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Loening

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Loening Aeronautical Engineering Corporation
IndustryAerospace
Founded1917 (1917)
FounderGrover Loening
Defunct1928 (1928)
FateMerged with Keystone Aircraft in 1928
SuccessorKeystone-Loening

Loening Aeronautical Engineering Corporation was founded 1917 by Grover Loening and produced early aircraft and amphibious aircraft. After it merged with Keystone Aircraft Corporation in 1928, some of its engineers left to form Grumman and Grover Loening went on to form a new enterprise, Grover Loening Aircraft Company.

History

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In 1917, Grover Loening incorporated the Loening Aeronautical Engineering Company in New York City.[1][2][3] The company was originally located in Long Island City, Queens.[2][3] It later moved into a loft on the fifth floor at 351 West 52nd Street in the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood of Manhattan.[4][5] In 1921, the firm leased a vacant lot at 420-428 East 31st Street in the Kips Bay neighborhood of Manhattan, located on the block between First Avenue and the East River, and built a new factory on the site.[4] The new plant on East 31st Street opened in 1922.[6] The company built a floating ramp for amphibians alongside the pier at the end of 31st Street—which it leased from the city—that enabled aircraft to taxi in and out of the water.[7] Before this, aircraft from the factory were brought out to the pier and had to be hoisted into the East River using a crane.[8]

In 1928, Loening merged with Keystone Aircraft Corporation and functioned independently as the Loening Aeronautical Division.[9][10] The following year, the unit became the Keystone-Loening Division of Curtiss-Wright.[3] With the planned closure of Loening's factory in New York City and a move of its operations to Keystone's plant in Bristol, Pennsylvania, several of Leoning's employees—including Leroy Grumman, Jake Swirbul and William Schwendler—decided to remain in New York and formed their own company on Long Island, the Grumman Aircraft Engineering Corporation.[11] In 1929, Grover Loening went on to establish a new firm on Long Island, the Grover Loening Aircraft Company in Garden City, which operated until 1936.[3]

Aircraft

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Model name First flight Number built Type
Loening Monoplane Flying Boat
Loening M-2 Kitten 1918 3 Convertible amphibian monoplane
Loening M-8 1918 55 Monoplane fighter
Loening PW-2 1920 7 Monoplane fighter
Loening Model 23 1921 16 Monoplane pusher engine flying boat
Loening R-4 1922 2 Monoplane racer
Loening PA-1 1922 1 Biplane fighter
Loening OL 1923 165 Biplane flying boat
Loening C-1 1928 8 Biplane flying boat
Loening C-2 1928 36 Biplane flying boat
Loening XSL 1931 1 Submarine-based monoplane pusher engine flying boat
Loening C-5 1934 1 Development of XSL
Loening XFL N/A 0 Unbuilt carrier-based fighter

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Loening Aeronautical Engineering Corp". Aviation and Aeronautical Engineering. September 1, 1917. p. 182. Retrieved January 26, 2025 – via Google Books.
  2. ^ a b "Mr. Loening At Home". The Aeroplane. October 10, 1917. p. 1050. Retrieved January 26, 2025 – via Google Books.
  3. ^ a b c d Eisenstadt, Peter (2005). The Encyclopedia of New York State. Syracuse, NY: Syracuse University Press. p. 921. ISBN 9780815608080. Retrieved January 26, 2025 – via Google Books.
  4. ^ a b "New York". The Iron Age. December 1, 1921. p. 1451. Retrieved January 26, 2025 – via Google Books.
  5. ^ Loening, Grover (1968). Takeoff Into Greatness: How American Aviation Grew So Big So Fast. Putnam. p. 124.
  6. ^ "Loening in New Building". Aerial Age Weekly. April 10, 1922. p. 102. Retrieved January 26, 2025 – via Google Books.
  7. ^ "Amphibian Planes Now Able to Land on Manhattan Shores". The New York Times. December 2, 1928. Retrieved January 26, 2025.
  8. ^ Bart, Sheldon (2013). Race to the Top of the World: Richard Byrd and the First Flight to the North Pole. Washington, DC: Regnery Publishing. ISBN 9781621571803. Retrieved January 26, 2025 – via Google Books.
  9. ^ "Plane Merger Plans Completed". The New York Times. October 27, 1928. Retrieved January 26, 2025.
  10. ^ Johnson, E.R. (2009). American Flying Boats and Amphibious Aircraft: An Illustrated History. Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Company. p. 156. ISBN 9780786439744. Retrieved January 26, 2025 – via Google Books.
  11. ^ "Grumman's Ascendancy". Cradle of Aviation Museum. Retrieved January 26, 2025.
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