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The Lockheed Model 33 Little Dipper, also known as Air Trooper, was an American single-seat monoplane, designed by John Thorp and built by Lockheed at
The Model 33 prototype first flew in August 1944. The handling characteristics of the aircraft were considered satisfactory, but the Army had lost interest in the concept, despite the prototype demonstrating its performance by landing and taking off again in the courtyard of the Pentagon. Lockheed had intended to market the type as an inexpensive light aircraft on the civilian market as the Little Dipper; with the military interest having evaporated, the prototype and the partially completed second aircraft were scrapped in January 1947 for tax reasons.
Thorp, the aircraft's designer, would go on to develop the
Little Dipper project on YouTube
{{Lockheed Martin aircraft Little Dipper 1940s United States civil utility aircraft Single-engined tractor aircraft Low-wing aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1944
Burbank, California
Burbank is a city in the southeastern end of the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Located northwest of downtown Los Angeles, Burbank has a population of 107,337. The city was named after David Burbank, w ...
. Flown in 1944 and offered to the Army as a "flying motorcycle", it was evaluated as a potential entry for Lockheed into the civilian market, but the program was cancelled before the second prototype was completed.
Design and development
The design of the Model 33 originated with a private venture for a two-seat light aircraft by John Thorp, a Lockheed engineer.Francillon 1982, pp. 256-257. In April 1944, the company agreed to build the aircraft as the Lockheed Model 33. Due to wartime restrictions on materials, the company gained the interest of the United States Army in the aircraft as an "aerial flying motorcycle" to equip a "flyingcavalry
Historically, cavalry (from the French word ''cavalerie'', itself derived from "cheval" meaning "horse") are soldiers or warriors who fight mounted on horseback. Cavalry were the most mobile of the combat arms, operating as light cavalry ...
" under the name Air Trooper. The Army, willing to entertain the concept, authorized Lockheed to build two prototypes of the Model 33.
The Model 33 was of ordinary light-aircraft design, with a low-mounted cantilever monoplane wing and conventional empennage; powered by a Franklin 2A4-49
The Franklin 2 series of American two-cylinder air-cooled horizontally opposed aircraft engines were produced in the 1930s and 1940s.
Variants
''Data from:
O-110
;2A4-45: at 2,650rpm
;2A4-49: at 3,000rpm
;2A-110: at 3,000rpm
;2AL-112: alternat ...
engine, it was fitted with a fixed tricycle landing gear and proved to have STOL
A short takeoff and landing (STOL) aircraft is a conventional fixed-wing aircraft that has short runway requirements for takeoff and landing. Many STOL-designed aircraft also feature various arrangements for use on airstrips with harsh conditio ...
performance.
Operational history
The Model 33 prototype first flew in August 1944. The handling characteristics of the aircraft were considered satisfactory, but the Army had lost interest in the concept, despite the prototype demonstrating its performance by landing and taking off again in the courtyard of the Pentagon. Lockheed had intended to market the type as an inexpensive light aircraft on the civilian market as the Little Dipper; with the military interest having evaporated, the prototype and the partially completed second aircraft were scrapped in January 1947 for tax reasons.
Thorp, the aircraft's designer, would go on to develop the Thorp T-211
The T-211 is a light aircraft designed in the US by John Thorp in 1945. It is a low-wing monoplane of conventional layout with fixed tricycle undercarriage and a sliding canopy. John Thorp developed the Sky Scooter with lessons learned from develo ...
with lessons learned from the Little Dipper project.
Specifications
See also
References
Citations
Bibliography
* * *External links
Little Dipper project on YouTube
{{Lockheed Martin aircraft Little Dipper 1940s United States civil utility aircraft Single-engined tractor aircraft Low-wing aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1944