Lockheed | ||||||||||||||||||||
L5 Vega |
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Photo: Robert Deering 10/23/2006 Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum Dulles International Airport (IAD) Chantilly, Virginia |
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Flying this specially modified Lockheed 5C
Vega, famed aviator Wiley Post set many
records and pioneered several aviation
technologies. In 1931 Post and navigator
Harold Gatty flew it around the world in
eight days, and in 1933 Post became the
first to fly around the world solo, taking
only seven days. In 1935, while wearing the
world's first pressure suit, which he helped
design, Post flew the Vega into the
stratosphere, reaching 547 kilometers (340
miles) per hour while cruising in the jet
stream. The Winnie Mae was named for the
daughter of F. C. Hall, the original owner
and a close friend of Post. Designed by John K. "Jack" Northrop, the Lockheed Vega first flew in 1927. It was the first aircraft with the NACA cowl, which streamlined the airflow around and through the engine. This decreased drag and increased power plant cooling. |
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