A Forum for those interest in vintage NON-military aircraft
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Whatever happened to NX18973

Wed Sep 24, 2008 10:04 am

Howard R. Hughes decided to try to better his personal hero Wiley Post's trans-global record.
The aircraft he selected for the flight was a Lockheed 14, a twin-engine passenger plane.
Hughes guided the aircraft off of Floyd Bennett Field in Brooklyn, New York, on July 10, 1938.
What happened to this Lockheed 14?

Sun Sep 28, 2008 4:54 am

I was directed to this link a long time ago, but I'll quote the important bit for you.
http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=w ... VmWIVvHIbQ

What of the faithful Lockheed? After a period at Grand Central, the aircraft was sold to the Department of National Defense in Ottawa, Canada, and transferred to the Royal Air Force with serial AX688 for use in the Middle East. The aircraft was eventually shipped to Cape Town, South Africa, where it arrived on 2 October 1940. Assembled by the South African Air Force, the plane received the code L3 and was flown to Nairobi on 10 November 1940. After refueling, the craft was prepared for its destination of Heliopolis. Taking off in strong winds and heavy rains, the Lockheed turned to port at 500 feet, stalled, and plunged into the ground where it exploded. The crew and passengers all perished.


Very sad no? :(

Mon Sep 29, 2008 10:19 pm

d a m n :( thanks for getting back to me.....
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