Lockheed Air Express
title: "Lockheed Air Express" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["lockheed-aircraft", "1920s-united-states-airliners", "single-engined-tractor-aircraft", "parasol-wing-aircraft", "aircraft-first-flown-in-1928", "aircraft-with-fixed-conventional-landing-gear"] topic_path: "geography/united-states" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lockheed_Air_Express" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::data[format=table title="Infobox aircraft"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| name | Air Express |
| image | Lockheed Vega Air Express NASA GPN-2000-001390.jpg |
| type | Passenger and Mail transport |
| national_origin | United States |
| manufacturer | Lockheed |
| first_flight | April 1928 |
| number_built | 8 |
| developed_from | Lockheed Vega |
| :: |
NOTOC | name=Air Express | image=Lockheed Vega Air Express NASA GPN-2000-001390.jpg | caption= | type=Passenger and Mail transport | national_origin=United States | manufacturer=Lockheed | designer= | first_flight=April 1928 | introduction= | retired= | status= | produced= | primary_user= | number_built=8 | developed_from= Lockheed Vega | variants= | developed_into=
The Lockheed Air Express was the second aircraft design created by the Lockheed Aircraft Company after its founding in 1927; the type first flew in April 1928.
Description
The Air Express design incorporated the original fuselage of the Vega, but in order to meet the requirements of Western Air Express, the wing was raised to a parasol configuration above the fuselage and the cockpit was moved behind the wing, while a more powerful Pratt & Whitney Wasp engine was fitted to ease operations over the Sierra Nevada mountains. The design was a commercial success for the company although only seven were built, plus one Air Express Special.
No Air Expresses have survived to the present day. One, registered NR3057, was flown by Roscoe Turner.
Variants
;Lockheed 3 Air Express: Single-engined passenger and mail transport aircraft, seating between four and six passengers in an enclosed cabin, able to carry up to 1,000-lb (454-kg) of mail, powered by a 410-hp (306-kW) Pratt & Whitney Wasp radial piston engine; seven built. ;Air Express Special: One-off version built for Laura Ingalls, for a non-stop trans-Atlantic flight in 1931; one built.
Operators
;
- Panair do Brasil ;
- American Airways
- New York, Rio, and Buenos Aires Line
- Pan American Airways
- Texas Air Transport
- Western Air Express
Specifications
::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d9/Lockheed_Air_Express_3-view_Aero_Digest_March_1929.png" caption="Lockheed Air Express 3-view drawing from Aero Digest March 1929"] ::
|ref=Lockheed Aircraft since 1913 |prime units?=imp General characteristics
|genhide=
|crew=1 |capacity=4 passengers or 100 cu ft (2.8m³) mail |length m= |length ft=27 |length in=6 |span m= |span ft=42 |span in=6 |height m= |height ft=8 |height in=4.5 |wing area sqm= |wing area sqft=288 |empty weight kg=1149 |empty weight lb= |gross weight kg=1984 |gross weight lb=4375 |fuel capacity= Powerplant
|eng1 number=1 |eng1 name=Pratt & Whitney Wasp C |eng1 type= |eng1 kw= |eng1 hp=420 |eng1 shp= |eng1 kn= |eng1 lbf= |eng1 kn-ab= |eng1 lbf-ab=
|prop blade number= |prop name= |prop dia m= |prop dia ft= |prop dia in=
Performance
|perfhide=
|max speed kmh= |max speed mph=176 |max speed kts= |max speed note= (with NACA cowling) |cruise speed kmh= |cruise speed mph=151 |cruise speed kts= |range km= |range miles=750 |range nmi= |ceiling m= |ceiling ft=17250 |climb rate ms= |climb rate ftmin=1460 |more performance=
|avionics=
References
;Notes ;Bibliography
- Francillon, René J. Lockheed Aircraft since 1913. London:Putnam, First edition, 1982. .
- Francillon, René J, Lockheed Aircraft since 1913. Naval Institute Press: Annapolis, 1987.
References
- Francillon 1982, p.85.
- Francillon 1982, pp. 84–85.
- Francillon 1982, p.89.
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