Wiley Post knew a great airplane when he flew one. Such was the case when Post was hired in June 1930 by F.C Hall to pilot Hall's brand new Lockheed 5C Vega. This aircraft was named Winnie Mae which was the name of Hall's daughter. Remarkably, within a few scant months, Post was able to convince Hall to "loan" him the Winnie Mae for entry in the 1930 National Air Race. This race was a straight-line flying competition from Los Angeles, California to Chicago, Illinois. Starting on 27 August 1930, Post was able to set a new speed record of 9 hours, 9 minutes, and 4 seconds and win the race.
One year later, on 23 June 1931, Post was entering the Winnie Mae in another flight competition. This time the race was a 15,596-mile circuit race (or, point-to-point race) around the world. Crewed with a navigator named Harold Gatty, Post and Gatty departed New York, New York and made fourteen stops in their record-breaking flight. Returning to New York on 1 July 1931, Post and Gatty had finished the circuit in 8 days, 15 hours, and 51 minutes. The stops that Post and Gatty made during this race were painted on the Winnie Mae fuselage. Hall was so impressed with Post's aviation records that he gave Winnie Mae to Post.
Under Post's direct ownership, Winnie Mae was refitted with a better engine, an auto pilot system, and a radio compass. Armed with this avionics upgrade, Post entered the circumnavigation circuit race again. Departing New York on 15 July 1933, Post made eleven stops during this solo flight, setting a new record at 7 days, 18 hours, and 49 minutes.
The final record setting flight that Post made in the Winnie Mae was a high-altitude speed record from Burbank, California to Cleveland, Ohio. Attempting to gain greater ground speed by flying in a west-east jet stream, Post wore a special high-altitude pressure suit and dropped off the landing gear once the aircraft was airborne. He was able to complete this 2,000+ mile journey in 7 hours and 19 minutes confirming that Winnie Mae had ridden along in a jet stream at 20,000 to 50,000 feet.
In 1936, Post's wife donated Winnie Mae to the Smithsonian Institution.
This is a 1:72 scale solid model of the Lockheed 5C Vega. When printing this model with your 3D printer, you will need to add a brim to the fuselage, support for the undercarriage prints, and maybe some extra adhesive coating (e.g., glue stick) for the struts. Assembly is straightforward and Testors Cement for Plastic Models (No. 3512) is recommended. Refer to the supplied color photographs for placement of the model's parts. While pressing the Cowl onto the front of the fuselage during assembly, ensure that the final fuselage length (i.e., the cowl + fuselage total length) is approximately 116 mm long.
If you plan on painting your model, you should first spray a coat of primer on all of the plastic. A recommended primer for this model is Mr. Surfacer 1000 spray (B505). This primer has a fine-grained filler in it that will help to soften the 3D printer's filament layering effect. You can purchase Mr. Surfacer 1000 spray from Amazon.com. Alternatively, you could experiment with a common household primer like Rust-Oleum 2-in-1 Filler & Sand-able Primer spray (260510).
Once your model has been primed for painting, a color profile drawing has been supplied for guiding you during the finishing of your model. A spray can of white paint, along with blue tape can be used for reproducing the Winnie Mae finish.
National Air and Space Museum - https://airandspace.si.edu/node/27955
Boyne, Walter J., Beyond the Horizons: The Lockheed Story; New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1998.
