Lockheed Model 9 Orion
| Model 9 Orion | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| "North Wind" - one of six Orions owned by Varney Speed Lines of Burbank, California | |
| Role | Airliner |
| Manufacturer | Lockheed Aircraft Limited |
| Designer | Richard A. von Hake |
| First flight | 1931 |
| Introduction | 1931 |
| Number built | 35 (36?) |
| Unit cost |
US$25,000
|
The Lockheed Model 9 Orion is a single-engined passenger aircraft built in 1931 for commercial airlines. It was the first airliner to have retractable landing gear and was faster than any military aircraft of that time. Designed by Richard A. von Hake, it was the last wooden monoplane design produced by the Lockheed Aircraft Corporation.
The Orion was the last design using many identical elements from the Lockheed designs preceding it. It primarily used all the elements of the Altair, but included a forward top cockpit similar to the Vega, plus the NACA cowling introduced in the Air Express. Lockheed used the same basic fuselage mold and wing for all these wooden designs (the Explorer wing was unique), hence the close similarities between them. The Orion featured an enclosed cabin with seating for six passengers. The Orion received its Approved Type Certificate on May 6, 1931.
Gerard F. Vultee was Lockheed's chief engineer in 1928 through 1931 and was involved in the designs of all the Lockheed variants of that time and specifically designed Charles Lindbergh’s Sirius.
Although designed with the passenger market in mind, its speed made it a natural for air races. The first Bendix race of 1931 had a showing of two Orions, three Altairs and one Vega in a race that had only nine aircraft competing. On 11 July 1935, Laura H. Ingalls flew a Lockheed Orion, powered by a Pratt & Whitney Wasp engine, from Floyd Bennett Field to Burbank, California, establishing an East-West record for women. Two months later she flew it back to set a West-East record.
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