Lockheed Model 18 Lodestar. A photo. Characteristics.
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Lockheed Model 18 Lodestar. A photo. Characteristics.

Lockheed Model 18 Lodestar. A photo. Characteristics.

 

USA

A type: twin-engine transport aircraft

Capacity: a crew of three and fourteen passengers

It was the last twin-engined commercial transport aircraft developed by the company "Lockheed". The aircraft model 18 "Loudstar» (Lodestar - a guiding star) was largely increased aircraft modification Model 14, which also served as the basis for creating a maritime patrol bomber "Hudson."

In the civilian version it accommodated up to 14 passengers with convenience. "Loudstar" was produced in a number of modifications, which differed mainly in the power of the installed engines of the companies "Wright" or "Pratt-Whitney". The military's first interest in this aircraft was expressed in a series of orders issued by the US Navy in 1940 for three different versions of the Loudstar aircraft, which received the designations R50-4 (administrative aircraft), R50-5 (passenger aircraft) and R50-6 (transport Aircraft for the transport of soldiers). The following year, Lockheed built 13 Lodestar aircraft for the US Air Force, which received the designation C-57. A number of civilian Loudstar aircraft were requisitioned for military service by the Army Air Force after the attack on Pearl Harbor, these aircraft received the designation C-56. The US Air Force made the following purchases at 1942-1943, acquiring almost 350 C-60 aircraft, some of them were transferred to the Royal Air Force and to the Commonwealth countries that operated them under the designation "Loudstar" I, IA and II.

After the war, many "Loudstar" aircraft returned to their civilian roles airliner and cargo carrier, at the same time, several instances have altered the administrative plane. Only the group "Loudstar" aircraft survived until 1990-ies, some persist in North America in a state of airworthiness.

Basic data

Dimensions:

  • Length: 15,19 m
  • Wingspan: 19,96 m
  • Height: 3,38 m

 

The weight:

  • BLANK: 5284 kg
  • Maximum take-off: 7938 kg

 

Aircraft performance characteristics:

  • Maximum speed: 407 km / h
  • Range: 2575 km

 

Power point: two engines R-1820-71 company "Wright"

Power: 2400 l. from. (1790 kW)

Date of first flight:

  • September 21, 1939

 

The surviving airworthy modifications:

  • 18 model and C-60

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