Editing Lockheed Vega (section)

==Design and development==
[[File:Lockheed Vega 5B, Amelia Earhart - Blick ins Cockpit.jpg|thumb|Lockheed Vega Cockpit]]
Designed by [[Jack Northrop|John Knudsen Northrop]] and [[Vultee Aircraft|Gerald Vultee]], both of whom would later form their own companies, the aircraft was originally intended to serve with Lockheed's own airline routes. They set out to build a four-passenger (plus pilot) aircraft that was not only rugged, but also one of the fastest aircraft of its era. Using a wooden [[monocoque]] fuselage, plywood-covered [[cantilever]] wings and the best engine available, the Vega delivered on the promise of speed.

The fuselage was built from sheets of [[plywood]], skinned over wooden ribs. Using a large concrete mold, a single half of the fuselage shell was laminated in sections with glue between each layer and then a rubber bladder was lowered into the mold and inflated with air to compress the [[lamination]] into shape against the inside of the mold. The two fuselage halves were then nailed and glued over a separately constructed rib framework. With the fuselage constructed in this fashion, the wing spar couldn't cut through the fuselage, so the single spar cantilever wing was mounted atop the aircraft. Only the engine and [[landing gear]] remained essentially [[streamliner|unstreamlined]], and on the production versions the undercarriage had teardrop shaped fairings covering the wheels, while only the earliest versions lacked [[NACA cowling]]s and had the engine cylinders exposed to the airstream. It was powered by the [[Wright Whirlwind series|Wright Whirlwind]] air-cooled [[radial engine]], which delivered {{cvt|225|hp}}.