Flight, September 1931

MORE SPEED

   THE NORTHROP ALPHA is a fine type of the American modern transport aircraft. With a high performance and metal covering it is an attractive proposition to the operator to whom high speed, high payload, and low maintenance costs are of paramount importance.
   It is now being used by National Air Transport, Inc., of Chicago, Illinois, to replace their obsolescent Falcon, Douglas and Boeing aircraft

   THE Northrop Alpha is one of the fastest transport planes at present in service in the United States of America and is the second in our series of fast machines approximating to the specification for a mail-carrying machine which was recently called for by the Air Ministry.
   In its standard form, it is a low-wing, all-metal, six-passenger cabin monoplane, and has a quick take-off, high cruising and top speeds, and an exceptionally good climb.
   The whole fuselage and wing are of what practically amounts to monocoque construction, and, being all metal, are exceptionally strong and require very little upkeep service.
   Particular care has been taken to see that all controls, both flying and power plant, are readily accessible for inspection, and the engine mounting provides exceptional facilities for examination of all parts of the power-plant installation.
   The wing is a new type of flat-plate multi-cellular structure, and recent tests by the U.S.A. Army Air Corps at Daytona, Ohio, proved that its torsional rigidity was superior to any they had previously tested.
   The Alclad skin of the monocoque fuselage has integrally-formed longitudinal stiffeners, which, together with ring-shaped bulkheads of channel cross-section, make it exceptionally rigid.
   The N.A.C.A. cowl over the engine not only provides adequate cooling but also ensures an even air flow over the fuselage, resulting in exceptional low drag. The pilot's cockpit is at the rear of the passenger cabin, giving an excellent all-round view, while the cabin itself provides some 120 cub. ft. of space for the six passengers. The area between the fireproof bulkhead and the front seat, and between the pilot's cockpit and the rear seat, are available for luggage.
   The controls have all been arranged so that they are effective down to, and even to a certain extent below, the stalling speed, and, being mounted on ball bearings, are light, and the Alpha is therefore exceptionally easy and not tiring to fly. Mr. John K. Northrop, of the Northrop Aircraft Corp., Burbank, California, which is a division of the United Aircraft and Transport Corp., was an engineer with the Douglas Aircraft Co. and later one of the founders of the Lockheed Aircraft Co. and is the originator of the Lockheed Vega and Air Express designs.