Over the years Lockheed has produced many, many aircraft. But today we’re going back in time
to look at the first, the one that started it all, and that means going way back to 1912.
Allan Lockheed was one of three brothers, all of whom shared a passion for aviation.
Between 1910 and 1912 Allan worked as both a mechanic and then a pilot,
mostly dealing with the Curtiss Pusher aircraft. It was not to be a pleasant relationship,
however. The Curtiss Pusher proved to be recalcitrant and downright dangerous to fly, and
Allan crashed twice in this aircraft – the second crash almost cost him his life when an unstable,
rain-soaked, underpowered Curtiss Pusher failed to reach sufficient height to
clear a set of telegraph wires. Luckily for Allan, he would only suffer minor injuries,
but having survived two crashes in Curtiss Pushers in nine months, he was no longer keen on the idea
of flying a relatively light aircraft with a heavy engine mounted behind the pilot.
Thus, while working as an instruction and exhibition pilot for the International
Aircraft Manufacturing Company, he drew up the concept for a tractor biplane that would become
the first aircraft to bear the Lockheed name. Speaking of the Lockheed name. Back then it was
spelt as Loughead, it being a Scottish name. But Allan would eventually tire of people
miss-pronouncing his surname as log-head, and would have his name changed to resemble
the phonetic spelling, and this would also become reflected in the company name as well.
Allan began work on what was to become the Lockheed Model G in Chicago. He had begun milling
some of the first wooden parts when it became apparent he would not be able to complete the
task on his own. He joined up with his brother, Malcolm, and relocated the work to San Francisco.
During evenings and weekends the two brothers worked on their aircraft in a rented frame garage
on the waterfront. It was designated the Model G as it was their seventh design, though it would be
the first to reach completion. Initial progress was slow. Allan and Malcolm continued to work
as automobile mechanics, but their income was not sufficient to cover all the costs of construction,
especially the cost of purchasing an engine. And so it became necessary for the brothers to find
outside financing. Luck worked in their favour here. Both of them had worked for many years for
many of the top automotive specialists in the San Francisco area, which meant they were acquainted
with some rather wealthy individuals in this field. They were soon able to convince several
people to invest in their idea, with a total investment of $4000 required to complete the
Model G, and so the Alco Hydro-Aeroplane Company was formed. With the funds in place, the brothers
were able to continue their work, purchase and engine, and thus the Model G was born.
For the time it was a relatively advanced concept. It was a three-bay tractor biplane design with
unequal span wings. The upper wing had a span of 46 feet and the lower wing had a span of 36
feet. The ailerons were mounted between the two wings, and cruciform tail surfaces hinged
as a unit on a universal joint at the tail. A three-in-one control arrangement was used,
wit the wheel operating the rubber, and the stick – to which the wheel was attached – operating the
elevators and ailerons. Accommodation was made for one pilot and a passenger in tandem open cockpits,
though this would be expanded upon later to allow for a second passenger.
The aircraft was completed as a floatplane in 1913, and at this time it was powered by
a six-cylinder Kirkham engine which came with a very recognisable horseshoe-shaped radiator.
However, this would not be the engine with which the Model G would take flight.
The engine was found to be unreliable, and after just fifteen minutes of running time on the ground
its crankcase decided to split. Understandably the Lockheed brothers, especially Allan who’d
already experienced unreliable aircraft, returned the engine to Kirkham in the unwarranted hope of
obtaining a refund. In its place they would use a Curtiss O V-8 engine, which put out 80 horsepower,
initially retaining the radiator that had been used for the Kirkham engine.
The model G was launched onto San Francisco Bay for its first flight on the 15th June
1913. Allan Lockheed took the controls and took to the skies for a brief flight.
After observing that the aircraft seemed sound, and unlikely to fall out of the sky,
he briefly landed to pick up his brother and they embarked on a 20-minute cruise over the bay,
flying over Alcatraz Island and the surrounding coastline. After this a third flight was
made with a passenger, R.L. Coleman, but stronger weather curtailed a fourth flight
that afternoon as the water began to grow choppy. Later on that summer the Model G would suffer some
minor damage when Allan Lockheed hit a levee at San Mateo whilst carrying out a chartered flight.
The damage to the aircraft included a broken propeller and a torn pontoon,
and the Model G was transported back to San Francisco for repairs. During these repairs
the old Horse-Shoe shaped radiator was swapped out for a more conventional one. After repairs
were complete, the Model G was put in storage for a time as Allan’s brother was travelling abroad.
Later on, the brothers saw the Panama-Pacific exposition as an opportunity to recoup their
investment, and maybe even turn a tidy profit. The exposition was held to celebrate
the completion of the Panama Canal, but San Francisco also took it as an opportunity to
showcase their recovery from the destruction of the 1906 earthquake. The demonstration of new,
pioneering aircraft, developed in that very city would definitely aid in this demonstration.
The Lockheed brothers, together with the help of capital provided by a Mr Meyer,
bought their Model G out from the other investors of the Alco Hydro-Aeroplane Company,
and put in a bid for the concession of flying passenger flights at the exhibition.
Initially the brothers were disappointed as they were underbid by Bow Fowler, who won
the concession for flights and demonstrations when the exhibition opened in February 1915.
However, in a stroke of luck for them, and misfortune for Fowler, his aircraft would
be destroyed in an accident, and the Lockheed Model G would be used instead. In fifty days,
they carried 600 passengers for ten-minute joyrides, earning a profit of $4000 dollars from
the total income of just over $6000. Allan and Malcolm invested this profit and formed
the Lockheed Aircraft Manufacturing Company, which they organised at Santa Barbara with other
investors. The Model G was taken there by road from San Francisco, in its new home it continued
to earn income for its owners by flying joy rides and charter flights. It was even used to make the
first air crossing of the Santa Barbara Channel, carrying two passengers sixty miles in one hour.
Eventually time and use would take its toll on the Model G. By 1918 it was beginning to show signs of
serious age and wear, and with advancements made in aircraft design there was no reason
at the time to restore this historic aircraft. And so the first Lockheed aircraft was scrapped,
the final bit of profit being earned when its Curtiss engine was sold off to a new home.
Over the years Lockheed would go through a series of name changes, buyouts, disasters, and
transformations, eventually becoming what we know today as the Lockheed Corporation in 1977. They
would go on to produce several stunning and famous aircraft over the course of the 20th century,
but its always good to remember the humble roots of where these aviation giants began.