FD Aircraft 20

[Sheepster]

de Havilland DH.84 Dragon in South Africa

Four Dragons were imported to South Africa before WWII.



The first Dragon was imported for the Aircraft Operating Company, AOC, for photographic surveys over the British possessions in southern Africa in 1934. The aircraft was shipped to South Africa and reassembled to the south of Johannesburg. Strangely the aircraft was assembled with a military style tail and modified cabin windows, both features that were different for the aircraft's original configuration. AOC received 2 other Dragons, but this was the only one still with the company in 1939. In 1940 this aircraft, and the other civilian Dragon, were both impressed into the SAAF. AOC is the oldest aviation company in South Africa, formed in 1931, and holding operating certificate #1. I flew for them on photography and geophysics surveys in the early 1990's.
The two South African Dragons were both taken over by the South African Air Force in 1940, and in November 1940 both were transfered to the school of photography at 67 Air School at SAAF Zwartkop.

Corrected titling

[eswube]

Great work from everyone.

@Sheepster
There's something wrong with the caption of that last Dragon, I'm afraid.
"New Zealand,
de Havilland DH.8"
(Why New Zealand if they are in South African colours and "DH.8"?)

[Sheepster]

Sorry @eswube - incorrectly deleted a layer when png-ing the image.

[darthpanda]

Netherlands - Vicker Viking Mk.IV

[reytuerto]

Good evening, guys!

The first (and wooden) aircraft from Lockheed.

Allan Loughead (Lockheed), with the aid of two talented designers Jack Northop and Gerard Vultee made the first sucessful aircraft of the company, the Model 1 Vega. Made from spruce glued under presure in a concrete mold to form the monocoque fuselage, and with a cantilever high wing, and a powerful and reliable P&W Wasp radial engine, it was a sound, fast and modern aircraft. It was used by famed pilots like Amelia Earhadt in her solo Transatlantic flight, and Wiley Post used his Vega to prove the existence of the jet stream.


The next model was thought to climb over the Sierra Nevada mountain range, Model 3 Air Express was made with the same technique, but with the open cockpit behind the passenger cabin, a parasol wing, the capability of carrying a tonne in air mail, all thanks to the most powerful variant of the Wasp engine available in 1929.


The crack of Wall Street and the subsecuent years of depression were a heavy blow to the owner of the company, the Detroit Aircraft Corporation, and went bankrupt. A group of investors bought the company out of receivership in 1932.

Despite the financial problems, the designers were active, and between 1930 and 1932 the company made the models Explorer, Sirius and Altair two seat monoplanes made for long exploration voyages. US Army Air Corps bought two aircraft of the later Model 8D Altair (one of traditional wooden contruction, but the other made from aluminium alloy), and was used as executive airplanes for the highest officers of the corps.


In 1931 the company made the last of the wooden Lockheeds, Model 9 Orion. It was also a monocoque airplane for 6 passengers in an enclosed cabin, an equally enclosed cockpit forward and over the cabin, and cantilevered low wings with retractable wheels. But the federal law forbading the single engined aircraft from the main american air routes, stopped the success of this model. In 1936, the Spanish Republic bought 4 Orion (2 from Mexico and 2 from Swissair), 1 Vega and 1 Sirius.


Cheers.

[Ultraking101]

Baykar Bayraktar TB2

Posted with Polish, Qatari, Turkish, and Ukrainian versions

Templated landing and flying versions also posted with image

[DeadRight]

Lockheed P-3 Orion

[Robert MacReady]

I was just wondering if you used the already existing drawings of the L-188 Electra as reference for the P-3 Orions or if you started from scratch?

[DeadRight]

I was just wondering if you used the already existing drawings of the L-188 Electra as reference for the P-3 Orions or if you started from scratch?

From scratch besides the propellers.

[Hood]

Excellent additions from everyone, especially those sleek early Lockheeds!