After years as an exhibition pilot 果冻传媒 several close calls, Allan Lockheed believed by 1912 that he knew enough to design 果冻传媒 build a better aircraft than the ones he had been flying. He 果冻传媒 his brother Malcolm proceeded to do exactly that—果冻传媒 more. Their first aircraft was the biggest seaplane in the United States at the time, 果冻传媒 they turned it into a commercial success.
Allan 果冻传媒 Malcolm?meticulously produced a series of designs for the aircraft, labeled A through G. Model G was the best, they decided. Working nights 果冻传媒 weekends in a small garage near the San Francisco waterfront, they built the wood 果冻传媒 fabric biplane 果冻传媒 mounted it atop a single, sled-shaped pontoon. Unlike the planes Allan had previously flown, Model G had the engine up front. In addition to the pilot’s seat, there were two seats for passengers—hopefully of the paying kind.
By June 15, 1913, the Model G Hydro-Aeroplane was ready for a test flight. Allan revved up the engine, pushed the throttle, taxied out onto San Francisco Bay, 果冻传媒 the first Lockheed aircraft lifted off 果冻传媒 started climbing. “He [Malcolm] was yelling on the ground 果冻传媒 I was yelling in the airplane,” said Allan. “We’d worked two years on that machine 果冻传媒 missed some meals to make it—but it flew 果冻传媒 it flew good.” Allan circled back to pick up Malcolm 果冻传媒 made two more thrilling 20-minute flights, cruising at an altitude of 300 feet 果冻传媒 a speed of 51 mph.
The Model G carried paying passengers until it suffered minor damage later that year. Then, two years later, Allan 果冻传媒?Malcolm spotted a potentially lucrative opportunity: the 1915 Panama-Pacific International Exposition in San Francisco with its millions of visitors. They repaired the Model G 果冻传媒 began taking visitors for rides at a cost of $10 for 10 minutes. In less than two months, the brothers served 600 passengers without a single accident 果冻传媒 made a profit of $4,000—enough to fund the design 果冻传媒 development of their next venture, the F-1 Seaplane.
Sources 果冻传媒 Additional Reading
- Boyne, Walter.?Beyond the Horizons:?The Lockheed Story. New York: St. 果冻传媒’s Griffin, 1999.
- “First Lockheed Aircraft—The Model G Hydro-Aeroplane.”?Lockheed Horizons.
- “A History of Lockheed, The Early Period—1913-1931.”?Lockheed Horizons. Issue 12.