Eastern Air
Lines Lockheed 10-B Electra NC14958
(c/n 1036)
A modest fleet of Lockheed
Electras was purchased in 1935 to augment the DC-2s. Because of
holding
company North American Aviation's corporate affiliation with the Wright
Corporation,
Captain Rickenbacker insisted that his Electras be powered by Wright
R-975-E3 engines (rated
at 440 h.p.) in lieu of the Pratt
and Whitneys fitted to most Electras. Eastern's Electras were
mainly operated on the airline's
coastal run from Richmond to Jacksonville, Florida, via Raleigh
(where I now live), Florence, Charleston and Savannah.