"Lockheed DL-2A Altair"
by David Darbyshire
After the Lockheed Vega and Sirius (which Charles Lindbergh used as a floatplane on several round-the-world survey flights for Pan American Airways in the early 1930s), Lockheed built another in the same design development line. The Sirius had fixed tail landing gear and two open cockpits. Retractable landing gear was added onto a successor aircraft called the Altair, which made the first crossing of the Pacific Ocean from Australia to the United States between 20 October and 4 November, 1934.
In 1931, Shell Oil Company purchased an Altair for Jimmy Doolittle when he became the vice president of Shell. He took it to air races to promote Shell aviation fuel.
Doolittle's Altair actually began as an Orion 9C.
An experimental conversion with a 450hp Pratt & Whitney
Wasp E engine, a redesigned cockpit, and mail compartment to a passenger
cabin was performed during a financial low-point in Lockheed's existence by
Dick Von Hake, Jimmy Gerschler, and Nina Wyatt, working without pay in the
deserted factory. The resulting design, designated Altair DL-2A was a
one-of-a-kind airplane. It was re-engined with a larger
650hp Wright SR-1820 radial engine and sold to Shell Oil as Doolittle's
Shellightning, the only metal Orion. It was later acquired by Paul
Mantz, and then by SwissAir. The latter restored it as an Orion -- the
only Orion in existence.
Two views of Doolittle and the Shell Lightning Altair
Although Shell had set up the first aviation department in the oil industry in England in 1919, they were relatively .late comers to American aviation. During late 1929, Shell Oil Company in San Francisco hired former U.S. Army Air Service pilot Lt. John A. Macready to manage their new aviation department.
In 1930, Shell was organized as follows in the U.S.: Shell Oil Co., Calif.; Shell Petroleum Corp., St. Louis; and Shell Eastern Petroleum Products, Inc., New York, affiliates of Royal Dutch Shell Group. Macready influenced Shell to hire Major Jimmy Doolittle in 1930. Doolittle and Jimmy Haizlip were to be aviation representatives working out of St. Louis; Doolittle to head up the aviation department and be responsible for development of new aviation products. At this time the company had a tri-motored Fokker F-IOA (NC8010), piloted by Mr. Milt Girton. Doolittle, however, urged Shell to buy him a plane as his new job would require a lot of traveling. Shell authorized $25,000 for a new Lockheed Vega in January, 1930 and in 1931, a Lockheed Altair.
Shortly after starting with Shell, Doolittle was approached by an old friend, Jack Allard, President of Curtiss-Wright Export Co. to demonstrate company aircraft in Europe. After four months of flying Curtiss Hawks, he returned to Shell. After seeing European aviation firsthand, he realized our backwardness, he urged Shell to buy fast aircraft for racing and experimental work. The first of these was a Travel Air Model R Mystery Ship, NR482N, that was delivered to Shell in April 1930 and was taken on a New England Air Tour by Jimmy Haizlip.
Interestingly, several artists have chosen the Shellightning for their subject. Sam Lyons recently finished a painting of the Shellightning as the subject. You may view his painting HERE. Another artist, Ted Williams has also painted the same airplane which can be viewed HERE.
