KitchenAid Electra dishwasher $85 (Aurora, IN)
- Thread starter spacepig
- Start date
gyrafoam
Well-known member
"Electra"
Was a name that was popular in the late 1950's, made so by the only commercial propeller-turbine aircraft made in the US in that era. Here's the trivia.
In the brief era between the piston powered airliners and pure-jets here in the US, Lockheed Aircraft of Burbank,Ca. Designed and built their model L-188 Electra. It could cruise at about 400 mph, which in those days was fast as lightning. Many US airlines ordered them including American, Eastern, National, Northwest, PSA and Western. KLM in Europe. Many more eventually operated them.
Buick replaced the Roadmaster model with the Electra. KAid named a portable dishwasher. It sounded fast and futuristic, I suppose. Guitars, record labels, I don't know what else.
Sadly, Lockheed ran into some design problems relating to wing flutter, and had to make major modifications to all the aircraft after the loss of a few. By that time, the pure-jets were already coming online and the public kicked everything to the curb that had propellers. The name "Electra" kind of faded away. I flew on many of them. They were a great aircraft after the bugs got worked out. They are nearly extinct now.
Was a name that was popular in the late 1950's, made so by the only commercial propeller-turbine aircraft made in the US in that era. Here's the trivia.
In the brief era between the piston powered airliners and pure-jets here in the US, Lockheed Aircraft of Burbank,Ca. Designed and built their model L-188 Electra. It could cruise at about 400 mph, which in those days was fast as lightning. Many US airlines ordered them including American, Eastern, National, Northwest, PSA and Western. KLM in Europe. Many more eventually operated them.
Buick replaced the Roadmaster model with the Electra. KAid named a portable dishwasher. It sounded fast and futuristic, I suppose. Guitars, record labels, I don't know what else.
Sadly, Lockheed ran into some design problems relating to wing flutter, and had to make major modifications to all the aircraft after the loss of a few. By that time, the pure-jets were already coming online and the public kicked everything to the curb that had propellers. The name "Electra" kind of faded away. I flew on many of them. They were a great aircraft after the bugs got worked out. They are nearly extinct now.
ovrphil
Well-known member
Thanks for the memories. I watched many an Electra cruise overhead...(plane enthusiast in my early teens).
