VH-USB Lockheed 8D
Altair (c/n 152)
Reams and reams have been written about this
aircraft, both on the Internet and in books. For the
former go to Ron Cuskelly's great Australian
site http://www.adastron.com/
to learn everything you
ever wanted to know
about VH- registered Lockheed types.
Anyway, a brief
history. This aircraft was converted from Lockheed 8A Sirius NR
118W
in 1934
for Sir Charles
Kingsford Smith and named "Lady Southern Cross". He flew it,
accompanied
by his
navigator P.G. Taylor on the
first
west-east crossing of the Pacific from Australia to California between
Oct 20 and Nov
4, 1934. He later flew it on to the UK where it was sold and
re-registered
G-ADUS.
.