The Aviation Historian — January 2018

44 THE AVIATION HISTORIAN Issue No 22

In conditions of little to no visibility, the pair

worked their way up to Skagen on the very

northern tip of Denmark, where Gunnestad

turned to starboard to fly east across the Kattegat

towards the Swedish coast.

Again, a hazardous flight just above the

wavetops was needed to get through the low

cloud and rain. Fortunately for Gunnestad,

the sea was rough, with “white horses” on the

wavetops, enabling the pilot to keep sight of

the horizon and avoid becoming disoriented.

Sighting land — the sea fortress at Älvsborg,

west of Gothenburg — Gunnestad felt a surge

of confidence. With his previous experience of

flying the night airmail route, he felt optimistic

that he could complete the flight to Oslo. After

flying up the Swedish west coast, the Vega

crossed the Norwegian border before following

the Glomma river to Kjeller, where it landed.

Owing to favourable winds the return flight

was completed in 6hr 40min, despite the

atrocious conditions, Gunnestad remarking that

he “could almost feel the waves breaking against

the fuselage”. On their return, Gunnestad and

Bernhoft were sent a congratulatory telegram

from Consul Christensen. The flight had

proved that a direct flight from Oslo to London

(Croydon) was now possible, although it was

suggested that a more direct route across the

deep waters of the North Sea would be better,

rather than taking the longer route along the

Frisian Islands and Dutch coast.

For the remainder of the winter of 1934–

35 Gunnestad’s new company, Fornebu

ABOVE In August 1934 Gunnestad co-founded Fornebu Flyveselskap to operate air-taxi, charter and pleasure-

flying services, chartering LN-ABD from Christensen to join another Vega and Avian LN-ABF in the company’s

fleet. By mid-1935 the Vega was back with Christensen, the other machines had crashed and the company folded.

Powerplant 1 x 220 h.p. Wright J-5 Whirlwind

nine-cylinder air-cooled radial engine

Dimensions

Span 41ft 0in (12·5m)

Length 27ft 8in (8·4m)

Height 8ft 6in (2·6m)

Wing area 275ft² (25·5m²)

Wing chord at root 102in (259cm)

Wing chord at tip 63in (160cm)

Aerofoil at root Clark Y18

Aerofoil at tip Clark Y9·5

Weights

Empty 1,875lb (850kg)

Loaded 3,470lb (1,574kg)

Performance

Maximum speed 138 m.p.h. (222km/h)

Cruise speed 118 m.p.h. (190km/h)

Landing speed 49 m.p.h. (79km/h)

Climb 850ft/min (260m/min)

Service ceiling 15,000ft (4,600m)

Normal range 900 miles (1,500km)

LOCKHEED VEGA 1 DATA

TAH

Flyveselskap (Fornebu Air Lines), chartered the

Vega, the intrepid pilot exploiting his new-found

fame by offering joyrides in the aircraft. The

wheeled undercarriage was replaced with skis

for operations from frozen lakes and snow-

covered meadows. By the summer of 1935 the

Vega had been returned to the Consul, and by

November 1937 this historic aircraft had

been ignominiously scrapped.

ODD GRUNSETH VIA JON GRUNDSETH