The Lockheed Model 8 Sirius was a single-engined, propeller-driven monoplane designed and built by Jack Northrop and Gerard Vultee while they were engineers at Lockheed in 1929, at the request of Charles Lindbergh. Two versions of the same basic design were built for the United States Air Force, one made largely of wood with a fixed landing gear, and one with a metal skin and retractable landing gear, designated Y1C-25 and Y1C-23, respectively. Its basic role was intended to be as a utility transport.[1]
History
A total of 15 Sirius aircraft were constructed in 1929 and 1930.[2]
The first and best known Sirius was bought by Lindbergh, and in 1931, as NR-211, it was retrofitted to be a float plane.[3] Lindbergh and his wife Anne Morrow Lindbergh flew it to the Far East, where she wrote a book about their experiences there entitled North to the Orient.[3] The aircraft was damaged in Hankou, China, when it accidentally capsized while being lowered off the aircraft carrierHMS Hermes, and had to be sent back to Lockheed to be repaired.[4]
In 1931, György Endresz and Sándor Magyar made a successful US–Hungary transatlantic flight with a Lockheed Sirius 8A aircraft named "Justice for Hungary".[5]
In 1933, the Lindberghs set out again with their Sirius, now upgraded with a more powerful engine, a new directional gyro, and an artificial horizon. This time, their route would take them across the northern Atlantic, with no particular destination, but primarily to scout for potential new airline routes for Pan Am.[6]While at a refueling stop in Angmagssalik, Greenland, the Inuit of the area gave the Sirius a nickname, "Tingmissartoq" or "one who flies like a bird". They continued on their flight and made many stops in Europe, Russia, then south to Africa, back across the southern Atlantic to Brazil and back over New York City at the end of 1933, after 30,000 miles and 21 countries; droves of people turned out to greet them as they landed.[3]
^"Airplanes and Rockets": Lockheed Sirius History, April 1973." American Aircraft Modeler. Retrieved: November 26, 2015.
^ Donovan, M. Regis. "A Short History of the Wooden Wonders." Archived 2015-12-08 at the Wayback Machinerustysparks.com. Retrieved: November 26, 2015.
^ a b c d"Lockheed Sirius "Tingmissartoq", Charles A. Lindbergh." Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. Retrieved: November 26, 2015.
^"Lucky Lindy and His Lockheed Sirius." Archived 2015-12-07 at the Wayback MachineLockheed Martin. Retrieved: November 26, 2015.
^Dawson, Brian. ""Justice for Hungary" - a historic flight, 1931." American Hungarian Federation. Retrieved: November 26, 2015.
^"Lockheed's Early Years, 1912-1940." centennialofflight.net, 2013. Retrieved: November 26, 2015.
^"Lindbergh Picks A Plane." Popular Mechanics, November 1930. Retrieved: November 26, 2015.
^"Lockheed Sirius 8A NC117W." Delta Mike Airfield, 2008. Retrieved: November 26, 2015.
^Nash, David. "Aircraft that took part in the Spanish Civil War." Archived 2015-02-05 at the Wayback MachineAircraft of the Spanish Civil War. Retrieved: January 15, 2015.
^Francillon 1982, p. 100.
^Francillon 1982, p. 93.
Bibliography
Francillon, René J. Lockheed Aircraft since 1913. London: Putnam, 1982. ISBN 0-370-30329-6;
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Lockheed Model 8 Sirius.
Aircraft of the Smithsonian: Lockheed 8 Sirius Archived 2011-08-20 at the Wayback Machine