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 The Lockheed Model 8 Sirius was a single-engined, 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. Two versions of the same basic ...

with a retractable undercarriage, and was the first Lockheed aircraft and one of the first aircraft designs with a fully retractable undercarriage.

Development and design

Lockheed designed an alternative wing fitted with a retractable undercarriage for the Lockheed Sirius as a result of a request from

Charles Lindbergh Charles Augustus Lindbergh (February 4, 1902 – August 26, 1974) was an American aviator, military officer, author, inventor, and activist. On May 20–21, 1927, Lindbergh made the first nonstop flight from New York City to Paris, a distance o ...

, although Lindbergh in the end chose to buy a standard Sirius. The first Altair, converted from a Sirius, flew in September 1930.Francillon 1982, p. 101. 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 Sirii, 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. The Unitwin was used in the Vega Starliner, which never went into production.

Operational history

The prototype Altair was purchased by the

United States Army Air Corps The United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) was the aerial warfare service component of the United States Army between 1926 and 1941. After World War I, as early aviation became an increasingly important part of modern warfare, a philosophical r ...

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 The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

as the XRO-1.Francillon 1978, pp. 101–106. Altairs were used to carry out a number of record-breaking long-range flights. One aircraft, named ''

Lady Southern Cross The ''Lady Southern Cross'' was a Lockheed Altair monoplane owned by Australian pioneer aviator Sir Charles Kingsford Smith. In this aircraft, Kingsford Smith made the first eastward trans-Pacific flight from Australia to the United States, in ...

'' was used by Australian

aviator An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its directional flight controls. Some other aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are also considered aviators, because they a ...

Charles Kingsford Smith Sir Charles Edward Kingsford Smith (9 February 18978 November 1935), nicknamed Smithy, was an Australian aviation pioneer. He piloted the first transpacific flight and the first flight between Australia and New Zealand. Kingsford Smith was b ...

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.Francillon 1982, pp. 103–104. Two Altairs were used by the Japanese newspaper ''

Mainichi Shimbun The is one of the major newspapers in Japan, published by In addition to the ''Mainichi Shimbun'', which is printed twice a day in several local editions, Mainichi also operates an English language news website called ''The Mainichi'' (prev ...

'' as high-speed passenger and cargo aircraft, one remaining in use until 1944.Francillon 1982, pp. 105–106.

Variants

;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. ;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 & 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

; *

United States Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

Specifications (Y1C-23)

References

Notes

Bibliography

* Francillon, René J. ''Lockheed Aircraft since 1913''. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press, 1987. . *

External links

Detailed information about Lockheed Altair "Lady Southern Cross".
{{Detroit aircraft

Altair Altair is the brightest star in the constellation of Aquila and the twelfth-brightest star in the night sky. It has the Bayer designation Alpha Aquilae, which is Latinised from α Aquilae and abbreviated Alpha Aql o ...

1930s United States civil utility aircraft Single-engined tractor aircraft Low-wing aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1930