Lockheed Vega variant
Lockheed Vega Vega 5
Improved 1929 version, with a 450 hp Pratt & Whitney R-1340 Wasp radial and a NACA cowling. The performance gain allowed two more seats and raised cruise to 249 km/h and top speed to 266 km/h. Sixty-four were built, the largest series in the family.
- 64
- Units built
- 1,167 km
- Range
- 6
- Passengers
History
The power step
Looking to improve the design, Lockheed delivered the Vega 5 in 1929. Combining a 450 hp Pratt & Whitney R-1340 Wasp with a NACA cowling improved performance enough to allow two more seats, and raised cruising speed to 249 km/h and top speed to 266 km/h. The Vega 5 could take a 410 hp Wasp A, a 450 hp Wasp B or a 420 hp Wasp C1.
A total of 64 Vega 5s were built, the largest series within the type's 132 airframes.
From private flying to the airlines
Two branches grew out of the Vega 5. One was the L.5A Executive, built specifically for private aviation and executive transport, with a plush interior. The other was scheduled service: the 5 was used by many airlines, among them Pan American Airways, Pacific Alaska Airways and Transcontinental and Western Air.
That double life — businessman's aircraft and small-airline workhorse — is what makes the Vega 5 the central version of the family and the basis for the next two, the 5B and 5C, both seven-seaters with higher gross weights.