3 photos from Wikimedia Commons · credits & licences
- 1. Lockheed Orion 9C: Thomas Roth· CC BY-SA 3.0
- 2. Lockheed Model 9 Orion Swissair: Unknown author Unknown author· Public domain
- 3. Lockheed Model 9 Orion NACA image 6993: NASA Loftin· Public domain
what is it?
The Lockheed Model 9 Orion is a single-engined passenger aircraft built in 1931 for commercial airlines. It was faster than any American military aircraft of that time. Designed by Richard A. von Hake, it was the last wood aircraft produced by the Lockheed Aircraft Corporation.
How to recognise it: 1 piston engine with propeller · 13 m wingspan
base stats
Bars compare against all aircraft: 3,500 km/h, 20,000 km, 850 seats; size and number built on a log scale up to 640 t (An-225) and 45,000 built (Cessna 172).
fun facts
- First flew 95 years ago, in 1931.
- Top speed is 2.7× a car on the Dutch motorway (130 km/h).
- Wingspan of 13 m: about 3 cars parked nose to tail.
piston: A car-like piston engine turning a propeller: simple and cheap, the classic small plane.
spec sheet
- first flight
- 1931
- introduced
- 1931
- number built
- 36
- role
- airliner
- origin
- 🇺🇸 United States
- makers
- Lockheed Corporation
- engines
- 1× Pratt & Whitney R-1340-S1D1 Wasp
- crew
- 1
- passengers
- 6
- length
- 8.6 m
- wingspan
- 13 m
- height
- 3 m
- max take-off weight
- 2,359 kg
- top speed
- 354 km/h
- cruise speed
- 330 km/h
- range
- —
- ceiling
- 6,706 m
Specs are for the version in the Wikipedia article's specification section. Blank means the sources don't say.
Sources: Wikidata Q543887, Wikipedia: Lockheed Model 9 Orion (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-24.