The Aeronca L is a 1930s

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

cabin monoplane designed and built, in small numbers, by

Aeronca Aircraft Aeronca, contracted from Aeronautical Corporation of America, located in Middletown, Ohio, is a US manufacturer of engine components and airframe structures for commercial aviation and the defense industry, and a former aircraft manufacturer. ...

. It differed significantly from other Aeronca planes by the use of radial engines, streamlining, and a

cantilever A cantilever is a rigid structural element that extends horizontally and is unsupported at one end. Typically it extends from a flat vertical surface such as a wall, to which it must be firmly attached. Like other structural elements, a cantilev ...

low wing.Harris, Richard,
Aeronca: Birth of the Personal Plane
," ''AAHS Journal,'' Summer 2007, vol.52, #2,

American Aviation Historical Society The American Aviation Historical Society (AAHS) is a non-profit organization "dedicated to the preservation and dissemination of he history ofAmerican aviation.""AAHS Mission," Winter 2019, ''AAHS Journal'', vol.64, no.4, page 242, retrieved May 1 ...

Harris, Richard,
Aeronca/Champion History: Beyond the Bathtub -- Chiefs, Champs & Citabrias
" from articles first appearing in ''In Flight USA,'' 2003-2004, condensed on author's website, retrieved Jan. 31, 2016.

Design and construction

Quite unlike other Aeronca designs, the Model L was a "

" (no external struts for bracing) low-wing

monoplane A monoplane is a fixed-wing aircraft configuration with a single mainplane, in contrast to a biplane or other types of multiplanes, which have multiple wings. A monoplane has inherently the highest efficiency and lowest drag of any wing con ...

, that featured side-by-side seating in a completely enclosed cabin. The design reflected the greater attention being paid to aerodynamics in the period, including large

wheel spats An aircraft fairing is a structure whose primary function is to produce a smooth outline and reduce drag.Crane, Dale: ''Dictionary of Aeronautical Terms, Third Edition'', page 206. Aviation Supplies & Academics Inc, Newcastle Washington, 1997. ...

for the fixed

undercarriage Undercarriage is the part of a moving vehicle that is underneath the main body of the vehicle. The term originally applied to this part of a horse-drawn carriage, and usage has since broadened to include: *The landing gear of an aircraft. *The ch ...

and a

Townend ring A Townend ring is a narrow-chord (aircraft), chord cowling ring fitted around the cylinders of an aircraft radial engine to reduce drag and improve cooling. It was patented in 1929, and found use on various aircraft of the 1930s and into the 1940s ...

for the

engine An engine or motor is a machine designed to convert one or more forms of energy into mechanical energy. Available energy sources include potential energy (e.g. energy of the Earth's gravitational field as exploited in hydroelectric power ge ...

. The aircraft was of mixed-construction with a welded steel fuselage and wings with spruce spars and ribs, all covered with fabric. Initial attempts to use Aeronca's own engines proved inadequate, and the company turned to small radial engines from other suppliers, particularly neighboring

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engine manufacturer LeBlond.

Operational history

The Model L was mainly flown by private pilot owners. The plane was not a big seller. Difficulty with engine sources, and a destructive flood, in 1937, at Aeronca's factory at Cincinnati's

Lunken Airport Cincinnati Municipal Airport – Lunken Field (Cincinnati Municipal Lunken Airport) is a public airport in Cincinnati, Ohio, east of Downtown Cincinnati. It is owned by the city of Cincinnati and serves private aircraft, including the fleets ...

, took the energy out of the program, and Aeronca went back to high-wing light aircraft. With the end of sales to Aeronca, LeBlond sold their engine-manufacturing operation to an Aeronca-rival planemaker, Kansas City-based

Rearwin Aircraft Rearwin Airplanes was a series of US airplane-manufacturing businesses founded by Andrew ("Rae") Rearwin in 1928. Rae Rearwin was an American businessman who had developed several successful business ventures in the Salina, Kansas area in the ear ...

, who resumed production of the engines under the brand name "Ken-Royce," largely for use in Rearwin planes.

Variants

;LA :Fitted with a LeBlond 5DE engine, 9 built ;LB :Fitted with an LeBlond 5DF engine, 29 built ;LC :Fitted with a

Warner Scarab Jr The Warner Scarab Junior was an American, five-cylinder, air-cooled, radial aero engine first produced in 1930. It was a scaled-down derivative of the seven-cylinder Warner Scarab The Warner Scarab is an American seven-cylinder radial engine ...

engine, 15 built :;LCS ::A single LC,

C16289 C16 may refer to: * , a 1908 British C-class submarine * Sauber C16, a 1997 racing car * IEC 60320 C16, an electrical connector used for electric kettles and other small appliances * C16, the ICD-10 code for stomach cancer * Caldwell 16 (NGC 7243) ...

was fitted with floats to become the LCS, carrying a load of for at . ;LD :Fitted with a

Lambert R-266 Lambert may refer to People *Lambert (name), a given name and surname * Lambert, Bishop of Ostia (–1130), became Pope Honorius II * Lambert, Margrave of Tuscany (fl. 929–931), also count and duke of Lucca *Lambert (pianist), stage-name of Ger ...

5-cyl. radial engine

Surviving aircraft

The

EAA AirVenture Museum The EAA Aviation Museum, formerly the EAA AirVenture Museum (or Air Adventure Museum), is a museum dedicated to the preservation and display of historic and experimental aircraft as well as antiques, classics, and warbirds. The museum is lo ...

Oshkosh, Wisconsin Oshkosh () is a city in Winnebago County, Wisconsin, United States, and its county seat. It is located on the western shore of Lake Winnebago and had a population of 66,816 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List o ...

has a 1937 Aeronca LC in its collection. The

Western Antique Aeroplane & Automobile Museum The Western Antique Aeroplane and Automobile Museum (WAAAM) is located in Hood River, Oregon, United States, adjacent to the Ken Jernstedt Airfield, Ken Jernstedt Memorial Airport. WAAAM is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization committed to the prese ...

Hood River, Oregon Hood River is a city in and the county seat of Hood River County, Oregon, United States. It is a port on the Columbia River, and is named for the nearby Hood River. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 8,313. It is the only city in O ...

, has an airworthy Aeronica LC. Aeronca LB N16271 was in final stages of restoration as of January 2015; Aeronca LC NC17442 (cn 2056) is also on display in the museum.

Specifications (Model LC)

Notes

References

* * *Taylor, J. H. (ed) (1989) ''Jane's Encyclopedia of Aviation''. Studio Editions: London. p. 31
Holcomb's Aerodrome
{{Aeronca model numbers Low-wing aircraft Single-engined tractor aircraft 1930s United States civil utility aircraft Aeronca aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1935 Aircraft with fixed conventional landing gear Single-engined piston aircraft