The Vultee V-1 was powered by one 735 HP Wright Cyclone R-1820 motor. It could carry eight passengers and fly up to 1,000 miles (1.610 km) at an altitude of 20,000 feet. The 19th of February 1933 was the first flight.The airliner was manufactured by Airplane Development Corporation. You've never heard of them. They became AVCO Aviation Manufacturer Corporation and then Vultee Aircraft Corporation. They merged with Consolidated Aircraft Corporation and formed Consolidated Vultee Aircraft Corporation (or Convair).Vultee V-1 videoThis video follows the previous one about the German Rohrbach-Roland. We now head to the USA to see the Vultee V-1. This 44 second video shows a private version of the Vultee V-1 en route to a double crossing across the Atlantic in 1936.This flight from New York to London was known as the "pingpong flight". The fuselage was filled with pingpong balls to fill all the spaces. This allowed the aircraft to float in the Atlantic Ocean if it needed to be abandoned.Only difference between the airliner and the one shown in the video is the number of windows. American Airlines' version has four windows, one for each passenger.In 1934, passenger services were established. It was the fastest operating airliner at that time. The service was discontinued in 1936. The US regulations at the time were amended to restrict single-engine airliners. Airlines had to move to twin-engine planes.All ThoughtsBetween 1933 and 1936, 25 Vultee V-1s were built. American Airlines operated at least 10 of these. This aircraft was also used by Bowen Airlines of Texas.It is interesting to note that some of these were equipped with bomb racks and guns during the Spanish Civil War. You can still see one at the Shannon Air Museum, Fredericksburg, Virginia.Have you heard of Vultee V-1 before? We appreciate your time and welcome any questions or comments.Are you enjoying the series? You can find the index to all articles in the Does Anyone Remember series.Are flight reviews your thing? All mine are indexed here.Follow me on Facebook and Twitter.Featured image taken from SDASM Archives via Wikimedia commons.
