Loening OL

Loening OL

OA-1A San Francisco (26-431) of the U.S. Army Pan American Flight
Role	Amphibious observation aircraft
Manufacturer	Loening
First flight	1923
Primary users	United States Navy United States Army Air Corps
Number built	165

U.S. Navy Loening OL-1A

The Loening OL, also known as the Loening Amphibian, was an American two-seat amphibious biplane built by Loening for the United States Army Air Corps and the United States Navy.

Design

First flown in 1923, the OL was a high-performance amphibian with a large single hull and stabilising floats fitted underneath each lower wing. The landing gear was retractable by use of a hand-crank in the cockpit, and the plane was equipped with a tailskid for operations on land. It had a tandem open cockpit for a crew of two. The aircraft could be flown from either cockpit, with a wheel control in the forward cockpit and a removable stick control in the rear. Navigation and engine instruments were located in the forward cockpit.

The hull was built of Duralumin on a wooden frame, with five watertight compartments connected through a selector switch to a bilge pump in the rear cockpit. Plugs in the bottom of each compartment permitted drainage on the ground. The fuselage was constructed on top of the hull. The aircraft was strength-tested at Columbia University.^[1]

The United States Army Air Corps ordered four prototypes as the XCOA-1, powered by a 400 hp Liberty V-1650-1 engine mounted inverted for clearance of the three-bladed variable-pitch steel propeller. The engine came with a fire suppression sprinkler system and was encased in a streamlined cowling to protect it from sea spray. Oil from a tank in the fuselage was cooled by passing through a spiral copper tube exposed to the slipstream on top of the cowling. The fuel tanks were mounted inside the hull, with a 140 gallon (530 liter) gasoline tank under the wings, and a reserve 60 gallon (230 liter) gasoline-benzol tank between the cockpits. Total fuel capacity provided for approximately ten hours of flight.

A number of variants were introduced for both the Army and United States Navy. During later production the company merged with the Keystone Aircraft Corporation.

Variants

XCOA-1: Four prototypes powered by 400hp V-1650-1 engines, three later to COA-1
COA-1: Three prototypes and nine production aircraft for the Army Air Service
OA-1A: Army production aircraft with redesigned vertical tail and powered by a 420-horsepower, water-cooled Liberty V-12 engine that was mounted inverted, 15 built.
XOA-1A: One prototype with a single retractable mainwheel and skids fitted to wing floats. Powered by a inverted V-12 Wright Typhoon,^[1] redeignated XO-10 before delivery in 1929.
OA-1B: Same as an OA-1A with a water-cooled V-1650-1 engine, nine built.
OA-1C: OA-1B with redesigned fin and rudder, ten built.
OA-2: OA-1C with 480hp Wright IV-1460-1 engine modified tail surfaces and forward-firing machine gun moved to port upper wing, eight built.
XO-10: One XOA-1A redesignated before delivery by the U.S. Army.^[2]
OL-1: Naval version with third cockpit, two prototypes powered by a 440hp Packard 1A-1500
OL-2: Naval version similar to the COA-1, five built.
OL-3: OL-1 powered by a 475hp Packard 1A-1500 and other detail changes, four built.
OL-4: OL-3 powered by a 400hp V-1650-2 engine, six built.
OL-5: Three of these were built for the U.S. Coast Guard in 1926^[3]^[4]
OL-6: OL-3 with a redesigned vertical tail as OA-1C, 28 built.
XOL-7: One OL-6 fitted with experimental thicker wing.
XOL-8: One OL-6 re-engined with 450hp Pratt & Whitney R-1340-2 engine.
OL-8: As XOL-8 with two cockpits and a 450hp R-1340-4 engine, 20 built.
OL-8A: An OL-8 fitted with arrestor gear, 20 built.
OL-9: An OL-9 with equipment changes, 26 built.
XO2L-1: An improved version of the OL-6, prototype only.
XO-37: A development of the OA-2 with a 200hp R-1340-0 engine, project cancelled.

Operators

United States

Specifications (OL-9)

Data from The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft (Part Work 1982-1985), 1985, Orbis Publishing, Page 2376

General characteristics

Crew: two
Length: 34 ft 9 in (10.59 m)
Wingspan: 45 ft 0 in (13.72 m)
Height: 12 ft 9 in (3.89 m)
Wing area: 504 ft² (46.82 m²)
Empty weight: 3649 lb (1655 kg)
Gross weight: 5404 lb (2451 kg)
Powerplant: 1 × Pratt & Whitney R-1340-4 Wasp radial piston engine, 450 hp (336 kW)

Performance

Maximum speed: 122 mph (196 km/h)
Range: 625 miles (1006 km)
Service ceiling: 14,300 ft (4360 m)

References

1 2 Sport Aviation. May 1960. Missing or empty |title= (help)
↑ Popular Mechanics. December 1929. Missing or empty |title= (help)
1 2 "Air Stations", Historic Coast Guard Air Stations, U.S. Coast Guard Historian's Office
1 2 Record of Movements, p 665

John Andrade, U.S.Military Aircraft Designations and Serials since 1909, Midland Counties Publications, 1979, ISBN 0-904597-22-9 (Page 98, 137 194 and 204)
The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft (Part Work 1982-1985), 1985, Orbis Publishing, Page 2376
"Air Stations". Historic Coast Guard Air Stations. U.S. Coast Guard Historian's Office. Retrieved 22 December 2014.
"Record of Movements, Vessels of the United States Coast Guard, 1790–December 31, 1933 (1989 reprint)" (pdf). U.S. Coast Guard, Department of Transportation.

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Aircraft produced by Loening

Company designations	C-1 C-2 C-4 C-5 C-6 M-1 M-2 M-3 M-8 Model 23 Air Yacht Duckling Monoduck

Fighters	LS FL PA-1 PW-2

Air Ambulance	HL

Observation	OA-1 OA-2 O-10 OL O2L

Racer	R-4

Army Seaplane	S-1

Submarine-based Scouts	XSL XS2L

USN observation aircraft designations, pre-1962

Observation

Boeing	OB O2B

Curtiss	OC O2C O3C

Douglas	OD O2D

Elias	EO

Cessna	OE

Grumman	OF

Huff-Daland	HO

Berliner-Joyce	OJ

Keystone	OK

Loening	OL O2L

Martin	MO M2O O3M

Naval Aircraft Factory	NO O2N

Viking	OO

Pitcairn	OP

Vought	UO O2U O3U O4U O5U

Stinson	OY

Pennsylvania Aircraft	OZ

Observation Scout

Edo	OSE

Naval Aircraft Factory	OSN OS2N

Stearman	OSS

Vought	OSU OS2U

USAAC/USAAF observation aircraft

Observation	O-1 O-2 O-3 O-4 O-5 O-6 O-7 O-8 O-9 O-10 O-11 O-12 O-13 O-14 O-15 O-16 O-17 O-18 O-19 O-20 O-21 O-22 O-23 O-24 O-25 O-26 O-27 O-28 O-29 O-30 O-31 O-32 O-33 O-34 O-35 O-36 O-37 O-38 O-39 O-40 O-41 O-42 O-43 O-44 O-45 O-46 O-47 O-48 O-49 O-50 YO-51 O-52 O-53 O-54 O-55 O-56 O-57 O-58 O-59 O-60 O-61 O-62 O-63

Observation Amphibian	OA-1 OA-2 OA-3 OA-4 OA-5 OA-6 OA-7 OA-8 OA-9 OA-10 OA-11 OA-12 OA-13 OA-14 OA-15 SA-16

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