Loening Model 23
| Model 23 Air Yacht, S-1 |
| Role |
Flying boat airliner |
| National origin |
United States |
| Manufacturer |
Loening |
| First flight |
1921 |
| Number built |
16 |
The Loening Model 23 Air Yacht was a small flying boat airliner produced in the United States in the early 1920s.[1] It was a high-wing, strut-braced monoplane with the engine mounted pusher-fashion in a nacelle atop the wing. The cabin was semi-enclosed, featuring side windows but no roof, and was located immediately ahead of the wing. Twin tails were fitted, carrying a common stabiliser in a high position. The construction was unusual, in that rather than the flying boat hull being integral with the fuselage, the Model 23's hull was a large, separate pontoon mounted directly underneath a fuselage that was a separate structure.[2] This was intended to combine the safety of the a floatplane design with the low parasitic drag of a conventional flying boat[2] Grover Loening was awarded the 1921 Aero Club of America Trophy for the design.[3]
Three of the Air Yachts were purchased by the New York-Newport Air Service,[4][5], and nine by the USAAS which operated them under the designation S-1.[4]
On a test-flight on 16 August 1921, an Air Yacht piloted by David McCullock reached an altitude of 19,500 ft (5,900 m) carrying three passengers (Grover Loening, Leroy Grumman, and Ladislas d'Orcy) in what was believed to be a record at the time.[2]. On 7 November 1924, Victor E. Bertrandias set a world airspeed record for a seaplane over a 1000-km course, with a speed of 103 mph (164 km/h) in an Army S-1.[6]
Operators
- United States
Specifications
Data from "The Loening Model 23 Flying Boat", 701
General characteristics
- Crew: One pilot
- Capacity: four passengers
- Length: 20 ft 3 in (6.17 m)
- Wingspan: 43 ft 0 in (13.11 m)
- Height: 8 ft 0 in (2.44 m)
- Wing area: 330 ft2 (30.7 m2)
- Empty weight: 2,200 lb (1,000 kg)
- Gross weight: 3,550 lb (1,610 kg)
- Powerplant: 1 × Liberty L-12, 400 hp (300 kW)
Performance
- Maximum speed: 125 mph (200 km/h)
- Rate of climb: 950 ft/min (4.8 m/s)
Notes
- ^ Taylor 1989, 609
- ^ a b c "The Loening Model 23 Flying Boat"
- ^ Collier 1920-1929 winners
- ^ a b Taylor 1989, 610
- ^ "Newport-New York Air Service Ready
- ^ FAI Record File
References
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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
US miltiary designations:
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
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USAAS seaplane designations
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S-1
No other designations were assigned in this sequence
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