Loening Aeronautical Engineering Corporation

The Loening Aeronautical Engineering Corporation was an early American aircraft manufacturer founded in 1917 by aircraft designer Grover Loening. Based in New York City, the company became one of the notable aviation enterprises of the United States during the formative period of aircraft manufacturing between the First and Second World Wars. Its work included conventional aircraft and amphibious aircraft, a category especially suited to the company's waterfront manufacturing site and to the operational requirements of military and civil aviation in an era when airports and paved runways were still developing. Loening began in Long Island City, Queens, before moving its New York operations to Manhattan. During its early years, the company occupied a loft at 351 West 52nd Street in Hell's Kitchen. In 1921 it leased a vacant site at 420–428 East 31st Street in the Kips Bay neighborhood, between First Avenue and the East River. A purpose-built factory opened there in 1922. The location gave the company direct access to the river, which was important for the construction, testing, launching, and recovery of amphibious aircraft. Loening developed a floating ramp beside the pier at the end of East 31st Street, allowing aircraft to taxi between the factory and the water. Before the ramp was installed, completed aircraft had to be moved to the pier and lifted into the East River by crane. The company's aircraft activities included amphibious designs such as the Loening OA-1A, an example of the type of aircraft associated with its product portfolio and preserved in the collection of the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum. Loening aircraft reflected the period's interest in combining airborne operation with water-based takeoff and landing. Such designs could support military observation, transport, and liaison duties while operating from locations without conventional runways. Loening's independent corporate existence ended in 1928, when it merged with Keystone Aircraft Corporation. The business continued initially as the Loening Aeronautical Division. In 1929 the division became part of the Keystone-Loening Division of Curtiss-Wright. The planned closure of the New York factory and transfer of operations to Keystone's plant in Bristol, Pennsylvania, led several Loening engineers to remain in the New York area rather than relocate. Leroy Grumman, Jake Swirbul, and William Schwendler subsequently established Grumman Aircraft Engineering Corporation on Long Island, creating an important institutional link between the Loening organization and one of the major later American aircraft manufacturers. Grover Loening also continued independently after the merger. In 1929 he founded the Grover Loening Aircraft Company in Garden City, Long Island. That later enterprise operated until 1936. Loening therefore survives historically less as a continuing brand than as an important early aircraft-manufacturing organization whose facilities, designs, and personnel contributed to the development of the American aviation industry.

Grover Loening incorporated the Loening Aeronautical Engineering Company in 1917 in New York City. The enterprise initially operated in Long Island City, Queens, and later used a loft on the fifth floor of 351 West 52nd Street in Manhattan's Hell's Kitchen neighborhood. These premises reflected the limited and improvised character of early aircraft manufacturing, before the industry had fully developed specialized industrial campuses and dedicated airport infrastructure. In 1921, Loening leased a vacant East River-side lot at 420–428 East 31st Street in Manhattan's Kips Bay neighborhood. The company built a factory there, which opened in 1922. The waterfront location was particularly useful for amphibious aircraft. Loening leased the pier at the end of East 31st Street from the city and constructed a floating ramp beside it. The ramp allowed amphibian aircraft to taxi into and out of the water. Before this improvement, aircraft leaving the factory had to be transported to the pier and lowered into the East River with a crane. The company produced early aircraft, including amphibious types associated with the Loening name. The Loening OA-1A is among the aircraft connected with the company and is preserved by the National Air and Space Museum. Amphibious aircraft offered operational flexibility at a time when water surfaces could serve as practical landing areas and permanent runways were not yet widely available. Loening's work therefore occupied an important place in the experimental and transitional period of American aviation. In 1928, Loening merged with Keystone Aircraft Corporation. Rather than disappearing immediately, the organization continued as the Loening Aeronautical Division. In the following year it was reorganized as the Keystone-Loening Division of Curtiss-Wright. Curtiss-Wright planned to close the New York factory and move the division's operations to Keystone's facility in Bristol, Pennsylvania. The relocation had consequences beyond the disposition of the Loening brand and factory. Several employees chose to remain in New York, including Leroy Grumman, Jake Swirbul, and William Schwendler. They founded Grumman Aircraft Engineering Corporation on Long Island, which went on to become a major American aircraft company. The Loening organization thus contributed personnel and experience to a later generation of aviation manufacturing. Grover Loening separately established the Grover Loening Aircraft Company in Garden City, Long Island, in 1929. That company operated until 1936. The original Loening Aeronautical Engineering Corporation is therefore treated as a defunct early aircraft manufacturer, with its independent existence ending through the 1928 Keystone merger and subsequent Curtiss-Wright reorganization.

• 1929

  Reorganized under Curtiss-Wright

  [1]Loeningen.wikipedia.org

  The business became the Keystone-Loening Division of Curtiss-Wright as operations were planned for transfer from New York to Keystone's plant in Bristol, Pennsylvania.

• 1929

  Former Loening engineers founded Grumman

  [1]Loeningen.wikipedia.org

  Leroy Grumman, Jake Swirbul, and William Schwendler remained in New York and formed Grumman Aircraft Engineering Corporation on Long Island.

• 1928

  Merged with Keystone Aircraft Corporation

  [1]Loeningen.wikipedia.org

  Loening merged with Keystone Aircraft Corporation and continued for a period as the Loening Aeronautical Division.

• 1922

  East 31st Street factory opened

  [1]Loeningen.wikipedia.org

  The company's purpose-built Manhattan factory opened, with waterfront access supporting the handling and testing of amphibious aircraft.

• 1921

  Waterfront factory site leased in Manhattan

  [1]Loeningen.wikipedia.org

  Loening leased a site on East 31st Street in Manhattan's Kips Bay neighborhood beside the East River for a new manufacturing plant.

• 1917

  Company founded in New York City

  [1]Loeningen.wikipedia.org

  Grover Loening incorporated the Loening Aeronautical Engineering Company, establishing the business that would become associated with early American aircraft and amphibious aircraft production.

An early American aircraft manufacturer distinguished by its development and production of amphibious aircraft and by its waterfront New York manufacturing and testing facilities.

• Amphibious aircraft

  Loening OA-1A

  The OA-1A is an aircraft associated with the Loening manufacturing program and is preserved in the collection of the National Air and Space Museum. It represents the company's work in amphibious aviation, combining aircraft operation with the ability to use water surfaces. The type exemplifies the practical and military interest in amphibians during the early development of American aviation.

• Amphibious aircraft

  Loening amphibious aircraft

  Loening produced amphibious aircraft designed to operate from both land and water. The company's East River factory and floating ramp were particularly suited to this product focus, allowing aircraft to be moved between the manufacturing site and the river for handling and testing. These aircraft formed the clearest distinctive element of the Loening product identity.

• 1929

  Transfer of operations from New York to BristolStrategy

  Background

  After the Keystone merger and the creation of the Keystone-Loening Division of Curtiss-Wright, the New York factory was scheduled for closure.

  Action taken

  Operations were planned to move to Keystone's plant in Bristol, Pennsylvania.

  Aftermath

  Some Loening employees remained in New York and founded Grumman Aircraft Engineering Corporation instead of relocating with the division.

  Source

• 1928

  Merger with Keystone Aircraft CorporationM&A

  Background

  Loening was absorbed into Keystone Aircraft Corporation during a period of consolidation in the early American aircraft industry.

  Action taken

  The company merged with Keystone and initially continued as the Loening Aeronautical Division.

  Aftermath

  The division was subsequently incorporated into Curtiss-Wright's Keystone-Loening Division, while planned factory relocation prompted several engineers to establish Grumman Aircraft Engineering Corporation.

  Source

1. 1Loeningen.wikipedia.org
2. 2Loening OA-1Aairandspace.si.edu