Douglas DC-1
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| Douglas DC-1 | |
|---|---|
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| Douglas DC-1 prototype during air force evaluation, 1934 | |
| Type | Prototype and Test bed |
| Manufacturer | Douglas Aircraft Company |
| Maiden flight | July 1 1933 |
| Introduced | December 1933 |
The Douglas DC-1 was the first model of the famous DC (Douglas Commercial) aircraft.
The development of the aircraft can be traced back to the crash of a Fokker Trimotor near Bazaar, Kansas where the University of Notre Dame's coach Knute Rockne was killed.
Following this accident, the Civil Aeronautics Board, ruled that passenger planes should be built with wings made of metal. TWA (Transcontinental and Western Air), later Trans World Airlines, the owner of the crashed Trimotor asked four manufacturers to bid for construction of a three-engine airplane of 12 seats to meet the new specifications:
- All metal wings
- Retractable landing gear
- Capable of remaining in flight, even if one engine failed.
Douglas Aircraft Company constructed a low wing twin engine all metal aircraft seating 12 passengers, a crew of two and a flight attendant. Even with just two engines, the aircraft exceeded the specifications of TWA. It was sound insulated, heated, fully capable of flying on one engine only, and performing a controlled landing.
The manufacturer Donald Douglas, Sr. was reluctant to participate in the invitation from TWA. He doubted there would be a market for 100 aircraft, which was the number of sales necessary to cover development costs. Only one aircraft was produced, the prototype and test model. It made its maiden flight on July 1, 1933 and was given the model name Douglas DC-1.
During a half year of testing, it performed more than 200 test flights and demonstrated its superiority vs. the most used airliners at that time, the Ford Trimotor and Fokker Trimotor. It crossed the USA from the West Coast to the East Cost in a record time of 13 hours, 5 minutes. TWA accepted the model with a few modifications, mainly seating for 14 passengers and more powerful engines, and ordered 20 aircraft. The production model was called Douglas DC-2.
The prototype was sold to Líneas Aéreas Postales Españolas (L.A.P.E.) in Spain in 1938. It crashed in 1940, damaged beyond repair.
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[edit] Specifications (DC-1)
General characteristics
- Crew: 2 pilots and flight attendant
- Capacity: 12 passengers
- Length: 60 ft (18,28 m)
- Wingspan: 56 ft (17,06 m)
- Height: 16 ft 10 in (4.88 m)
- Empty weight: 11.400 lb (5,0.033 kg)
- Max takeoff weight: 17.500 lb (7.938 kg)
- Powerplant: 2× Wright Cyclone SGR-1820F 9-cylinder radial engines, 710 hp () each
Performance
- Maximum speed: 212 mph (373 km/h)
- Service ceiling: 23.000 ft (7.010 m)
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[edit] External links
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