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Orion Model 9
"North Wind" - one of six Orions owned by Varney Speed Lanes of Burbank, California
Type	Airliner
Manufacturer	Lockheed Aircraft Limited
Designed by	Richard A. Von Hake
Maiden flight	1931
Introduced	1931
Number built	35
Unit cost	US$50,000

The Lockheed Orion Model 9 was a single engine 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. It was the last wooden monoplane design produced by the Lockheed Aircraft Corporation. It was designed and built by Richard A. Von Hake, but an interesting historical note is that Kelly Johnson of SR-71 fame was flight test engineer on the project.

Contents 1 Design 2 Operational history 3 Variants[1] 4 Survivors 5 Specifications (Orion 9D) 6 References 7 External links 8 Related content

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.^[1] Lockheed used the same basic fuselage mold and wing for all their early designs, hence the close similarities between them. The Orion featured an enclosed cabin with seating for six passengers. The first Orion, tested by Marshall Headle, received its Approved Type Certificate on May 6, 1931.^[2]

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 and three Altairs and one Vega in a race that had only nine aircraft competing. On July 11, 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 an West-East record.^[2]

The first Orion entered service with Bowen Air Lines at Fort Worth, Texas, in May 1931.^[1] Many safe miles were flown in airline service and the headlines won by a few expert speed pilots proved the advanced design and reliability of the "Orion". Those that went into airline use as a passenger transport had their life span limited, however. In 1934 the Civil Aeronautics Authority issued a ruling prohibiting further use of single engine passenger aircraft from operating on all major networks. It also became mandatory to have a co-pilot and thus a two-seat cockpit arrangement on all such flights. The requirements of the ruling brought an end to the "Orion" as a passenger carrying airlines' airplane, but a number of leading lines converted their "Orions" to cargo or mail carrying machines exclusively. Because of their complicated wood construction they were often disposed of after minor accidents due to the cost of repairs. Many of the excess Orions were also purchased for service in the Spanish Civil War and destroyed in use.^[2]

The Orion Explorer was a modified 9E. It had a damaged wing replaced with the wing of the Explorer 7 after a crash, and was fitted with a 600 hp (482 kW) Pratt & Whitney Wasp S3H1 engine. Fixed landing gear and later floats were also fitted. It was used by Wiley Post and Will Rogers for a round-the-world flight attempt, but both men died when the aircraft crashed in Alaska on 15 August 1935.^[1]

Orion 9

14 built, 410 hp (306 kW) Pratt & Whitney Wasp A or 420 hp (313 kW) Pratt & Whitney Wasp C

Orion 9A Special

one aircraft with 450 hp (336 kW) Pratt & Whitney Wasp SC engine

Orion 9B

two aircraft supplied to Swissair, 575 hp (429 kW) Wright R-1820-E Cyclone engine

Orion 9C

redesignated Altair DL-2A

Orion 9D

13 built

Orion 9E

three aircraft with 450 hp (336 kW) Pratt & Whitney Wasp SC-1 engine

Orion 9F

one executive aircraft with a 645 hp (481 kW) Wright R-1820-F2 Cyclone engine

Orion 9F-1

one executive aircraft with a 650 hp (485 kW) Wright SR-1820-F2 Cyclone engine

UC-85

one Orion 9D to USAAF in June 1942

Orion-Explorer

modified Orion 9E, 600 hp (482 kW) Pratt & Whitney Wasp S3H1 engine

In all, Lockheed built a total of 35 Orions costing $50,000 each new. It is not known if any survived past the 1940's except the one that survives to the present day. This lone remaining Orion was originally built as an experimental Altair (metal fuselage), then converted to Orion 9C configuration by the original designer of the Orion, Richard A. Von Hake, and others who worked for free during a slow period when the Lockheed factory was going into bankruptcy. It was later purchased by Shell Oil Company and flown by James H. Doolittle as Shellightning. Damaged in an accident in 1936, the 9C Orion was repaired at Parks Air College in St. Louis, Missouri, before being purchased by movie and racing specialist Paul Mantz in 1938. Mantz used it in film work and raced it in the Bendix Trophy events in 1938 and '39. After this its history is sketchy. It suffered a few minor accidents, went into storage for a few years, and by 1964 was sitting out in the open at the Orange County Airport. It was rebuilt to flying status by the famous "Fokker" restoration team and is on display at the Swiss Transport Museum in Lucerne, Switzerland in the livery of the original Swiss Air Orion. [1]

Data from The Complete Encyclopedia of World Aircraft^[1]

General characteristics

• Crew: one, pilot
• Length: 28 ft 4 in (8.64 m)
• Wingspan: 42 ft 9.25 in (13.04 m)
• Height: 9 ft 8 in (2.95 m)
• Wing area: 294.1 ft² (27.32 m²)
• Empty weight: 3,640 lb (1,651 kg)
• Max takeoff weight: 5,200 lb (2,359 kg)
• Powerplant: 1× Pratt & Whitney Wasp S1D1 , 550 hp (410 kW)

Performance

• Maximum speed: 192 knots at sea level (220 mph / 354 km/h)
• Cruise speed: knots (205 mph / 330 km/h)
• Range: nm (750 mi / 1,159 km)
• Service ceiling: 22,000 ft (6,705 m)

• Francillon, René J, Lockheed Aircraft since 1913. Naval Institute Press: Annapolis, 1987.
• Eden, Paul and Moeng, Soph, eds. The Complete Encyclopedia of World Aircraft. London: Amber Books Ltd., 2002. ISBN 0-7607-3432-1.

• Interested in building an r/c model of this aircraft? see link below
• http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_5326359/anchors_5326359/mpage_1/key_/anchor/tm.htm#5326359

Related development

• Lockheed Vega
• Lockheed Air Express
• Lockheed Explorer
• Lockheed Sirius

Comparable aircraft

• Heinkel He 70

Designation sequence

L-1 - L-2 - L-3 - L-4 - L-5 - L-7 - L-8 - L-8A - L-9

Related lists

• List of Lockheed aircraft

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