F.A.Q Section Q: Do you take aircraft requests? A: I have a list of aircraft I plan to cover, but feel free to add to it with suggestions:) Q: Why do you use imperial measurements for some videos, and metric for others? A: I do this based on country of manufacture. Imperial measurements for Britain and the U.S, metric for the rest of the world, but I include text in my videos that convert it for both. Q: Will you include video footage in your videos, or just photos? A: Video footage is very expensive to licence, if I can find footage in the public domain I will try to use it, but a lot of it is hoarded by licencing studies (British Pathe, Periscope films etc). In the future I may be able to afford clips :) Q: Why do you sometimes feature images/screenshots from flight simulators? A: Sometimes there are not a lot of photos available for certain aircraft, so I substitute this with digital images that are as accurate as possible
The Parker family (fountain pen company) and aviation, don't know if you could get a good video out of it, Kenneth Parker had been in the air force, was well into planes, traveled around the country with them, dropping pens from 3000 feet to show how tough they were. Involved in development of commercial aviation. Was part owner of an airline. Son Daniel Parker founded some sort of medical rescue company. edit: air medical rescue.
Fun Fact. Earhart was originally supposed to fly Model 10-A, serial no. 1091. But during the time, a Czechoslovak businessman Jan Baťa was on a business trip in Chicago, when his plane broke down. He wanted a replacement ASAP, so he bought the Electra no. 1091 and Earhart had to wait for her 10-E. Meanwhile, Baťa's Electra flew all the way to Czechoslovakia, eventually flew around the world, fled Czechoslovakia before WW2 and was sold to RCAF. After the war, it went all around the place before eventually being restored and now it's displayed back in Prague as one of the two air-worthy Electras in the world.
Folegore CJ . Hey from Dave. What a story !. Am thinking of visiting Prague with my Skoda and will try to see this plane as well as Skoda factory. Thanks so !.
The progress in aviation in this era always amazes me. The ten passenger twin engine Lockheed Electra had a gross weight of about the same as the empty weight of the single engine Republic P47D Thunderbolt just eight years later. I realize this is apples to oranges, but it is still amazing.
The single-engined Douglas "Skyraider" aircraft developed for the U.S. Navy towards the end of WW2 could carry the same bomb-load as the U.S. Army's 'B-17' four-engined bomber that served throughout that war (the "Skyraider" survived in various theatres/-ers-of-war into the mid-'70s. [ Not a lot pf people know this].
@@None-zc5vg Except that it was recently mentioned on this very channel, (part 2 of history of Douglas Aircraft) So everyone reading this comment section now probably already knew it.
The progress is mind boggling. Think about this - we went from not being able to fly to landing on the moon in the span of one human lifetime. 66 years. Astonishing.
You know, its probably worth doing a vid on the 'other' Electra - the L-188. It may be the most celebrated of the bunch - but as the PC-3 Orion, still flying with many nations after 55 years.
Have a great trip (to wherever) and I'll look forward to the later Lockheed Electra/Hudson videos. Especially that for the Lockheed 12 Electra Junior, because it was used by Sidney Cotton (of Sidcot flying suit fame) as a recon/spy plane in the very late '30s. Cheers!
The advantage afforded by the change to a twin tail was that this placed a rudder into the propellor stream of each engine. The added air flow gave the tails more authority, and in the event of an engine failure the increased power on the remaining engine would throw more air back to the corresponding rudder.
@@merrywivesofwindsor Engine, possibly. Better rudder authority is never a bad thing, but that’s a complex matter involving but not limited to airflow, total control surface area, and total stabilizer area, and two tails is often less effective than a single tail of equal control surface/stabilizer area.
Kelly Johnston certainly designed nice looking planes. I didn't realise he was behind the Lockheed multi fin/twin boom obsession though. I grew up with Qantas Constellations landing in my small rural town as part of their pilot training. Lovely aeroplanes, though I doubt my teachers agreed as they nearly shook the windows out of the classroom wall when they flew overhead at a couple of hundred feet.
One of the benefits of the twin tail was that existing hangers could be used for servicing. As the planes got bigger the single tail grew so high new hangers had to be built worldwide.
My Dad started at Lockheed in 1938 after graduating from Caltech. His first project was detailing the aft side of the pilot station bulkhead. He retired years later last working on the P-3 Orion and the S-3 Viking for Lockheed's ASW fleet...
The hiring of Kelly Johnson has got to be one of the best new hire stories in history. This one grad student basically help build the biggest military contractor in the world. Just imagine if the chief engineer had decided just to keep him fetching coffee as the new guy😏☕
I always liked the look of the Electra, so sleek. When you get to the episode covering the Beech 18, you should look up Pappy Gunn and his exploits against the Japanese with his Beech 18!
Flew on one of these beauties about twenty years ago out of Toronto Island Airport. It belonged to Air Canada at the time and had been one of three bought new in 1937 by the airline's predecessor Trans-Canada Air Lines. It is now on static display in a museum in Manitoba.
This aircraft was totally restored by air Canada staff , fin TCC, and was flown by a friend of mine on days off to many aviation events across the country. He also flew the Lancaster that’s in Hamilton . When covid hit, they pretended that the world had ended and it ended up in Winnipeg . It’s most unfortunate that it’s not flying, it was (in) excellent condition.
They discovered her bones on Nikumaroro island in 1940 and misidentified them as from a man. Those bones are now lost, but modern analysis says it was likely her. Articles were also found that strongly suggest they were hers.
A private owner of an Electra pointed out how many features of the Electra are to be found in thr P-38: nose profile. wing planform and tail configuration.
Excellent report looking forward to the series ... You've covered it well as a descendant of a primary engineer at Vega don't neglect the Howard Hughes projects
Great stuff as always! A suggestion: make a video about Lockheed Hudson. No other reason, but when I was a kid, I always mixed Electra and Hudson because of their similar-ish main external features. For example, I was sure that the aircraft in the final scene of James Bond Octopussy, was indeed Hudson! 😂 Actually, Hudson is one of those often overlooked aircraft of WW2 and interesting plane itself!
The Hudson was the bomber cousin of the Model 14 Super Electra; the Model 14 spawned the Model 18 Lodestar, while the Hudson led to the Ventura and Harpoon. The Model 10 also led to a scaled down business-aircraft version called the Model 12 Electra Junior. One of these smaller aircraft stands in for Earhart's Model 10E in the Hilary Swank film "Amelia". (So, in a few shots, does the unrelated, and far more common, Beech 18.)
My father flew as a Wireless Operator / Air Gunner (WOP/AG as they were called) in Hudsons and Venturas for Coastal Command. Spent most of his was (1943+) patrolling sea lanes of North and West Africa The most action they saw was shooting across the bows of Spanish spy trawlers if they were deemed to be getting too close to areas with Allied ships
I was flying out of Ft Lauderdale International Airport when I looked out at the runway and saw a DC 3 taking off. Moments later I peered out again and saw a Lockheed Electra taxi onto the runway and take off. It felt like I time-travelled for a minute.
I delivered a huge pizza order to the local air show 8 years and showed up right as a B-17 was taxiing onto the runway. This wouldn’t necessarily be worth mentioning if it weren’t for the fact that I was told to take the road parallel to the runway, all the way to the end, as the B-17 was taking off beside me, to get to where I was to deliver these pizzas. It was the coolest delivery I ever had, and, like you, I felt like I had been teleported back in time.
When I was a child, 12 years old, 1949, I worked on the ice of Great Slave Lake, NWT, Canada. A Lockheed Electra, and an Anson, were being used, to fly boxes of frozen fish, to the town of Hay River, NWT. We had to tramp down the snow to make a runway.🎉
I have had the pleasure of having an aviation media flight on Air Canada's Lockheed L10-A (CF-TCC). It was nicely restored and did many airshow appearances until 2022, now donated to Winnipeg’s Royal Aviation Museum of Western Canada. There is something about a natural polished bare metal finish ;)
Being Australian I was so happy with the two pictures of Marshall Airways outside of their hanger at Bankstown Airport. I remember going there in the early 60s and seeing it also his Me 109. Thanks again
If I remember correctly, the Hudson was flown mostly by the RAF. It was part of the "Lend Lease" that flew to the Canadian border and towed across said border by a team of horses. Once across, Canadian pilots flew them to eastern Canada. I'm not sure whether they were ship-borne or merely flown to the UK. Someone else might know more about that.
11:05 I have been in that Marshall Airways hanger! 😀 I was taking flying lessons at Bankstown Airport in 1978 and got to take a look inside. Hanging like models from the ceiling were a Messerschmidt 109 and a Japanese Oscar.
Oddly enough the original Boeing model 247 also had a forward raked windscreen. IIRC the logic was that the pilot wouldn't have to deal with reflections on the windscreen from the instrument panel.
I want to tell you how much I appreciate your videos. Between IHYLS, Rex's Hangar, and Ed Nash's Military Matters, I'm filling in huge gaps in my knowledge of interwar and WW2 aircraft. Thank you very much for you meticulous work!
Looking forward to whenever you look at the Stearman model 75/Kaydet. An aircraft that was produced in large numbers and then dumped to the civilian market after the war, to such that a notable number of them still fly today in airshows and yearly gatherings.
AWSM series! My Grandpa has one thats a giant shiny lawn gnome that looks near identical to emelia's. It has a teardrop on top instead of a loop and empty flat four cowls on wings. I was positive it was an electra.
I know it has nothing to do with the video haha but the Lockheed I-188 ELECTRA It has a very good reputation here in Brazil and was praised by pilots and passengers, it was a plane with a serious vibe, the people who flew on this plane loved the comfort, the large windows,the Vasp pilots, the last company to still use the electra in the early 90s, cried when they saw the last of these being retired, people here remember it with great affection,In the case of this model I'm talking about, it spent around 30 years being used in Brazilian commercial aviation and was well remembered for its reliability and trust, And during his 30 years he never had any major accidents
Frontally slanted windshields were supposed to help with glare during night flying, the Boeing 247s had them too. It turned out to be less of a problem than expected and so conventional wind shields came back
Rex, I highly advise you to read Skunk Works before doing the Hudson video. I bet you have already read it but just incase you haven't or maybe have forgotten what is written in there about the Hudson procurement process I just wanted to nudge your memory.😉 Elegance on wings. Love this🛩
My brother's wife is related to Amelia Earhart on her fathers side.He worked at Oak Ridge,TN and Kennedy Space center .Mr Earhart was born in Rockwood,TN. Both of my brothers children have been straight-A students and got their degrees with scholarships and no student loans .His daughter looks like Amelia Earhart's picture as does her mother .
@@anthonyangeli256 That is a gross misrepresentation of history. Several persons were likely responsible for that flight going astray and disappearing forever, perhaps least of which was Noonan. Earhart's husband Putnam and his unending quest for more publicity was a contributing factor to the rushed preparations and flight schedule. And Earhart herself failed miserably as a Pilot In Command and the supposed organizer of the voyage. She failed to adequately train in advance, failed to learn Morse code, directional radio finding, or other navigational principles, and choose someone she knew to be an alcoholic as her sole navigator after scaring off the first one with her poor flying skills. Noonan was likely intoxicated and may have erred in his navigation that flight, but Earhart bears the lion's share of the responsibility for putting herself into such a situation in the first place. Furthermore, there is a good possibility that her inability to fly a set course was a contributing factor. And finally, the Japanese may have had a hand in her disappearance as well. Noonan has been the scapegoat and the foil used to present Earhart, who was at best a mediocre pilot, as a top pilot of the era.
There is another fateful international flight of an Electra which grabbed the headlines in 1938, which also lead to disaster, but somehow managed to escape notice. The Electra was the plane that bore Neville Chamberlain to Munich for his consultation with Chancellor Herr Hitler. The outcome of that encounter was a scrap of paper, bearing both their signatures, containing an "earnest pledge" never to have their two countries ever to go to wag again. As a Yank, I'm somewhat embarrassed to have to point this out.
According to the Army sergeant who saw the inside of her plane, there were plastic fuel tanks lining the inside of the plane, with a rubber bulb pump on a plastic hose, two radio direction finders (radio compass), a napkin with Howland's location, a list of radio stations over the Pacific, a flight log and notebook. The rear of the Electra was converted to a dark room. An RDF cabinet was on the co-pilot's seat.
Earhart was in sorta radio communication with the navy ship sent to help, she couldn’t find the island and ran out of fuel. The only mystery is the exact spot she went down
As I understand, the lack of a trailing wire antenna for the radio contributed to poor reception of navigation signals. She was apparently off only a few degrees, which over a long distance, contributed to her disappearance.
If she had refueled at Howland Island there was apparently a plan to survey the Japanese held Island bases in the Solomons by flying a new circuitous route west of the Hawaiian Islands. Fake weather reports were issued by a US navy destroyer as cover for the overflight. Fred Nunan's other job here might have been to operate a large format high resolution aerial camera, the negatives later picked up and sent to Pearl Harbor.
The book by Elgin Long has the best and most comprehensive account of the AE round the world flight . Many myths are dispelled by his research. There is much factual data about the flight because Earhart regularly sent reports back to the states. Facts that are often ignored today.
@@bernieschiff5919 The trailing antenna or lack of had no bearing , pun not intended, on the outcome of the flight. Her lack of knowledge of the experimental and one off Bendix radio was the final factor that contributed to her loss.
@@raoulcruz4404 The trailing wire (which she had intentionally discarded same as with the inflatable life raft) would have created a stronger radio signal for the Itasca to better DF on. As it was, they couldn't DF her well, nor could she work her own Bendix DF radio to zero in on the Itasca. The Itasca crew knew she had DF ability and presumed she'd use it so they offered no help. She was an over-confident imprudent aviator whose remaining luck wasn't enough for the job.
Great video! Would love to see you cover the PV-1/PV-2 Harpoon lineup as well, I’ve been able to volunteer restoring one and they are fascinating airplanes!
Do you know the lineage of your Harpoon project? A long time ago (going on 30 years), I worked on a Harpoon project in Waukesha, WI for the CAF, until they sold it (can’t remember if to another CAF chapter, or to a private party) and bought a restored, flying warbird.
@@ronjon7942 ours was a commercial sprayer (crop duster) in Texas for a lot of years after it was sold from the navy. The only other Harpoons I know of are Attu Warrior and one owned by Kermit Weeks. Don’t know much about either though
There is one airworthy Electra here in Czech Republic, wich was a business aircraft of Baťa Shoe company, Founded here in former Czechoslovakia but with factories all over the world. Tomas Bata used the aircraft to travel around Bata factories in the world. Nowadays the Electra can be seen flying at airhows and it also has been seen during the COVID pandemic dellivering medical supplies to the hospitals around czech Republic.
Thank you for another very informative video. When I see the Lockheed 10. It reminds me of another aircraft that was built about the same time in my hometown. That plane being the Beechcraft Model 18 that was built by the Beech Company in Wichita, Kansas. The Model 18 was in production for a very long time. From 1937 to 1970. I hope you can do a video on this remarkable aircraft at some point in the future.
I did a few skydives out of a privately owned Beech 18. Good for a bucket list, but it was terribly uncomfortable (sit on the floor) and that door was way too small.
So, interesting tid-bit: My Dad spent his career at Lockheed. Apparently, Ms. Earhart wasn't known as a great pilot at Lockheed. Because they kept having to fix her airplanes.
Earhart was a lousy pilot. She crack up several planes, not just the Electra. She was more of a publicity seeker using aviation as at that time there were few female pilots. Earhart was literally over her head in the Electra.
@@IncogNito-gg6uh Earhart was a huge publicity seeker along with her "husband" George Putnam (Not the newscaster from L.A.). It was a marriage of convenience, not of love. And your Paul Mantz comment just shows the low level of Earhart's skill and ability. After recently reading a "puff" book about Earhart, reading between the lines it was easy to discern her low level of flying skill. She was much better at publicity than flying.
@@IncogNito-gg6uh If she wasn't proficient, she wasn't skilled and in what I have read (which is fairly extensive and the many other pilots I have talked to, especially at OSH) and discerned she was neither.
Bunch of Catalinas were converted into mobile homes. There are videos on TH-cam about it. Unfortunately, the owner of the company took one of the catalinas and his family for the trip into the war zone where Catalina was shot at and all of them almost died. It created enough bad rep that the project was killed, but a bunch of already converted Cats continued to fly as rich people toys.
@@robertdragoff6909 Somewhere in 1950's. He was flying around Mediterranean and ended up somewhere around Saudi Arabia attacked by Bedouins. Check Catalina Flying Yacht or Flying Home
I always thought they built way more of the Electra than that. I love the looks of the Electra, so sleek, so clean, so very 1930's art deco-ish. The Beech 18 more-or-less copied the design and they made a WHOLE bunch of them.
I know its not really in the scope of your videos as its a 1950s era jet trainer but i would love to see you do a video on the Fouga CM-170 Magister (and its navalised CM-175 Zeypher)....the first military jet that was designed to be a trainer from the outset rather than being a 2 seat conversion of an already exsisting single seat fighter.
I find it a little strange that the Electra did not have counter rotating propellers given the small rudders. Looking forward from the pilots perspective both propellers rotate clockwise. Kelly really did not have an option other than place the small rudders in the propeller slip stream in order to get proper handling at take off with the tail dragger layout. I don't think this low speed issue would fall under the category of flight stability, probably being apart of ground handling. Kelly would correct many of these drawbacks with the P38, which has counter rotating propellers and a tricycle landing gear layout. If you look at a DC 3 fuselage you will see that the single centrally located rudder is rather huge in comparison to the Electra two smaller ones. Even with the large rudder the DC 3 pilot needs to ease up the throttles to get enough air speed to just before the tail wheel leaves the ground. It takes some getting used to because the engine torque will yaw the aircraft and the tail needs a fair amount of airflow to gain enough authority to keep the plane flying straight, it is not as easy as one may think. If the DC 3 had counter rotating propellers you could greatly reduce the already short takeoff run.
Good ideas. I think it would be easier to make a radial run backwards than an inline engine. One of my ideas is to get two rotary radials - like the Gnome - reverse one of them, and build a twin-engine craft. All the torque problems would cancel out, and the simplicity would be good. The airframe would have to be extra sturdy, maybe. Maybe you can answer a question. What's with the little stubby extensions of the horizontal stabilizer through the vertical fins? Shirley, that can't be useful. Lockheed does it a lot.
Lockheed videos coming over the next month or so? I'm absolutely down for that I love alot of those. They made good stuff should've been used more heavily than they were.
I think the first time ever I saw Lockheed Electra (thought it was a DC-3 originally ) was in the Madagascar animated movie series. No joke, the plane used there really looks like one, or at least very similar to it.
There was an 'Electra' variant used briefly by Warner Bros. in the film "Casablanca". The same plane (NC17376) was used in several other movies before it was written-off in a crash in 1942.
There are transcripts on the internet of Earhart's last communications. The Coast Guard had a ship at her destination to broadcast a signal for her to home in on - and they could hear her - but she could not hear them. This transcript goes on pretty much until she went in the water. So - all the speculation about her doing anything else - is unlikely. Unfortunately no one had any radar so they couldn't detect her that way. They had problems with some of their systems right after take off - and really should have turned back but they didn't. Yes - losing their professional pilot wasn't a good thing - and again - they should have corrected that before they left. .
False. The transcript does not "go on until she went in the water" it ends with a message which in no way indicates she was ditching, experiencing fuel starvation, or any other distress. The evidence and facts simply do not support her ditching the aircraft near Howland Island as the meteorological conditions reported by her do not match those observed by Itasca. Ample evidence exists of her being taken captive by the Japanese after landing or crashing in the Marshall Islands.
Watched from Old Harbour Jamaica. I believe the Royal Dutch Airline opperated them too as in 1943 one such, I believe had to make an emergency landing at the US Army Air Base, Vernam Field, when on it's attemp to land at Palisadoes Field , it's undercarrage would not exstend. It was sent to Vernam instead and while it dupped fuel, bullduzzers were use to cover the runway with gravel on with it landed safly.
Considering they can't find a whole 777,there seems to be some doubt about the origin of the parts washed up on Reunion ,I don't think that her little plane will ever be found.
I'm looking at Google Maps, zoomed in on area around the Norwich City shipwreck. Straight East and a bit to the north, sorta by the back of where the rest of the shipwreckage is, is a shape that looks a bit like a plane. That looks as though it could have Washed off the top and settled there. Could be just a water formation. It's not that clear, but it looks like it could be something.. but, maybe nothing..
The aircraft used in the movie was a TallMantz Twin Beech. A civilianized military version of the Beech Model 18. They are similar looking to the Electra.
F.A.Q Section
Q: Do you take aircraft requests?
A: I have a list of aircraft I plan to cover, but feel free to add to it with suggestions:)
Q: Why do you use imperial measurements for some videos, and metric for others?
A: I do this based on country of manufacture. Imperial measurements for Britain and the U.S, metric for the rest of the world, but I include text in my videos that convert it for both.
Q: Will you include video footage in your videos, or just photos?
A: Video footage is very expensive to licence, if I can find footage in the public domain I will try to use it, but a lot of it is hoarded by licencing studies (British Pathe, Periscope films etc). In the future I may be able to afford clips :)
Q: Why do you sometimes feature images/screenshots from flight simulators?
A: Sometimes there are not a lot of photos available for certain aircraft, so I substitute this with digital images that are as accurate as possible
The Parker family (fountain pen company) and aviation, don't know if you could get a good video out of it, Kenneth Parker had been in the air force, was well into planes, traveled around the country with them, dropping pens from 3000 feet to show how tough they were. Involved in development of commercial aviation. Was part owner of an airline. Son Daniel Parker founded some sort of medical rescue company. edit: air medical rescue.
The Loire Nieuport LN 161 which was a better plane than the MS 406.
The 'Gee Bee' racer perhaps, someday?
lt is a beautiful aircraft.......THANKS my friend for another fine video......
Shoe🇺🇸
Please don't forget to give the Ventura & Harpoon their place as descendants of the Electra! ;)
Fun Fact. Earhart was originally supposed to fly Model 10-A, serial no. 1091. But during the time, a Czechoslovak businessman Jan Baťa was on a business trip in Chicago, when his plane broke down. He wanted a replacement ASAP, so he bought the Electra no. 1091 and Earhart had to wait for her 10-E. Meanwhile, Baťa's Electra flew all the way to Czechoslovakia, eventually flew around the world, fled Czechoslovakia before WW2 and was sold to RCAF. After the war, it went all around the place before eventually being restored and now it's displayed back in Prague as one of the two air-worthy Electras in the world.
Bata, like the shoe company?
Folegore CJ . Hey from Dave. What a story !. Am thinking of visiting Prague with my Skoda and will try to see this plane as well as Skoda factory. Thanks so !.
@@natquesenberry6368 Yep he was CEO of the shoe company
@@laurenmp7486 that's interesting!
Thanks for sharing 👍
The progress in aviation in this era always amazes me. The ten passenger twin engine Lockheed Electra had a gross weight of about the same as the empty weight of the single engine Republic P47D Thunderbolt just eight years later. I realize this is apples to oranges, but it is still amazing.
Cars did the same thing during this era, now that's apples to oranges! 😅
The single-engined Douglas "Skyraider" aircraft developed for the U.S. Navy towards the end of WW2 could carry the same bomb-load as the U.S. Army's 'B-17' four-engined bomber that served throughout that war (the "Skyraider" survived in various theatres/-ers-of-war into the mid-'70s. [ Not a lot pf people know this].
@@None-zc5vg Except that it was recently mentioned on this very channel, (part 2 of history of Douglas Aircraft) So everyone reading this comment section now probably already knew it.
The progress is mind boggling. Think about this - we went from not being able to fly to landing on the moon in the span of one human lifetime. 66 years. Astonishing.
One of the most beautiful aircraft of the 30's.
You know, its probably worth doing a vid on the 'other' Electra - the L-188. It may be the most celebrated of the bunch - but as the PC-3 Orion, still flying with many nations after 55 years.
Have a great trip (to wherever) and I'll look forward to the later Lockheed Electra/Hudson videos. Especially that for the Lockheed 12 Electra Junior, because it was used by Sidney Cotton (of Sidcot flying suit fame) as a recon/spy plane in the very late '30s. Cheers!
Beautiful plane, and to think, that twin tail found its way onto the SR-71 as well.
Lockheed's design language through their early years was just so elegant and timeless
The advantage afforded by the change to a twin tail was that this placed a rudder into the propellor stream of each engine. The added air flow gave the tails more authority, and in the event of an engine failure the increased power on the remaining engine would throw more air back to the corresponding rudder.
Would the twin tail offer advantage to stability in the event of losing an engine and wing?
@@merrywivesofwindsor Engine, possibly. Better rudder authority is never a bad thing, but that’s a complex matter involving but not limited to airflow, total control surface area, and total stabilizer area, and two tails is often less effective than a single tail of equal control surface/stabilizer area.
Kelly Johnston certainly designed nice looking planes. I didn't realise he was behind the Lockheed multi fin/twin boom obsession though. I grew up with Qantas Constellations landing in my small rural town as part of their pilot training. Lovely aeroplanes, though I doubt my teachers agreed as they nearly shook the windows out of the classroom wall when they flew overhead at a couple of hundred feet.
The constellations had a triple tail because a single tail would have been too tall to fit in most hangars at the time.
One of the benefits of the twin tail was that existing hangers could be used for servicing. As the planes got bigger the single tail grew so high new hangers had to be built worldwide.
Beautiful aircraft. Didn't Howard Hughes use a Lockheed Super Electra to fly around the world? Great content, Rex! Thank you.
Howard Hughes used indeed a Lockheed 14-N2 Super Electra for its circling the globe record in July 1938
"We'll take the Spruce Moose! Hop in!"
@@m2heavyindustries378
#goose
My Dad started at Lockheed in 1938 after graduating from Caltech. His first project was detailing the aft side of the pilot station bulkhead. He retired years later last working on the P-3 Orion and the S-3 Viking for Lockheed's ASW fleet...
So many beautiful planes came from that era.
The Electra is a beautiful airplane.
The hiring of Kelly Johnson has got to be one of the best new hire stories in history. This one grad student basically help build the biggest military contractor in the world. Just imagine if the chief engineer had decided just to keep him fetching coffee as the new guy😏☕
The new guy getting the coffee? Thank God that didn't happen! Cheers.
U of M just produces steers and queers these days.
And one of the biggest headaches Lockheed ever had was due to NOT following Mr. Johnson's advice, to wit: Don't do business with the Navy.
@@rex8255 why is the Navy more of a headache than anybody else?
And looking back at the legacy that the man left it is significantly easier to name Lockheed Martin aircraft that he wasn't involved in the design of.
I always liked the look of the Electra, so sleek.
When you get to the episode covering the Beech 18, you should look up Pappy Gunn and his exploits against the Japanese with his Beech 18!
I love a nice chill Civil Aviation episode. Plane Suggestion for your list: Breguet 14
Flew on one of these beauties about twenty years ago out of Toronto Island Airport. It belonged to Air Canada at the time and had been one of three bought new in 1937 by the airline's predecessor Trans-Canada Air Lines. It is now on static display in a museum in Manitoba.
Who goes to Manitoba?
This aircraft was totally restored by air Canada staff , fin TCC, and was flown by a friend of mine on days off to many aviation events across the country.
He also flew the Lancaster that’s in Hamilton .
When covid hit, they pretended that the world had ended and it ended up in Winnipeg .
It’s most unfortunate that it’s not flying, it was (in) excellent condition.
Finding any credible remains of this aircraft and its famous pilot, navigator would be huge. Though after this long the chances are pretty slim.
There have been several expeditions. How credible the evidence is Up For Debate.
@@WALTERBROADDUS
Or already been debated investigated and dismissed.
Will NEVER be found,sadly
They discovered her bones on Nikumaroro island in 1940 and misidentified them as from a man. Those bones are now lost, but modern analysis says it was likely her. Articles were also found that strongly suggest they were hers.
@@bobbylee2853 oops,my bad
It has to be one of the must beautiful aircraft ever made
A private owner of an Electra pointed out how many features of the Electra are to be found in thr P-38: nose profile. wing planform and tail configuration.
Beautiful aircraft, especially for it's day. RIP Amelia and Navigator.
I'm looking forward to the video on the Model 12.
Excellent report looking forward to the series ... You've covered it well as a descendant of a primary engineer at Vega don't neglect the Howard Hughes projects
Great stuff as always! A suggestion: make a video about Lockheed Hudson. No other reason, but when I was a kid, I always mixed Electra and Hudson because of their similar-ish main external features. For example, I was sure that the aircraft in the final scene of James Bond Octopussy, was indeed Hudson! 😂 Actually, Hudson is one of those often overlooked aircraft of WW2 and interesting plane itself!
During World War 2 my Mom worked at Lockheed making Hudsons.
The Hudson was the bomber cousin of the Model 14 Super Electra; the Model 14 spawned the Model 18 Lodestar, while the Hudson led to the Ventura and Harpoon. The Model 10 also led to a scaled down business-aircraft version called the Model 12 Electra Junior. One of these smaller aircraft stands in for Earhart's Model 10E in the Hilary Swank film "Amelia". (So, in a few shots, does the unrelated, and far more common, Beech 18.)
@@stevetournay6103
And some of those Venturas became the mighty Howard 500s.
My father flew as a Wireless Operator / Air Gunner (WOP/AG as they were called) in Hudsons and Venturas for Coastal Command. Spent most of his was (1943+) patrolling sea lanes of North and West Africa
The most action they saw was shooting across the bows of Spanish spy trawlers if they were deemed to be getting too close to areas with Allied ships
I was flying out of Ft Lauderdale International Airport when I looked out at the runway and saw a DC 3 taking off. Moments later I peered out again and saw a Lockheed Electra taxi onto the runway and take off. It felt like I time-travelled for a minute.
I'm training out of PMP and there's some cool stuff around here lol.
@@Flyingcircustailwheel I know a guy in Pompano that has a 200 mph boat
I delivered a huge pizza order to the local air show 8 years and showed up right as a B-17 was taxiing onto the runway. This wouldn’t necessarily be worth mentioning if it weren’t for the fact that I was told to take the road parallel to the runway, all the way to the end, as the B-17 was taking off beside me, to get to where I was to deliver these pizzas. It was the coolest delivery I ever had, and, like you, I felt like I had been teleported back in time.
@@handenbramilton That's cool!!!
@@handenbramiltonWas it the b17 that crashed? Hit by air cobra ?
When I was a child, 12 years old, 1949, I worked on the ice of Great Slave Lake, NWT, Canada.
A Lockheed Electra, and an Anson, were being used, to fly boxes of frozen fish, to the town of Hay River, NWT.
We had to tramp down the snow to make a runway.🎉
Safe travels!!! I will look forward to your return, as your channel is one of my ALL-TIME favorites....
Great job done with the famous Lockheed Electra 10 -A 💯
I have had the pleasure of having an aviation media flight on Air Canada's Lockheed L10-A (CF-TCC). It was nicely restored and did many airshow appearances until 2022, now donated to Winnipeg’s Royal Aviation Museum of Western Canada. There is something about a natural polished bare metal finish ;)
Being Australian I was so happy with the two pictures of Marshall Airways outside of their hanger at Bankstown Airport. I remember going there in the early 60s and seeing it also his Me 109. Thanks again
Another outstanding video. Enjoy your time off, you've earned it!
The Hudson is an under appreciated aircraft and I look forward to your video.
If I remember correctly, the Hudson was flown mostly by the RAF. It was part of the "Lend Lease" that flew to the Canadian border and towed across said border by a team of horses. Once across, Canadian pilots flew them to eastern Canada. I'm not sure whether they were ship-borne or merely flown to the UK. Someone else might know more about that.
@@stevenward3856I've heard that story. Curious if it's true or apocryphal.
Hudsons were also used by the RAAF and the US in the Pacific.
A really beautiful airplane.
11:05 I have been in that Marshall Airways hanger! 😀 I was taking flying lessons at Bankstown Airport in 1978 and got to take a look inside. Hanging like models from the ceiling were a Messerschmidt 109 and a Japanese Oscar.
I remember seeing the XC-35 fuselage in storage at Suitland, Maryland, in 1983. Reminded me a bit of a scaled down B-17.
A most aesthetically pleasing airplane
Oddly enough the original Boeing model 247 also had a forward raked windscreen. IIRC the logic was that the pilot wouldn't have to deal with reflections on the windscreen from the instrument panel.
I think that the Douglas DC-2 had a forward raked windscreen. There must be some information on why that was eliminated by both companies.
I want to tell you how much I appreciate your videos. Between IHYLS, Rex's Hangar, and Ed Nash's Military Matters, I'm filling in huge gaps in my knowledge of interwar and WW2 aircraft. Thank you very much for you meticulous work!
Most excellant, thank you for showcase on Lockheed L-10E used by Earhart
Beautiful almost Art Deco lines.
You're videos are awesome 👍👍 thank you Rex
Fascinating. As always. Thank you.
Looking forward to whenever you look at the Stearman model 75/Kaydet. An aircraft that was produced in large numbers and then dumped to the civilian market after the war, to such that a notable number of them still fly today in airshows and yearly gatherings.
That was a very well produced video, thank you.
A Rex's Hanger AND Paper Skies upload at the same time? What a nice weekend.
Can I just add to this, that selecting the P&W 985 was a stroke of genius. Best engine ever.
I met Ann Pellegreno a while ago who completed Amelia’s flight in 1967 in another Lockheed
AWSM series!
My Grandpa has one thats a giant shiny lawn gnome that looks near identical to emelia's. It has a teardrop on top instead of a loop and empty flat four cowls on wings.
I was positive it was an electra.
The photo of Earhart with a Cord and an Electra goes super hard
She had taste. And money....
@@ingvarhallstrom2306yeah. To bad she didn't pick a better navigator.
@@anthonyangeli256 She should have picked a better pilot for that matter.
I know it has nothing to do with the video haha but the Lockheed I-188 ELECTRA It has a very good reputation here in Brazil and was praised by pilots and passengers, it was a plane with a serious vibe, the people who flew on this plane loved the comfort, the large windows,the Vasp pilots, the last company to still use the electra in the early 90s, cried when they saw the last of these being retired, people here remember it with great affection,In the case of this model I'm talking about, it spent around 30 years being used in Brazilian commercial aviation and was well remembered for its reliability and trust, And during his 30 years he never had any major accidents
Frontally slanted windshields were supposed to help with glare during night flying, the Boeing 247s had them too. It turned out to be less of a problem than expected and so conventional wind shields came back
One of the "couple" in Canada is located at the Royal Aviation Museum of Western Canada in Winnipeg, Manitoba.
Rex, I highly advise you to read Skunk Works before doing the Hudson video. I bet you have already read it but just incase you haven't or maybe have forgotten what is written in there about the Hudson procurement process I just wanted to nudge your memory.😉
Elegance on wings. Love this🛩
You are spoiling us with a Lockheed 30s twin series
Good morning Rex…. Excellent video…
My brother's wife is related to Amelia Earhart on her fathers side.He worked at Oak Ridge,TN and Kennedy Space center .Mr Earhart was born in Rockwood,TN. Both of my brothers children have been straight-A students and got their degrees with scholarships and no student loans .His daughter looks like Amelia Earhart's picture as does her mother .
I flew in the A10 a couple of times when I was kid here in Costa Rica, in the 1960s.
Bonjour , merci de parler de ce magnifique avion , un des plus beau de l'histoire de l'aviation .
Au revoir et bonne journée .
I like the picture of Marshall Airways Hangar. Sid had some remarkable aircraft.
As you've said, an exceptionally handsome plane.
It also disappeared with Fred Noonan, though he tends to get airbrushed out of the story in order to make it seem as if Earhart was flying solo.
Fred Noonan was more than likely responsible for that fateful flight going astray & disappearing forever.
@@anthonyangeli256 That is a gross misrepresentation of history. Several persons were likely responsible for that flight going astray and disappearing forever, perhaps least of which was Noonan. Earhart's husband Putnam and his unending quest for more publicity was a contributing factor to the rushed preparations and flight schedule. And Earhart herself failed miserably as a Pilot In Command and the supposed organizer of the voyage. She failed to adequately train in advance, failed to learn Morse code, directional radio finding, or other navigational principles, and choose someone she knew to be an alcoholic as her sole navigator after scaring off the first one with her poor flying skills.
Noonan was likely intoxicated and may have erred in his navigation that flight, but Earhart bears the lion's share of the responsibility for putting herself into such a situation in the first place. Furthermore, there is a good possibility that her inability to fly a set course was a contributing factor. And finally, the Japanese may have had a hand in her disappearance as well. Noonan has been the scapegoat and the foil used to present Earhart, who was at best a mediocre pilot, as a top pilot of the era.
Great video, Rex...👍
There is another fateful international flight of an Electra which grabbed the headlines in 1938, which also lead to disaster, but somehow managed to escape notice.
The Electra was the plane that bore Neville Chamberlain to Munich for his consultation with Chancellor Herr Hitler. The outcome of that encounter was a scrap of paper, bearing both their signatures, containing an "earnest pledge" never to have their two countries ever to go to wag again.
As a Yank, I'm somewhat embarrassed to have to point this out.
Well, they never did go to wag again.
Someone should turn on their spell check!
@@robertdragoff6909 I'm doubly embarrassed. I can't even plead drunk while typing!
@@larrynile8770
No problem
It happens to the best of us
Great videos, but would nice if you could screen metric values when providing data.
According to the Army sergeant who saw the inside of her plane, there were plastic fuel tanks lining the inside of the plane, with a rubber bulb pump on a plastic hose, two radio direction finders (radio compass), a napkin with Howland's location, a list of radio stations over the Pacific, a flight log and notebook. The rear of the Electra was converted to a dark room. An RDF cabinet was on the co-pilot's seat.
Earhart was in sorta radio communication with the navy ship sent to help, she couldn’t find the island and ran out of fuel. The only mystery is the exact spot she went down
As I understand, the lack of a trailing wire antenna for the radio contributed to poor reception of navigation signals. She was apparently off only a few degrees, which over a long distance, contributed to her disappearance.
If she had refueled at Howland Island there was apparently a plan to survey the Japanese held Island bases in the Solomons by flying a new circuitous route west of the Hawaiian Islands. Fake weather reports were issued by a US navy destroyer as cover for the overflight. Fred Nunan's other job here might have been to operate a large format high resolution aerial camera, the negatives later picked up and sent to Pearl Harbor.
The book by Elgin Long has the best and most comprehensive account of the AE round the world flight .
Many myths are dispelled by his research. There is much factual data about the flight because Earhart regularly sent reports back to the states. Facts that are often ignored today.
@@bernieschiff5919 The trailing antenna or lack of had no bearing , pun not intended, on the outcome of the flight. Her lack of knowledge of the experimental and one off Bendix radio was the final factor that contributed to her loss.
@@raoulcruz4404 The trailing wire (which she had intentionally discarded same as with the inflatable life raft) would have created a stronger radio signal for the Itasca to better DF on. As it was, they couldn't DF her well, nor could she work her own Bendix DF radio to zero in on the Itasca. The Itasca crew knew she had DF ability and presumed she'd use it so they offered no help. She was an over-confident imprudent aviator whose remaining luck wasn't enough for the job.
Great video! Would love to see you cover the PV-1/PV-2 Harpoon lineup as well, I’ve been able to volunteer restoring one and they are fascinating airplanes!
Do you know the lineage of your Harpoon project? A long time ago (going on 30 years), I worked on a Harpoon project in Waukesha, WI for the CAF, until they sold it (can’t remember if to another CAF chapter, or to a private party) and bought a restored, flying warbird.
@@ronjon7942 ours was a commercial sprayer (crop duster) in Texas for a lot of years after it was sold from the navy. The only other Harpoons I know of are Attu Warrior and one owned by Kermit Weeks. Don’t know much about either though
There is one airworthy Electra here in Czech Republic, wich was a business aircraft of Baťa Shoe company, Founded here in former Czechoslovakia but with factories all over the world. Tomas Bata used the aircraft to travel around Bata factories in the world. Nowadays the Electra can be seen flying at airhows and it also has been seen during the COVID pandemic dellivering medical supplies to the hospitals around czech Republic.
Thank you for another very informative video. When I see the Lockheed 10. It reminds me of another aircraft that was built about the same time in my hometown. That plane being the Beechcraft Model 18 that was built by the Beech Company in Wichita, Kansas. The Model 18 was in production for a very long time. From 1937 to 1970. I hope you can do a video on this remarkable aircraft at some point in the future.
I did a few skydives out of a privately owned Beech 18. Good for a bucket list, but it was terribly uncomfortable (sit on the floor) and that door was way too small.
I would like you to cover the AN-2 . As for this plane the Lockheed Electra was a excellent plane and great looking as well
good history about Lockheed
Great commentary I look forward to the next productions
So, interesting tid-bit: My Dad spent his career at Lockheed. Apparently, Ms. Earhart wasn't known as a great pilot at Lockheed. Because they kept having to fix her airplanes.
Earhart was a lousy pilot. She crack up several planes, not just the Electra. She was more of a publicity seeker using aviation as at that time there were few female pilots. Earhart was literally over her head in the Electra.
Many pilots pranged airplanes in those days. Many good pilots. Earhart always seemed to blame something else. Instead of just saying, “I screwed up”.
@@IncogNito-gg6uh Earhart was a huge publicity seeker along with her "husband" George Putnam (Not the newscaster from L.A.). It was a marriage of convenience, not of love. And your Paul Mantz comment just shows the low level of Earhart's skill and ability. After recently reading a "puff" book about Earhart, reading between the lines it was easy to discern her low level of flying skill. She was much better at publicity than flying.
@@IncogNito-gg6uh If she wasn't proficient, she wasn't skilled and in what I have read (which is fairly extensive and the many other pilots I have talked to, especially at OSH) and discerned she was neither.
@@larryweitzman5163 She had Putnam's publishing-fortune to fund her flying-jaunts: that turned out to be her misfortune.
Rex Hanger. Another great offering. This plane is gorgeous. Nice as a flying mobile home such as Catalinas. Have you any info on this ?. Thanks Dave
Bunch of Catalinas were converted into mobile homes. There are videos on TH-cam about it. Unfortunately, the owner of the company took one of the catalinas and his family for the trip into the war zone where Catalina was shot at and all of them almost died. It created enough bad rep that the project was killed, but a bunch of already converted Cats continued to fly as rich people toys.
@Mr Pug Thanks Mr Pug. Dave
Just curious, which war zone and when did it happen?
@@robertdragoff6909 Somewhere in 1950's. He was flying around Mediterranean and ended up somewhere around Saudi Arabia attacked by Bedouins. Check Catalina Flying Yacht or Flying Home
Thanks for treating what is (IMO) one of the most beautifully designed aircraft ever (thanks to Kelly' Johnson's juficious amendments...btw)
I really suggest Kelly Johnson's autobiography btw, short, succinct but a nice read.
I always thought they built way more of the Electra than that. I love the looks of the Electra, so sleek, so clean, so very 1930's art deco-ish. The Beech 18 more-or-less copied the design and they made a WHOLE bunch of them.
9000
I know its not really in the scope of your videos as its a 1950s era jet trainer but i would love to see you do a video on the Fouga CM-170 Magister (and its navalised CM-175 Zeypher)....the first military jet that was designed to be a trainer from the outset rather than being a 2 seat conversion of an already exsisting single seat fighter.
What of the Percival-Hunting Provost-Jet Provost?
@@uingaeoc3905 thats anothwr great jet trainer but the Fouga came 1st
Wow. 11:05 has VH-AAB in the background. Registration number 2 (under that nomenclature system)
I find it a little strange that the Electra did not have counter rotating propellers given the small rudders. Looking forward from the pilots perspective both propellers rotate clockwise. Kelly really did not have an option other than place the small rudders in the propeller slip stream in order to get proper handling at take off with the tail dragger layout. I don't think this low speed issue would fall under the category of flight stability, probably being apart of ground handling. Kelly would correct many of these drawbacks with the P38, which has counter rotating propellers and a tricycle landing gear layout.
If you look at a DC 3 fuselage you will see that the single centrally located rudder is rather huge in comparison to the Electra two smaller ones. Even with the large rudder the DC 3 pilot needs to ease up the throttles to get enough air speed to just before the tail wheel leaves the ground. It takes some getting used to because the engine torque will yaw the aircraft and the tail needs a fair amount of airflow to gain enough authority to keep the plane flying straight, it is not as easy as one may think. If the DC 3 had counter rotating propellers you could greatly reduce the already short takeoff run.
Good ideas. I think it would be easier to make a radial run backwards than an inline engine.
One of my ideas is to get two rotary radials - like the Gnome - reverse one of them, and build a twin-engine craft. All the torque problems would cancel out, and the simplicity would be good. The airframe would have to be extra sturdy, maybe.
Maybe you can answer a question. What's with the little stubby extensions of the horizontal stabilizer through the vertical fins? Shirley, that can't be useful. Lockheed does it a lot.
Lockheed videos coming over the next month or so? I'm absolutely down for that I love alot of those. They made good stuff should've been used more heavily than they were.
A lot, not alot.
@@garryferrington811 same thing most of the time.
That's 'udson ! 'udson with a "Haych" :D
Excellent videos and Research!
I think the first time ever I saw Lockheed Electra (thought it was a DC-3 originally ) was in the Madagascar animated movie series. No joke, the plane used there really looks like one, or at least very similar to it.
There was an 'Electra' variant used briefly by Warner Bros. in the film "Casablanca". The same plane (NC17376) was used in several other movies before it was written-off in a crash in 1942.
Why is there always only talk about Earhart? Nobody ever mentions her navigator Fred Noonan, who was on board with her when the plane disappeared.
There are transcripts on the internet of Earhart's last communications. The Coast Guard had a ship at her destination to broadcast a signal for her to home in on - and they could hear her - but she could not hear them.
This transcript goes on pretty much until she went in the water. So - all the speculation about her doing anything else - is unlikely.
Unfortunately no one had any radar so they couldn't detect her that way.
They had problems with some of their systems right after take off - and really should have turned back but they didn't.
Yes - losing their professional pilot wasn't a good thing - and again - they should have corrected that before they left.
.
False. The transcript does not "go on until she went in the water" it ends with a message which in no way indicates she was ditching, experiencing fuel starvation, or any other distress.
The evidence and facts simply do not support her ditching the aircraft near Howland Island as the meteorological conditions reported by her do not match those observed by Itasca. Ample evidence exists of her being taken captive by the Japanese after landing or crashing in the Marshall Islands.
Have fun man! Take lots of pictures!❤
Watched from Old Harbour Jamaica. I believe the Royal Dutch Airline opperated them too as in 1943 one such, I believe had to make an emergency landing at the US Army Air Base, Vernam Field, when on it's attemp to land at Palisadoes Field , it's undercarrage would not exstend. It was sent to Vernam instead and while it dupped fuel, bullduzzers were use to cover the runway with gravel on with it landed safly.
Madagascar 2 was my first exposure to this plane.
Now that's a beauty of an airplane.
After a 20 year restoration, a Lockheed 10A has just flown in NZ
I've been lost in the circuit at Glasgow.
Considering they can't find a whole 777,there seems to be some doubt about the origin of the parts washed up on Reunion ,I don't think that her little plane will ever be found.
I'm looking at Google Maps, zoomed in on area around the Norwich City shipwreck. Straight East and a bit to the north, sorta by the back of where the rest of the shipwreckage is, is a shape that looks a bit like a plane. That looks as though it could have Washed off the top and settled there. Could be just a water formation. It's not that clear, but it looks like it could be something.. but, maybe nothing..
Never in my life have I thought of the sentence
"The aircraft ceased sounding like an aggrevated tea kettle"
🤣🤣
Very beautiful aircraft. But can you answer the thinking behind the forward angling of the windshield in the early twin engine aircraft?
Now that is a beauty for sure!
Looking forward to the Lockheed Hudson
It’s a mad, mad, mad, mad world movie - hero plane. One of the best Funny movies made.
The aircraft used in the movie was a TallMantz Twin Beech. A civilianized military version of the Beech Model 18.
They are similar looking to the Electra.
@@straybullitt - . Thank you 👍
I thought it was as funny as dried mud.
@@garryferrington811 - I met the 1963 movie. Likes & tastes are subjective.