Loening OL

Design

First flown in 1923, the OL was a high-performance amphibian with a large single hull and stabilizing 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.

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 roughly ten hours of flight.

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

Variants

XCOA-1

Four prototypes powered by 400-hp 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-hp, 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 an inverted V-12 Wright Typhoon, 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

OL-1

Naval version with third cockpit, two prototypes powered by a 440-hp Packard 1A-1500

OL-2

Naval version similar to the COA-1, five built

OL-3

OL-1 powered by a 475-hp Packard 1A-1500 and other detail changes, four built

OL-4

OL-3 powered by a 400-hp V-1650-2 engine, six built

OL-5

Three of these were built for the U.S. Coast Guard in 1926.

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 a 450-hp Pratt & Whitney R-1340-2 engine

OL-8

As XOL-8 with two cockpits and a 450-hp 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 200-hp R-1340-0 engine, project cancelled

Operators

 United States

United States Army Air Corps

United States Coast Guard

United States Navy

El vuelo pan americano de buena voluntad 1926-1927

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)