Designed by Lockheed's subsidiary AiRover Company, which by 1938 became the Vega Airplane Company, the Vega Starliner was a five/six-seat low-wing cabin monoplane with retractable landing gear and an unusual powerplant. This comprised two 194kW Menasco C6S-4 inline engines, mounted side-by-side, and coupled to drive together, or independently in emergency, a single propeller. First flown on 22 April 1939, the Starliner was abandoned after some 85 flight test hours as there was no demand for an aircraft in this category.