Lockheed Model 9B Orion - The Swiss Revolution

The Lockheed Orion has always facinated me and writting a book about the two aircraft in service with Swissair, the former Swiss national airline, has always been on my wish list. Now I managed to fin enough material to write the history of this sleek high-speed aircraft, revolutionaizing the European aviation world. At the time of her introduction, most airliners in service flew at a pace of 140km/h. Swissair introduced now an aircraft that could fly at a speed of maximum 320km/h, but the usual cruising speed was around 260 to 280km/h. Nevertheless, the little wooden wonder from the USA flew 50% faster than any other aircraft. Swissair decided to operate the aircraft with just four passenger seats, as mail was far more important and lucrative to carry.

In this book, I have tried to describe the history of the aircraft with many new details and many photographs. Hubert Cance has made a lovely cutaway of the aircraft. Enjoy reading this book about a fascinating part of Swissair's history!

147 photographs, 14 colour profiles and one cutaway drawing