Lockheed Little Dipper

{{Infobox aircraft begin

| name=Model 33 Little Dipper

| image=Lockheed Model 33 Little Dipper.jpg

| caption=

}}{{Infobox aircraft type

| type=Single-seat utility monoplane

| national origin=United States

| manufacturer=Lockheed

| designer=John Thorp

| first flight=August 1944

| primary user=

| number built=1

| developed into=Thorp T-211

}}

The Lockheed Model 33 Little Dipper, also known as Air Trooper, was an American single-seat monoplane, designed by John Thorp and built by Lockheed at Burbank, California. Flown in 1944 and offered to the Army as a "flying motorcycle", it was evaluated as a potential entry for Lockheed into the civilian market, but the program was cancelled before the second prototype was completed.

Design and development

The design of the Model 33 originated with a private venture for a two-seat light aircraft by John Thorp, a Lockheed engineer.Francillon 1982, pp. 256-257. In April 1944, the company agreed to build the aircraft as the Lockheed Model 33. Due to wartime restrictions on materials, the company gained the interest of the United States Army in the aircraft as an "aerial flying motorcycle" to equip a "flying cavalry" under the name Air Trooper.Ingalls 1973, p. 108. The Army, willing to entertain the concept, authorized Lockheed to build two prototypes of the Model 33.

The Model 33 was of ordinary light-aircraft design, with a low-mounted cantilever monoplane wing and conventional empennage; powered by a {{convert|50|hp|kW|abbr=on|0}} Franklin 2A4-49 engine, it was fitted with a fixed tricycle landing gear and proved to have STOL performance.

Operational history

File:Lockheed Little Dipper vs. Lockheed Constellation.jpg]]

File:Lockheed Little Dipper.jpg

The Model 33 prototype first flew in August 1944. The handling characteristics of the aircraft were considered satisfactory,Badrocke and Gunston 1998, p.36. but the Army had lost interest in the concept, despite the prototype demonstrating its performance by landing and taking off again in the courtyard of the Pentagon.{{cite magazine|title=Designer John Thorp Dies|magazine=Flying|date=July 1992|volume=119|issue=7|page=26|publisher=Hatchette Magazines|location=New York|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gPYeTL0rPoYC&q=Lockheed+%22Little+Dipper%22&pg=PA30|accessdate=16 December 2017}} Lockheed had intended to market the type as an inexpensive light aircraft on the civilian market as the Little Dipper; with the military interest having evaporated, the prototype and the partially completed second aircraft were scrapped in January 1947 for tax reasons.

Thorp, the aircraft's designer, would go on to develop the Thorp T-211 with lessons learned from the Little Dipper project.{{cite magazine|title=The Thorp Sky Skooter|magazine=Flying|date=August 1947|volume=41|issue=2|page=44|publisher=Ziff-Davis Publishing|location=Chicago|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jo9drqLI1LwC&q=Lockheed+%22Little+Dipper%22&pg=PA44|accessdate=16 December 2017}}

Specifications

{{Aircraft specs

|ref=Francillion 1982

|prime units?=imp

|crew=One (pilot)

|capacity=

|length m=5.33

|length ft=

|length in=

|length note=

|span m=7.62

|span ft=

|span in=

|span note=

|height m=2.13

|height ft=

|height in=

|height note=

|wing area sqm=

|wing area sqft=104

|wing area note=

|aspect ratio=

|airfoil=

|empty weight kg=

|empty weight lb=425

|empty weight note=

|gross weight kg=

|gross weight lb=725

|gross weight note=

|max takeoff weight kg=

|max takeoff weight lb=

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|more general=

|eng1 number=1

|eng1 name=Franklin 2A4-49

|eng1 type=two-cylinder air-cooled horizontally opposed piston engine

|eng1 kw=

|eng1 hp=50

|eng1 note=

|power original=

|max speed kmh=161

|max speed mph=

|max speed kts=

|max speed note=

|cruise speed kmh=146

|cruise speed mph=

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|cruise speed note=

|stall speed kmh=

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|never exceed speed kmh=

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|never exceed speed kts=

|never exceed speed note=

|minimum control speed kmh=

|minimum control speed mph=

|minimum control speed kts=

|minimum control speed note=

|range km=

|range miles=210

|range nmi=

|range note=

|combat range km=

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|ferry range km=

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|endurance=

|ceiling m=

|ceiling ft=16000

|ceiling note=

|g limits=

|roll rate=

|glide ratio=

|climb rate ms=

|climb rate ftmin=900

|climb rate note=

|sink rate note=

|lift to drag=

|wing loading kg/m2=

|wing loading lb/sqft=

|wing loading note=

|disk loading kg/m2=

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|power/mass met=

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|thrust/weight=

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|more performance=

Takeoff run: {{convert|100|ft}}; with clearance of {{convert|50|ft|adj=on}} obstacle, {{convert|400|ft}}.

}}

References

=Citations=

=Bibliography=

{{Cite book |last=Badrocke |first=Mike |title=Lockheed Aircraft Cutaways: The History of Lockheed-Martin |last2=Bill Gunston |publisher=Osprey Publishing |year=1988 |isbn=978-1-8553-2775-7 |location=Oxford, England |chapter=Model 33 Little Dipper - Standard Issue? |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/lockheedaircraft0000badr/page/38 |authorlink2=Bill Gunston}}
{{cite book|last=Francillon|first=René J.|title=Lockheed Aircraft since 1913|year=1982|publisher=Putnam & Company|location=London|isbn=0-370-30329-6}}
{{cite book|last=Ingells|first=Douglas J.|title=L-1011 TriStar and The Lockheed Story|year=1973|publisher=Aero Publishers|location=Fallbrook, CA|isbn=978-0-8168-6650-2}}