Douglas Cloudster

The Douglas Cloudster was introduced in 1927 as the first aircraft built by the Douglas Aircraft Company, marking the firm’s entry into the commercial aviation market. Designed by Donald Douglas as a long‑range, high‑performance biplane, the Cloudster featured a 450‑horsepower Pratt & Whitney Wasp radial engine, a sleek wooden fuselage, and a wingspan of 52 feet. Its all‑metal wing construction and detachable fuel tanks gave it a maximum range of about 1,200 miles, enabling it to attempt the first nonstop transcontinental flight from New York to San Diego. Although the aircraft fell short of the prize‑winning distance, it demonstrated the reliability of the Wasp powerplant and validated Douglas’s innovative structural techniques. Only two prototypes were built, but the Cloudster’s design philosophy directly influenced later successful models such as the Douglas DC‑1 and the iconic DC‑3, establishing the company’s reputation for durable, long‑range transport aircraft. The Cloudster thus occupies a pivotal place in aviation history as a technological bridge between early experimental biplanes and the modern all‑metal transports that reshaped commercial air travel. Its legacy endures, inspiring modern aircraft designers to pursue efficiency and range.