Northrop Alpha - Planes of Fame

C170BDan · **Posted:** Wed Feb 15, 2006 1:56 pm

When I visited Chino and Planes of Fame a couple years ago there was a Northrop Alpha project in one of the hangars. Anyone know if that was sold and/or where it went?

TheBoy · **Posted:** Thu Feb 16, 2006 8:19 pm

I rememeber seeing something about it in an Air Classic a couple of years back. As of then, it was still for sale for big $$$. Wouldn't that be a great airplane to have in your hangar?

C170BDan · **Posted:** Thu Feb 16, 2006 11:05 pm

Sure would like to see it in my hangar! Or a friends hangar so I can visit it often and/or help with the rebuild! I have pictures of it somewhere.... just dont want to lose track of it.

Sigh.... day dreaming!

Wolverine · **Posted:** Fri Feb 17, 2006 11:39 pm

Wasn't it a Stearman one?

...I know a certain museum that would want it...if they could pay for it.

Grrr....

C170BDan · **Posted:** Tue Jan 16, 2007 8:06 am

Bumping this one back up... anyone at Chino that can ask around at Planes of Fame to see where it went?

bdk · **Joined:** Sun May 02, 2004 1:16 am **Posts:** 10436

I'll ask around about the Northrop Alpha project.

C170BDan · **Posted:** Tue Jan 16, 2007 1:11 pm

bdk wrote:

I'll ask around about the Northrop Alpha project.

OOPPSS... Fixed the miss-type of Northrop!

BDK... our "man on the inside" at Chino!

bdk · **Joined:** Sun May 02, 2004 1:16 am **Posts:** 10436

C170BDan wrote:

BDK... our "man on the inside" at Chino!

Alias the spelling Nazi!

The aircraft is currently in storage at PoF (and still for sale or trade I would suspect).

old iron · **Posted:** Wed Jul 10, 2019 7:18 pm

...bump... update? pictures?

Is this complete or just the fuselage?

old iron · **Posted:** Wed Jul 10, 2019 8:05 pm

...bump... update? pictures?

Is this complete or just the fuselage?

Adam Kline · **Posted:** Sat Jul 13, 2019 8:23 am

It is a shame it is not on display. I thought the plane was rebuilt in 1976? Jack Northrop was super proud of that plane and told me it was one of his greatest accomplishments. It is the Adam (or Eve) of all metal stress skin aircraft. I still have his hat from that 1976 project that he gave me as I am a family friend. It took him and is lead engineer more then six months just to develop a tig welder to make it. Most underrated valuable plane of all time in my opinion.

Cvairwerks · **Posted:** Sat Jul 13, 2019 10:05 am

Adam: The Alpha and the Detroit Lockheed Altair flew about the same time. First flight of the AItair, which was a metal fuselage on a Sirus wing, was September of 1930.

Adam Kline · **Posted:** Sun Jul 14, 2019 11:04 pm

The Altair was not all metal. Though the Altair was also built by Jack, he considered the Alpha the first because the Tig welder issue for the fuselage had never been used before. He invented it. My point is the Alpha is the Eve of all planes built up until composite came along. The Alpha is overlooked in most aviation 1st yet it was probably one of the most important.

Cvairwerks · **Posted:** Mon Jul 15, 2019 6:40 am

Would love to see some documentation on the use of GTAW as the AWS doesn’t show the process as having been invented until 1941, by a Northrop employee.

It like the Duramold process... was invented in the ‘20’s by the Lougheed brothers, but patented much later.

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Northrop Alpha - Planes of Fame

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