However, this configuration was judged impractical, and Wilkins opted to use a Vega equipped with floats instead.

The incomplete aircraft was brought out of storage to make an attempt at a nonstop flight between Japan and the United States, funded by lumber dealer John Buffelen and members of the Tacoma Chamber of Commerce.

Named City of Tacoma, the first Pacific crossing attempt ended in disaster when overfilled fuel tanks spilled over on takeoff.

The wing of a wrecked Explorer was fitted to the fuselage of an Orion by aviator Wiley Post, resulting in an Orion-Explorer hybrid variously referred to as 'Wiley's Bastard' and 'Aurora', though Post himself referred to the aircraft only by its serial number.

The aircraft, nose-heavy, crashed after its engine failed shortly after takeoff near Point Barrow, Alaska on August 15, 1935, taking the lives of Post and humorist Will Rogers.