| Model 33 Little Dipper | |
|---|---|
 | |
| General information | |
| Type | Single-seat utility monoplane |
| National origin | United States |
| Manufacturer | Lockheed |
| Designer | |
| Number built | 1 |
| History | |
| First flight | August 1944 |
| Developed into | Thorp T-211 |
TheLockheed Model 33 Little Dipper, also known asAir Trooper, was an American single-seat monoplane, designed byJohn Thorp and built byLockheed atBurbank, California. Flown in 1944 and offered to the Army as a "flying motorcycle", it was evaluated as a potential entry for Lockheed into the civilian market, but the program was cancelled before the second prototype was completed.
The design of the Model 33 originated with a private venture for a two-seat light aircraft by John Thorp, a Lockheed engineer.[1] In April 1944, the company agreed to build the aircraft as the Lockheed Model 33.[1] Due to wartime restrictions on materials,[1] the company gained the interest of theUnited States Army in the aircraft as an "aerial flying motorcycle" to equip a "flyingcavalry" under the name Air Trooper.[2] The Army, willing to entertain the concept, authorized Lockheed to build two prototypes of the Model 33.[1]
The Model 33 was of ordinary light-aircraft design, with a low-mounted cantilevermonoplane wing and conventional empennage; powered by a 50 hp (37 kW)Franklin 2A4-49 engine, it was fitted with a fixedtricycle landing gear and proved to haveSTOL performance.[1]
The Model 33 prototype first flew in August 1944.[1] The handling characteristics of the aircraft were considered satisfactory,[3] but the Army had lost interest in the concept,[1] despite the prototype demonstrating its performance by landing and taking off again in the courtyard ofthe Pentagon.[4] Lockheed had intended to market the type as an inexpensive light aircraft on the civilian market as the Little Dipper; with the military interest having evaporated, the prototype and the partially completed second aircraft were scrapped in January 1947 for tax reasons.[1]
Thorp, the aircraft's designer, would go on to develop theThorp T-211 with lessons learned from the Little Dipper project.[5]
Data from Francillion 1982[1]
General characteristics
Performance
Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era
