| Model 8 Sirius | |
|---|---|
 | |
 Sirius atNational Air and Space Museum | |
| General information | |
| Type | Utility transport |
| Manufacturer | Lockheed Aircraft Limited |
| Designer | Jack Northrop Gerard Vultee |
| Number built | 15 |
| History | |
| Introduction date | 1929 |
| First flight | 1929 |
TheLockheed Model 8 Sirius is a single-engined,propeller-drivenmonoplane designed and built byJack Northrop and Gerard Vultee while they were engineers atLockheed in 1929, at the request ofCharles Lindbergh. Two versions of the same basic design were built for theUnited States Army Air Corps, one made largely of wood with a fixed landing gear, and one with a metal skin and retractable landing gear, designatedY1C-25 andY1C-23, respectively. Its basic role was intended to be as a utility transport.[1]
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 afloat plane.[3] Lindbergh and his wife Anne Morrow Lindbergh flew it to theFar East, where she wrote a book about their experiences there entitledNorth to the Orient.[3] The aircraft was damaged inHankou,China, when it accidentally capsized while being lowered off theaircraft carrierHMSHermes, 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 namedJustice 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 anartificial horizon. This time, their route would take them across the northernAtlantic, with no particular destination, but primarily to scout for potential new airline routes forPan Am.[6]While at a refueling stop inAngmagssalik,Greenland, theInuit 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 inEurope,Russia, then south toAfrica, back across the southern Atlantic toBrazil and back overNew 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]
The aircraft was in theAmerican Museum of Natural History in New York City until 1955, when ownership was transferred to theNational Museum of the United States Air Force inDayton, Ohio. It was given to theSmithsonian Institution in 1959, and it went on display at theNational Air and Space Museum when the original facility opened on the National Mall in 1976.[3]
Data from Lockheed Aircraft since 1913[10]
General characteristics
Performance
