Post by Bookman on Feb 20, 2006 18:12:32 GMT -5
Ok, since this IS supposed to be a history-based discussion area. I've decided to begin a weekly discussion thread related to an airline or airliner of the golden age.
This week, with the release of Jens B. Kristensen's Vultee V-1A I thought that was as good a subject as any to start with.
So, first off...
Yes, that was an ugly airliner, but then so were many of them old gals back then.Wasn't it the Sikorsky S-40/S-42 series that sparked the nickname "flying forest"?
Vultee V-1
The Vultee V-1 was initially built to serve as a single-engine passenger aircraft, a type that was gaining popularity with airlines. A low wing, all metal, cantilever aircraft with retractable main gear, this 1932 design was well ahead of its time.
The V-1A was a slightly larger and more powerful version of the V-1 which had two pilots. It entered service with American Airlines in 1934. The airline purchased the initial twenty airframes.
A V-1A was fitted out for a non-stop Trans-Atlantic flight and had all the empty spaces filled with ping pong balls in an effort to keep it afloat in case it crashed at sea!
With single engined passenger liners being banned from paying service, the V-1As were sold off, at least seven served in Spain during the Civil War where they were used as transports, reconnaissance and general duty. Some were also modified with a defensive upper gun.
Anyhow, here's a link to some wonderful photos of the only V-1A that I know of that has survived.
www.eaa231.org/Museum/Vultee/Vultee.htm
The airplane on dispaly is a Vultee V1-AD Special (c.1936),the only one of its kind left in the world. It belonged to publishing magnate William Randolph Hearst, Sr., who would ferry movie star guests from Los Angeles to his San Simeon castle in style. Clark Gable and Carol Lombard are both said to have flown this very airplane. The once-elegant plane fell on hard times (including ferrying rhesus monkeys from Central America to California research labs) before it was restored in the 1970s.
This week, with the release of Jens B. Kristensen's Vultee V-1A I thought that was as good a subject as any to start with.
So, first off...
Yes, that was an ugly airliner, but then so were many of them old gals back then.Wasn't it the Sikorsky S-40/S-42 series that sparked the nickname "flying forest"?
Vultee V-1
The Vultee V-1 was initially built to serve as a single-engine passenger aircraft, a type that was gaining popularity with airlines. A low wing, all metal, cantilever aircraft with retractable main gear, this 1932 design was well ahead of its time.
The V-1A was a slightly larger and more powerful version of the V-1 which had two pilots. It entered service with American Airlines in 1934. The airline purchased the initial twenty airframes.
A V-1A was fitted out for a non-stop Trans-Atlantic flight and had all the empty spaces filled with ping pong balls in an effort to keep it afloat in case it crashed at sea!
With single engined passenger liners being banned from paying service, the V-1As were sold off, at least seven served in Spain during the Civil War where they were used as transports, reconnaissance and general duty. Some were also modified with a defensive upper gun.
Anyhow, here's a link to some wonderful photos of the only V-1A that I know of that has survived.
www.eaa231.org/Museum/Vultee/Vultee.htm
The airplane on dispaly is a Vultee V1-AD Special (c.1936),the only one of its kind left in the world. It belonged to publishing magnate William Randolph Hearst, Sr., who would ferry movie star guests from Los Angeles to his San Simeon castle in style. Clark Gable and Carol Lombard are both said to have flown this very airplane. The once-elegant plane fell on hard times (including ferrying rhesus monkeys from Central America to California research labs) before it was restored in the 1970s.