FUTURE FLIGHTS

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LXI, Issue 18551, 10 November 1934, Page 14

FUTURE FLIGHTS

KINGSFORD SMITH'S PLANE PASSENGER MACHINE 1 . ' - ■ YUSir Charles Kingsford Smith, who is visiting California, hopes to obtain a bi-motored Lockheed Electra for future flights. jbe Lockheed Electra is not essentially a .speed machine, as is the Altair, but still is fast for a passenger machine, for with a pay-load of just short of a top ,(2200. pdunds) .it ’cruises at,-, 180 m.p.h,, and has a maximum speed of 215 ui.p.h. The Altairs aud Orions (low wing) and Vegas (high wing) are single-engined monoplanes, but the Electros are twinengined, low-wing monoplanes, anti th 6 construction is considerably different, being practically all-metal. The two Wasp Junior engines which are fitted in standard models are each of 420 h.p. The landing gear is retractable, and is electrically operated, but manual raising gehr is also fitted. Air-brake flaps bring the landing speed down- to 63 m.p.h. Complete dual ’ controls are fitted, and two-way wireless equipment is installed. In passenger service the Electra has,seats or 30, in addition,,to the two pilots, and there is a large baggage compartment in the nose of the machine. In regular, service the tanks hold £oo‘ gallons of fuel, giving a range of 7SO miles (at 48 gallons per hour), but, if the proposed flight is undertaken, a very much greater’ range can be obtained by installing additional tanks in the paseuger coippartmeut. |, Oil Thursday in Los Angeles, Sit Charles announced plans for a flight from Los Angeles to Australia, via England.