Lockheed Explorer
{{Short description|Series of pioneering aircraft}}
{{More citations needed|article|date=January 2010}}
{{Infobox aircraft
|name = Explorer
|image = Lockheed Explorer.jpg
|caption =
|type = Exploration
|national_origin = United States of America
|manufacturer =Lockheed
|designer =
|first_flight =
|introduction =
|retired =
|status =
|primary_user =
|more_users =
|produced =
|number_built = 4
|program cost =
|unit cost =
|developed_from =Lockheed Vega
|variants =
}}
The Lockheed Explorer was the least successful wooden airplane design produced by the Lockheed Aircraft Company. The Vega fuselage was combined with a cantilevered low wing. Seating for a single pilot was provided in an open cockpit behind the wings.
Design and development
Work on the Explorer was commenced in 1927 for Sir Hubert Wilkins as an aircraft for use in exploration of Antarctica. However, this configuration was judged impractical, and Wilkins opted to use a Vega equipped with floats instead. The incomplete aircraft was brought out of storage to make an attempt at a nonstop flight between Japan and the United States, funded by lumber dealer John Buffelen and members of the Tacoma Chamber of Commerce. Named City of Tacoma, the first Pacific crossing attempt ended in disaster when overfilled fuel tanks spilled over on takeoff. Two subsequent attempts in newer Explorers also met with failure.
The wing of a wrecked Explorer was fitted to the fuselage of an Orion by aviator Wiley Post, resulting in an Orion-Explorer hybrid variously referred to as 'Wiley's Bastard' and 'Aurora', though Post himself referred to the aircraft only by its serial number. The aircraft, nose-heavy, crashed after its engine failed shortly after takeoff near Point Barrow, Alaska on August 15, 1935, taking the lives of Post and humorist Will Rogers.
Lockheed built a total of four Explorers, all of which were destroyed in crashes.
Variants
;4 Explorer: Single-seat single-engined aircraft, powered by a 450-hp (336-kW) Pratt & Whitney Wasp radial piston engine. Built for a non-stop trans-Pacific flight between Japan and the united States; two built.
;7 Explorer: Improved version of the 4 Explorer, powered by a Pratt & Whitney Wasp C radial piston engine; two built.
Specifications (Explorer 4)
{{Aircraft specs
|prime units?=imp
|ref=Lockheed Aircraft since 1913Francillon 1982, p. 93.
|crew=1
|length ft=27
|length in=6
|length m=8.38
|span ft=48
|span in=6
|span m=14.78
|height ft=8
|height in=2
|height m=2.49
|wing area sqft=313
|wing area sqm=29.08
|empty weight lb=3,075
|empty weight kg=1,395
|gross weight lb=9,008
|gross weight kg=4,086
|eng1 name=Pratt & Whitney Wasp
|eng1 number=1
|eng1 hp=450
|eng1 kw=336
|max speed mph=165
|max speed kts=143
|max speed kmh=265
|range miles=5,500
|range km=8,850
|climb rate ftmin=1,200
|climb rate ms=6.1
|wing loading lb/sqft=28.8
|wing loading kg/m2=140.5
}}
See also
{{Aircontent
|similar=
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References
{{commons category|Lockheed Explorer}}
;Notes
{{reflist}}
;Bibliography
- Francillon, René J., Lockheed Aircraft since 1913. London:Putnam, 1982. {{ISBN|0-370-30329-6}}.
- Francillon, René J, Lockheed Aircraft since 1913. Naval Institute Press: Annapolis, 1987. {{ISBN|0-87021-897-2}}
{{Lockheed Martin aircraft}}
Category:1920s United States civil utility aircraft