Among the historic aircraft gathered in front of Le Bourget's
old terminal to commemorate the Centenary of Flight is a radial-engined
twin whose aluminum skin is polished so mirror-bright that you
need sunglasses to look at it in the Paris sunlight. And glowing
just as bright with pride of ownership is Frenchman Bernard Chabbert,
a former Show News writer and respected aerospace journalist and
broadcaster.
The airplane is a rare Lockheed 12A Electra Junior. The design
dates back to 1936, and its stylish art deco looks, elegantly
tapered wings and trademark oval-shaped twin fins give a clue
to it origins: the Electra Junior was the very first project assigned
to Lockheed's legendary designer Clarence 'Kelly' Johnson, who
went on to design the P-38 Lightning, Constellation airliner,
P-80 Shooting Star and latterly, the U-2 and SR-71 Blackbird.
The twin P&W Wasp-powered Lockheed 12A was aimed at the small
airline and business markets. With eight passengers it could fly
750 miles at 200 mph and quickly became a corporate flagship,
operated by many companies that now travel the world in Gulfstreams
or Globals.
Chabbert's Electra Junior is doubly special. Not only is it the
sole airworthy example surviving in Europe, but also it boasts
among its former owners Sidney Cotton, who became known as 'the
father of Royal Air Force photo-reconnaissance.'
Prior to the outbreak of WW2, Cotton flew his private 12A (not
this one, though the original still exists in the U.S.) all over
Europe, ostensibly attending air rallies and flying meetings,
but clandestinely photographing military build-up using cameras
hidden in the airplane's wings. Much of the data gathered by Cotton
proved vital to the British war effort and to the development
of photo-reconnaissance, but none of those involved could have
foreseen how future 'Kelly' Johnson designs were to revolutionize
'aerial spying.'
Chabbert's Lockheed was first deployed as U.S. Navy staff transport
based in England. After the war Cotton bought it for 'radio research.'
Later the Electra Junior spent many years in the south of France
as an air taxi workhorse before it joined the burgeoning fleet
of preserved airworthy aircraft in France.
When Bernard Chabbert bought the airplane in 2000 it was the realization
of a lifelong dream. He'd been captivated by Johnson's sleek design
since seeing the 12A that features in the tear-jerking closing
scene of the classic Bogart-Bacall movie Casablanca. It happened
that Chabbert's airline pilot father was stationed at Casablanca
during the period depicted in the movie, and whilst the moviemakers'
artistic license substituted a 12A for the bigger Lockheed 14s
that Air France actually flew at the time, Chabbert determined
that one day he would own one.
Now he does, and delights in using his mint-condition 'Little
Lockheed' for personal travel and attending classic aircraft gatherings.
Restoring its interior is being done with extreme care, he says,
"like an archaeological dig," so as to preserve its
period patina.
Whatever else you do at the show, take time to walk down to the
static display. Frame the Lockheed with Le Bourget's classic old
tower and terminal for background, and half close your eyes. There!
Hear it? I swear I could detect the strains of 'As Time Goes By'
wafting across the ramp.
