Northrop Alpha TWA airplane model. The Northrop Alpha represents a notable point of transition in modern airline design, for it combined features of the past and of the future in a very utilitarian package. The passengers were enclosed in a comfortable cabin, while the pilot remained exposed and sensitive to the elements. The modern aspects of the Alpha all-metal structure, semi monocoque fuselage, and cantilever wing were partially offset by the use of a single engine and fixed gear.
John K. Northrop, who had previously designed the Lockheed Vega, conceived of the Alpha as a means of proving his ideas for quantity production of an all-metal airplane with the machine tools existing in the early 1930s. Always pioneering new ideas and new techniques, Northrop became one of the most influential men in the aviation industry.
Mahogany Wood. Scale: 1/24. Wingspan 22 inches, Length 14 inches.
