Star Dusters Newsletter Retirees and Former Employees of Lockheed Martin Corporation Affiliated With Lockheed Martin Leadership Association P. O. Box 10310, Burbank, CA 91510-0310 (818) 565-2011 or (888) 718-5328, Ext. 2011 e-mail: lmstardusters @att.net May 2016 This Issue: Announcements –– President’s Corner –– A Brief History of Lockheed Commercial Aircraft Programs, 1932-1981 –– New Members –– In Memoriam –– Travel Opportunities –– The Lockheed Martin C-130 Hercules –– Health and Medical News –– In The News –– Star Dusters Write –– Coming Events –– Logix Welcome to all our new members, the majority of whom live outside of Southern California! We invite you to participate in our organization by submitting articles about your career and/or your activities after retirement for possible publication in the Newsletter. Email us at [email protected] or send your articles by mail to Editor, LM Star Dusters Newsletter, P.O. Box 10310, Burbank, CA 91510–0310. 2016 CONTRIBUTIONS: Thanks to each and every one of you who made a contribution to our organization when renewing your membership. The funds donated will enable us to serve you with publication of the Newsletter, acting as a focal point to keep you abreast of Lockheed Martin activities and decisions affecting retiree benefits. Rye Canyon Annual Reunion, May 14, 2016 – The Rye Canyon Reunion will be held May 14, 2016 at Hart Park from 1 pm to 4 pm. Coffee and soft drinks will be provided. Contact Dean Oliva at 818-363-7757 if you plan to attend. CARPINTERIA BBQ/PICNIC, WEDNESDAY, JULY 20, 2016 Our annual BBQ/picnic is set for Wednesday, July 20, 2016 at the Carpinteria Lions Park and Event Center, 6197 Casitas Pass Road, Carpinteria, CA . Both tri-tip and chicken will be available. Iced tea will also be served, but you are welcome to bring your own non-alcoholic beverage. (Alcohol is not permitted on the premises.) The Lodge has asked us to notify our members that dogs are NOT permitted. Cost is $18.00 per person and the deadline for reservations is July 6. The terrain is flat, parking and rest rooms are easily accessible. Please complete and return your reservation form (Insert 1) along with your check no later than the July 6th deadline. VIEW THE NEWSLETTER AND ROSTER ON OUR WEBSITE: http://www.lmstardusters.org Star Dusters Newsletter 2 May 2016 PRESIDENT’S CORNER By Dennis Fernandez Hello Star Dusters. We continue to receive very positive feedback on the Newsletter so I would like to take this opportunity to thank all the individuals who dedicate their time to contribute to, edit and publish our Newsletter. I am pleased to see that all the hard work by our Web Site enhancement team in conjunction with DDx Media resulted in the rollout of our new Star Dusters Web Site on April 19th. An email announcing the rollout and describing some of the enhancements was sent to our membership. The LAS-Ontario Satellite Star Dusters luncheon was held on April 19th in Claremont, California. Ed Glasgow, a Past President of the Star Dusters, attended and represented the Board at the luncheon. Jim and Jan Taylor have been the wonderful hosts of this event for many years but are now planning to retire. Since no replacements could be found, this was unfortunately the final meeting of this group. Ed reported that over 60 people were present, more than double the usual number of attendees. Some traveled across the country to attend this final meeting. Also in attendance was Kelley Hantz, who joined LAS as the first employee in 1952. Dave Ellefson was the invited speaker and gave a very appropriate presentation on the history of LAS. Many thanks to Jim and Jan Taylor and the LAS participants in the Star Dusters Satellite Group for their dedicated service to LAS and the country. Less than a week after I submitted my President’s Corner input for the April Newsletter, which contained a discussion of the Hybrid Airship Cargo Hauler, it was announced that United Kingdom- based Straightline Aviation had signed a letter of intent to purchase up to 12 of the LMH-1 Airships. Coincidental to the announcement of the LMH-1 order, Ed Glasgow reported that he had been approached for an interview by Chris Pocock. Chris, a British citizen who has authored four books on the history of the U-2 spyplane, is now writing a book entitled, “Bouyant Blend-The Development of the Hybrid Air Vehicle.” He intends to write a serious account describing the projects and people behind them. Chris has interviewed a number of Lockheed Martin people who have been involved with airship projects. Ed was interviewed because he was directly involved with two of the airship projects, P116 and Aerocraft. The P116 Project, with Ed as Chief Engineer, was initiated following an inquiry by Fedex in 1992 to have the Skunk Works develop an ultra large airship capable of transporting one million pounds of cargo. After three years it was determined that the project was technically feasible. The cigar shaped airship would be 1100 feet long and 300 feet tall. Fedex and Lockheed ultimately decided not to go forward with the project. The project team regrouped in 1996 and decided they could eliminate significant cost by using a partially buoyant hybrid lifting-body vehicle capable of takeoff and landing using conventional runways thus eliminating significant infrastructure associated with an ultra large airship operation. This cross between an airship and an aircraft was called Aerocraft. The project died in 1999 for lack of customers and financing. ~end~ Star Dusters Newsletter 3 May 2016 A BRIEF HISTORY OF LOCKHEED COMMERCIAL AIRCRAFT PROGRAMS, 1932-1981 By Sherm Mullin When Robert Gross and his associates purchased previously bankrupt Lockheed Aircraft in 1932 their primary objective was to be solely in the commercial aircraft business. From then until 1938 all their investment and energy went into designing and producing, one after the other, three new commercial aircraft, the Model 10 Electra, the Model 12 Electra Junior, and the Model 14 Super Electra. All were twin engine, twin tail aircraft with aluminum structure. 149 Model 10s were delivered from 1934 to 1941, 130 Model 12s were delivered from 1936 to 1942, and 112 Model 14s were delivered from 1937 to 1940. The Super Electra carried 14 passengers, cruised at 215 mph, and had a range of 1,500 miles. Douglas Aircraft delivered 430 much larger DC-3 aircraft while the Super Electra was being produced. Intense commercial airliner competition between Lockheed and Douglas would continue from 1932 until 1981. Preliminary design of a larger commercial airliner was started in 1938, initially called the Model 44 Excalibur. It was a four engine aircraft for 21 passengers. Discussions with airlines, particularly TWA (owned by Howard Hughes) resulted in expanding the design to carry 40 passengers. This became the Model 049 Constellation, which made its first flight at Burbank on January 9, 1943. With WW II in progress no commercial deliveries were permitted. Designated the C-69, a few were delivered to the Army Air Force. In late 1945 deliveries to airlines commenced, increasing rapidly to 57 Connies in 1946. A much improved configuration, the Super Constellation, was then developed, with first flight on October 30, 1950 and first deliveries in 1951. Both the Air Force and the Navy ordered large fleets of Super Connies. Some were configured as transports and others configured as airborne early warning aircraft. The last version of the Connie was Model 1649 Starliner, probably the most outstanding piston engine powered airliner ever produced. However, with Boeing starting deliveries of the jet powered B707 aircraft to airlines in 1958, the era of piston engine powered airliners came to an abrupt end. Only 44 Starliners were produced before the line was shut down in 1958. A total of 856 Connies were produced, with about 50% delivered to airlines and 50% to military customers. The program would not have been profitable without the military customers. After extended technical and contractual negotiations with American Airlines and Eastern Airlines the Model 188 Electra program was launched in September 1955, with initial orders for 75 aircraft. Like the prototype C-130 transport designed earlier in Burbank, it was powered by four turboprops. Designed for 90 passengers, its cruise speed was 373 mph and its range 2,200 miles. First flight was in December 1957 and first delivery was in October 1958. Serious problems occurred in 1959 when three Electras experienced structural failures in flight, with fatal accidents. This was determined to be the result of engine mounting and nacelle structural dynamics problems not found in flight test. The company accepted full responsibility and incorporated major modifications in all aircraft, at a cost of $25 million. Airline and Star Dusters Newsletter 4 May 2016 customer confidence never fully recovered. The line was shut down in 1962, with only 170 aircraft produced. The Skunk Works prototype twin engine JetStar first flight was at Burbank September 4, 1957. Production was assigned to Lockheed Georgia, where it was redesigned to a four engine configuration. 204 JetStars were produced at Marietta before the line was shutdown in 1980. When development of a large supersonic passenger transport (SST) aircraft was given a high national priority in 1963, Lockheed and Boeing were awarded contracts to do a preliminary design, including extensive wind tunnel tests and other technology development work. Lockheed designed its Model L-2000 supersonic transport. Boeing won that intense competition in 1967. Later they revised their design to be similar to the L-2000. The program was cancelled in 1971. After the SST loss in 1967, Lockheed President Dan Haughton was promoted to Chairman and CEO.