken 6 hours, 56 minutes, 15 seconds.² The Aircraft Yearbook for 1945 gives the record time as “6 hours, 57 minutes and 51 seconds.” ³
Because of wartime security concerns, the Air Corps would not allow Lockheed or TWA to release specific information about the flight, other than to say that it had broken the existing transcontinental speed record. The Great Circle distance from Lockheed Air Terminal to Washington National is 2,000 nautical miles (2,302 statute miles/3,705 kilometers). Assuming that the route was flown without any deviations, the average speed of the C-69 would have been 288 knots (331 miles per hour/533 kilometers per hour).
Lockheed C-69 Constellation 43-10310 taxis to parking at National Airport, 17 April 1944. (UNLV Digital Collections whh001301)Lockheed C-69 Constellation 43-10310 taxis to parking at National Airport, 17 April 1944. (UNLV Digital Collections whh001302)Lockheed C-69 Constellation 43-10310, wheels stop. National Airport, 17 April 1944. (LIFE Magazine)
At the time, the only airplanes which were larger than the C-69 were the prototype Douglas B-19 long range bomber and the Martin Mars flying boat. A large crowd watched the arrival of the new airplane. Dignitaries meeting the flight were General Henry H. (“Hap”) Arnold, Chief the U.S. Army Air Forces, and Secretary of Commerce Jesse H. Jones, with Oswald Ryan and Josh Lee of the Civil Aeronautics Board.
Secretary of Commerce Jesse Holman Jones, Howard Hughes and Jack Frye. “She performed perfectly marvelously,” said Frye. “She handled like a pursuit ship and flies like a dream.” (UNLV Digital Collections whh001313)Flight crew and passengers of transcontinental flight. Howard Hughes is 8th from left. (UNLV Digital Collection whh01324)Lockheed C-69 Constellation 43-10310 at National Airport, Arlington, Virginia, 17 April 1944. (UNLV Digital Collections whh001317)
After the arrival ceremonies, the new Lockheed C-69 Constellation was handed over to the Air Corps Air Transport Command and taken to Wright Field, Dayton, Ohio, to begin its military flight tests.
Lockheed C-69 Constellation 43-10310 after rollout at Lockheed Burbank, August 1943. (Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Company)
As stated above, 43-10310, c/n 1962, was the first production C-69 Constellation, following the XC-69 prototype, 43-10309, c/n 1961. It had been designed and built by the Lockheed Aircraft Corporation at Burbank, California, for Transcontinental and Western Airlines. The C-69 made its first flight in August 1943, and remained with Lockheed for manufacturer’s tests.
The Constellation was operated by a flight crew of five: two pilots, a navigator, flight engineer and radio operator. It could carry up to 81 passengers. The airplane was 95 feet, 1 3⁄16 inches (28.986 meters) long with a wingspan of 123 feet, 0 inches (37.490 meters), and overall height of 23 feet, 7⅞ inches (7.210 meters). It had an empty weight of 49,392 pounds (22,403.8 kilograms) and maximum takeoff weight of 86,250 pounds (39,122.3 kilograms).
Lockheed C-69 Constellation. (Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Company)
The C-69 was powered by four air-cooled, supercharged, 3,347.662-cubic-inch-displacement (54.858 liter), Wright Aeronautical Division R3500–35 (Cyclone 18 711C18BA2) engines. Also known as the Duplex Cyclone, these were a two-row, 18-cylinder radial engines with a compression ratio of 6.85:1, which required 100/130-octane aviation gasoline. They were rated at 2,000 horsepower at 2,400 r.p.m., and 2,200 horsepower at 2,800 r.p.m. for takeoff (five minute limit), The 745C18BA2 was 6 feet, 4.26 inches (1.937 meters) long, 4 feet, 7.78 inches (1.417 meters) in diameter and weighed 2,707 pounds (1,228 kilograms). The engines drove 15 foot, 2 inch (4.623 meter) diameter, three-bladed Hamilton Standard Hydromatic 43E60 constant-speed propellers through a 0.4375:1 gear reduction. Wright produced 58 of these engines between August 1942 and October 1944.
The C-69 had a cruise speed of 313 miles per hour (504 kilometers per hour) and a range of 3,995 miles (6,429 kilometers). Its service ceiling was 25,300 feet (7,711 meters).
During the War, Lockheed Constellations were operated for the War Department by T.W.A. and Pan American Airways.
On 31 March 1947, War Assets Administration sold 43-10310 for spare parts. It was salvaged to repair other C-69 and L-049 airplanes.
In 1952, Lockheed rebuilt -310 for Inter-National Airways, Inc., which leased it to Flying Tiger Line. It was assigned civil registration NC38936.
NC38936 was destroyed by fire after landing accident during training/certification flight at Burbank, 22 January 1953.
Lockheed Martin C-69-1-LO Constellation 43-10314. (Lockheed Martin)
The Los Angeles Times reported:
Fire Destroys Huge Plane on L.A. Test Hop
A rebuilt, four-engine Constellation was destroyed by fire last night seconds after it landed at Lockheed Air Terminal. Ten persons aboard the aircraft escaped without injury.
The huge craft, owned by Inter-Continental Airways, Inc., had made its second test landing for two Civil Aeronautics Authority inspectors when the main landing-gear section burst into flames which quickly spread to the fuselage and other parts of the ship, according to airport tower observers.
The plane’s landing gear apparently failed to function properly as the ship touched down and caused the plane to skid on its belly with the propellers scraping the runway, according to the observers.
Changes in Plane
The Constellation was the second in the C-69 series built by Lockheed Aircraft and during the last two years had undergone changes in construction prior to being chartered by Flying Tiger Lines from the Inter-Continental Airways, according to William Sosnow, purchasing agent for the latter company.
Burbank and Lockheed Fire Departments fought the fire and kept the flames from spreading to nearby hangars and other aircraft. Fire officials said the plane, valued at $1,000,000, was a total loss.
Final Checkout
Sosnow said the plane had received CAA partial approval Wednesday and that last night’s pilot training flight was to complete the inspection routine. It was to have flown to Oakland today for its first pay passengers, he said.
Aboard the plane, Lockheed officials said, were CAA Inspectors M.H. Griffith and Sam Chandler, Senior Pilot C.G. Fredericks, Pilots Lawrence Raab, Sheldon Eichel, August Martin and Leo Gardner; Flight Engineers Frank Lutomski and Robert R. Jackson and Radioman Morris H. Sherry.
All the crewmen were employed by Inter-Continental.
—Los Angeles Times, Vol. LXXI, Friday Morning, 23 January 1953, Part 1, Page 1, Column 3
The Bureau of Aircraft Accidents Archives, (BAAA, or B3A) data base states:
“The crew was engaged in a local test flight. On final approach, during the last segment, the crew inadvertently raised the gears. The four engine aircraft belly landed and slid for dozen yards before coming to rest in flames. While all five crew members were unhurt, the aircraft was lost.”
¹ LCOL Clarence A. Shoop USAAC. TWA: Lawrence J. Chiappino, Test Pilot; Leo Baron, Robert L. Loomis, pilot; Ed J. Minser, Chief Meteorologist; Orville R. Olson, chief clerk, Kansas City traffic department; Lee Spruill, Richard De Campo, Flight Engineer. Lockheed: Rudy L. Thoren, Chief Flight Test Engineer; Richard Stanton; Thomas Watkins. S.J. Solomon, Chairman, Airlines Committee for Aviation Policy
² TDiA checked with the National Aeronautic Association, which does not have any information about this flight.
³ The AIRCRAFT YEAR BOOK For 1945, Howard Mingos, Editor. Aeronautical Chamber of Commerce of America, Inc., Lanciar Publishers, Inc., New York. Chapter IV, Page 123.
Tony Levier and Glenn Fulkerson in the prototype Lockheed YF-94. (Lockheed Martin)
16 April 1949: At Van Nuys Airport, California, test pilot Tony LeVier and flight test engineer Glenn Fulkerson made the first flight of the Lockheed YF-94 prototype, serial number 48-356. The aircraft was the first jet-powered all-weather interceptor in service with the United States Air Force and was the first production aircraft powered by an afterburning engine.
Prototype Lockheed YF-94 48-356, first flight, 16 April 1949. (U.S. Air Force)
Two prototypes were built at Lockheed Plant B-9, located on the east side of Van Nuys Airport. Two TF-80C-1-LO (later redesignated T-33A) Shooting Star two-place trainers, 48-356 and 48-373, were modified with the installation of air intercept radar, an electronic fire control system, radar gun sight, four Browning AN-M3 .50-caliber (12.7 × 99 NATO) aircraft machine guns and a more powerful Allison J33-A-33 turbojet engine with water-alcohol injection and afterburner. The rear cockpit was equipped as a radar intercept officer’s station.
The prototype Lockheed YF-94 test fires its four .50-caliber guns at Van Nuys, California. (Lockheed Martin)
It was initially thought that the project would be a very simple, straightforward modification. However, the increased weight of guns and electronics required the installation of a more powerful engine than used in the T-33A. The new engine required that the aft fuselage be lengthened and deepened. Still, early models used approximately 80% of the parts for the F-80C fighter and T-33A trainer. The Air Force ordered the aircraft as the F-94A. Improvements resulted in an F-94B version, but the definitive model was the all-rocket-armed F-94C Starfire.
The prototype Lockheed YF-94, 48-356. (U.S. Air Force)
The Allison J33-A-33 was a single-shaft turbojet engine with a single-stage centrifugal-flow compressor, 14 combustion chambers and, a single-stage axial flow turbine. The engine was rated at 4,600 pounds of thrust (20.46 kilonewtons) and 6,000 pounds (26.69 kilonewtons) with afterburner. The J33-A-33 was 17 feet, 11.0 inches (5.461 meters) long, 4 feet, 1.3 inches (1.252 meters) in diameter and weighed 2,390 pounds (1,084 kilograms).
Originally a P-80C Shooting Star single-place fighter, 48-356 had been modified at Lockheed Plant B-9 in Van Nuys to become the prototype TF-80C two-place jet trainer (the designation was soon changed to T-33A), which first flew 22 March 1948. It was then modified as the prototype YF-94. 48-356 was later modified as the prototype F-94B. It is in the collection of the Air Force Flight Test Museum, Edwards Air Force Base, and is in storage awaiting restoration.
Probably the best-known Lockheed F-94 variant is the all-rocket-armed F-94C Starfire. (Lockheed Martin)
Lockheed TF-104G Starfighter N104L, World Speed Record holder. (Lockheed Martin)
12 April 1963: At Edwards Air Force Base, California, Jacqueline (“Jackie”) Cochran, Colonel, U.S. Air Force Reserve, established a Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) World Speed Record when she flew a two-place Lockheed TF-104G Starfighter, FAA registration N104L, over a 15-to-25 kilometer (9.32/15.53 miles) straight course at an average speed of 2,048.88 kilometers per hour (1,273.115 miles per hour).¹
Jackie Cochran wrote about flying the 15/25 kilometer straight course in her autobiography:
Picture in your mind a rectangular tunnel, 300 feet high, a quarter of a mile wide, and extending 20 miles long through the air at an altitude of 35,000 feet. I had to fly through that tunnel at top speed without touching a side. There were no walls to see but radar and ground instruments let me know my mistakes immediately. Up there at 35,000 feet the temperature would be about 45 degrees below zero. Not pleasant but perfect for what I was doing. Inside the plane you are hot because of the friction of speeding through the air like that. The cockpit was air-conditioned, but when you descend, things happen so fast the plane’s air-cooling system can’t keep up with it. I was always hot and perspiring back on the ground.
—Jackie Cochran: An Autobiography, by Jacqueline Cochran and Maryann Bucknum Brinley, Bantam Books, New York 1987, Page 314.
N104L was retained by Lockheed for use as a customer demonstrator to various foreign governments. In 1965 Lockheed sold N104L to the Dutch Air Force, where it served as D-5702 until 1980. It next went to the Turkish Air Force, remaining in service until it was retired in 1989.
Jackie Cochran with the Lockheed TF-104G Starfighter N104L, World Record Holder. (FAI)
Malcolm and Allan Loughead in cockpit of their F-1 flying boat, 1918. (San Diego Air & Space Museum)
12 April 1918: Allan and Malcolm Loughead, owners of the Loughead Aircraft Manufacturing Company of Santa Barbara, California, set speed and distance records as they flew their twin-engine, ten-place F-1 flying boat from Santa Barbara to San Diego. The F-1 traveled 211 miles (340 kilometers) in 3 hours, 1 minute.¹
The F-1 took off from the waters off West Beach at Santa Barbara at 9:21 a.m., passed Point Fermin at 10:40 a.m., Oceanside at 11:55 a.m., and arrived at North Island at 12:23 p.m.² The airplane was flown by the two Loughead Brothers and carried two passengers.
The Southern California shorline from Santa Barbara, at the upper left, to San Diego, at the lower right. (Google Maps)
GREAT SEAPLANE MAKES RECORD ON FLIGHT
SAN DIEGO, April 12.—The big seaplane F-1, piloted by Malcolm Loughead and carrying three passengers, arrived here at 12:23 this afternoon.
The F-1 left Santa Barbara at 9:21 this morning and the estimated distance of 190 miles between that city and San Diego was therefore covered in exactly three hours and two minutes, a speed of approximately 63 1-3 miles an hour. The big seaplane was first sighted over Point Loma and within a few minutes alighted on the surface of San Diego Bay a short distance from the United States army aviation station at North Island. At 12:23 the seaplane reached the North Island landing and was hauled ashore by army men in waiting. According to Pilot Loughead, the trip was made without incident, although during the latter part of the trip headwinds were met with which retarded the speed of the aircraft.
————
Three hours and two minutes by air flight to San Diego from Santa Barbara—that’s the record established today by Allan and Malcolm Loughead, in their big hydroplane, F-1, carrying as passengers Alfred Holt and Carl Christopherson, employees of the Loughead Aeroplane Manufacturing Company.
The distance of 190 miles, by airplane, was made without mishap. The start from Santa Barbara gathered quite a group of citizens, among them being a number of stockholders in the Loughead company, and thousands would have been there to witness the notable start had it been known at what hour the flight would start.
During the morning the Lougheads received a dispatch from government officials at the aviation headquarters on North Island, San Diego, informing them that air and ocean conditions were perfect all the way south, and asking that the flight be made today.
The Lougheads were even at that moment getting ready for the departure, and arrangements were hastened. The bay was ruffled by a breeze, and the combers sparkled in the warm sunlight, as the hydroplane motors were started, and the big fans began to whirr. There were hasty farewells, and every man waved his hat and every woman present shook a kerchief, while the cheers broke forth from all as the big plane sped down the ways, and went skidding into the sea.
At the wheels were Allan and Malcolm Loughead, while Christopherson and Holt occupied places in the passengers’ quarters at the head of the big plane. The machine was guided in a half circle, taking a southwesterly course at first, until beyond the pleasure pier, where it rose from the bosom of the sea, and rapidly ascended to an altitude of about 500 feet, when it took a southeasterly course, and heading down the channel toward Oxnard.
It was a perfect get-away, and no bird ever took to the air more gracefully than the big plane rose above the sea and soared away, easily, the very hypothesis of graceful motion, and the speed at which it was travelling soon took it out of sight to the south.
From Ventura and Hueneme the flight was witnessed by a large number of citizens, and at Point Fermin, near San Pedro, the passing of the plane attracted great interest. In fact, all the way south, great crowds watched eagerly and it was a continuous ovation that greeted the airmen from the land.
At San Diego the fliers were met by a big crowd, and their stay in the southern city is being made one prolonged reception. From many points along the coast today telephone and telegraph messages have flashed, reporting the passing of the machine, whose eventful trip is the biggest sensation of the day in aviation circles.
It is stated that the flight establishes a long distance record for a passenger-carrying hydroplane. The plane will be tested out by the government aviation officials, and it is expected that within a very few days the announcement will be made of a contract awarded the Loughead Brothers by the government for other machines.
Experts who have examined the F-1 state that it is perfectly built, and the finest machine of its class afloat.
—The Santa Barbara Daily News and the Independent, Friday, 12 April 1918, Page 1, Column 6
Loughead Aircraft Manufacturing Company F-1. (Lockheed Martin).
Designed by friend and employee John Knudson (“Jack”) Northrop, and built in a garage on State Street, the F-1 was launched on a wooden ramp at West Beach.
The airplane was intended for the U.S. Navy, but the end of World War I ended the requirement for new airplanes.
The Loughead F-1 was a twin-engine, three-bay biplane flying boat operated by a crew of 2. It could carry 8–10 passengers. The airplane was 35 feet (10.668 meters) long. The span of the upper wing was 74 feet (22.555 meters) and the lower wing was 47 feet (14.326 meters). The height was 12 feet (3.658 meters). The F-1 had an empty weight of 4,200 pounds (1,905 kilograms) and gross weight of 7,300 pounds (3,311 kilograms).
Loughead F-1 at Santa Barbara, 1918. (San Diego Air & Space Museum)
The F-1 was powered by two right-hand tractor, water-cooled, normally-aspirated 909.22-cubic-inch-displacement (14.899 liters) Hall-Scott A-5-engines. These were inline six-cylinder single-overhead-camshaft (SOHC) engines with a compression ratio of 4.6:1. It was rated at 150 horsepower and produced 165 horsepower at 1,475 r.p.m. The engines were mounted on steel struts between the upper and lower wings. The engines were direct-drive and turned two-bladed, fixed pitch propellers with a diameter of 8 feet, 8 inches (2.642 meters). The Hall-Scott A-5-a was 5 feet, 2.5 inches (1.588 meters) long, 2 feet, 0 inches (0.610 meters) wide and 3 feet, 7.875 inches (1.114 meters) high. It weighed 595 pounds (270 kilograms).
The F-1 had a cruise speed of 70 miles per hour (113 kilometers per hour) and maximum speed of 84 miles per hour (135 kilometers per hour).
The F-1 was converted to a land plane with tricycle undercarriage and redesignated F-1A. During an attempted transcontinental flight, it twice suffered engine failure and was damaged. Reconfigured as a flying boat, the airplane was used for sight-seeing before being sold. It was abandoned on a beach at Santa Catalina Island, off the coast of Southern California, and was eventually destroyed.
Loughead F-1, 1918. (San Diego Air & Space Museum)
The Loughead Aircraft Manufacturing Company would go on to become one of the world’s leading aerospace corporations.
¹ The certifying source for this “record” is not known. The distance flown and elapsed time for the flight cited here are from Wikipedia. The Great Circle distance from today’s Santa Barbara Airport (SBA) to NAS North Island (NZY) is 193 statute miles (311 kilometers). However, contemporary news reports suggest that the Loughead brothers flew the F-1 along California’s southern coastline, rather than making a direct flight across the Santa Barbara Channel, Santa Monica Bay, the Catalina Channel, and on to San Diego Bay. At the time of this flight, the governing body for aviation in the United States was the Aero Club of America, while official flight records were certified by the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale, which was based in France. The ACA ceased to exist in 1923, replaced by today’s National Aeronautic Association. The FAI online records database list only two world records set in 1918, both altitude records set by Major Rudolph Schroeder, 18 September 1918, at Dayton, Ohio.
² The Los Angeles Times, the Oakland Tribune and the San Bernardino Daily Sun state that the time of the takeoff was 9:23 a.m. The Tribune cites the arrival time as 12:24 p.m., while the Daily Sun reported the time as both 12:32 and 12:24. Various newspapers reported the distance flown by the F-1 as 190 miles (306 kilometers), while The Salt Lake Herald-Republican-Telegram printed that it was 200 miles (322 kilometers).
20–21 April 1964: Nearly ten years after the first flight of the Lockheed YC-130 Hercules prototype, the Lockheed Model 382, serial number 3946, the commercial version of the military C-130E, made the longest first flight in history when it flew for 25 hours, 1 minute, after taking off from Marietta, Georgia.
The L-382 was powered by four Allison 501-D22 turboprop engines, rated at 3,755 shaft horsepower at 13,820 r.p.m., and driving four-bladed Hamilton Standard Hydromatic constant-speed, reversible-pitch propellers with a diameter of 13 feet, 6 inches (4.115 meters). at 1,020 r.p.m.
