Loening Aeronautical Engineering Corporation was founded 1917 by

Grover Loening Grover Cleveland Loening (September 12, 1888 – February 29, 1976) was an American aircraft manufacturer. Biography Loening was born in Bremen (city), Bremen, in what was then Imperial Germany, on September 12, 1888, while his American-born fat ...

and produced early aircraft and amphibious aircraft. After it merged with

Keystone Aircraft Corporation Keystone Aircraft Corporation was an early American airplane manufacturer. History Headquartered in Bristol, Pennsylvania, the company was formed as "Ogdensburg Aeroway Corp" in 1920 by Thomas Huff and Elliot Daland, but its name was quickly ...

in 1928, some of its engineers left to form

Grumman The Grumman Aircraft Engineering Corporation, later Grumman Aerospace Corporation, was a 20th century American producer of military and civilian aircraft. Founded on December 6, 1929, by Leroy Grumman and his business partners, it merged in 19 ...

and Grover Loening went on to form a new enterprise, Grover Loening Aircraft Company.

History

In 1917, Grover Loening incorporated the Loening Aeronautical Engineering Company in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. The company was originally located in

Long Island City Long Island City (LIC) is a neighborhood within the New York City borough of Queens. It is bordered by Astoria to the north; the East River to the west; Sunnyside to the east; and Newtown Creek, which separates Queens from Greenpoint, Brook ...

Queens Queens is the largest by area of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Located near the western end of Long Island, it is bordered by the ...

. It later moved into a loft on the fifth floor at 351 West 52nd Street in the

Hell's Kitchen Hell's Kitchen, also known as Clinton, or Midtown West on real estate listings, is a neighborhood on the West Side of Midtown Manhattan in New York City, New York. It is considered to be bordered by 34th Street (or 41st Street) to the south, ...

neighborhood of

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

. In 1921, the firm leased a vacant lot at 420-428 East 31st Street in the

Kips Bay Kips Bay, or Kip's Bay, is a neighborhood on the east side of the New York City borough of Manhattan. It is roughly bounded by 34th Street to the north, the East River to the east, 23rd Street to the south, and Third Avenue to the west. Kips B ...

neighborhood of Manhattan, located on the block between First Avenue and the

East River The East River is a saltwater Estuary, tidal estuary or strait in New York City. The waterway, which is not a river despite its name, connects Upper New York Bay on its south end to Long Island Sound on its north end. It separates Long Island, ...

, and built a new factory on the site. The new plant on East 31st Street opened in 1922. The company built a floating ramp for amphibians alongside the pier at the end of 31st Street—which it leased from the city—that enabled aircraft to taxi in and out of the water. Before this, aircraft from the factory were brought out to the pier and had to be hoisted into the East River using a crane. Keystone Loening Aircraft Corporation Logo

In 1928, Loening merged with Keystone Aircraft Corporation and functioned independently as the Loening Aeronautical Division. The following year, the unit became the Keystone-Loening Division of

Curtiss-Wright The Curtiss-Wright Corporation is an American manufacturer and services provider headquartered in Davidson, North Carolina, with factories and operations in and outside the United States. Created in 1929 from the consolidation (business), consoli ...

. With the planned closure of Loening's factory in New York City and a move of its operations to Keystone's plant in

Bristol, Pennsylvania Bristol is a borough (Pennsylvania), borough in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is located northeast of Center City, Philadelphia, Center City in Philadelphia opposite Burlington, New Jersey, on the Delaware River. Bristol was s ...

, several of Leoning's employees—including

Leroy Grumman Leroy Randle "Roy" Grumman (4 January 1895 – 4 October 1982) was an American aeronautical engineer, test pilot, and industrialist. In 1929, he co-founded Grumman Aircraft Engineering Co., later renamed Grumman Aerospace Corporation, and no ...

Jake Swirbul Leon Albert "Jake" "The Bullfrog" Swirbul (March 18, 1898 – June 28, 1960), was an aviation pioneer and co-founder of Grumman Aircraft Engineering Corporation. Biography Swirbul was born in the Yorkville section of Manhattan. His parents Frede ...

and William Schwendler—decided to remain in New York and formed their own company on

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated continental island in southeastern New York (state), New York state, extending into the Atlantic Ocean. It constitutes a significant share of the New York metropolitan area in both population and land are ...

, the Grumman Aircraft Engineering Corporation. In 1929, Grover Loening went on to establish a new firm on Long Island, the Grover Loening Aircraft Company in Garden City, which operated until 1936.

Aircraft

References

External links

Aerofiles.com: LoeningLoening OA-1A at the National Air and Space Museum
Defunct aircraft manufacturers of the United States American companies established in 1917 Manufacturing companies established in 1917 Manufacturing companies disestablished in 1932 1917 establishments in New York (state) 1932 disestablishments in New York City 1928 mergers and acquisitions Defunct manufacturing companies based in New York City {{aero-company-stub

History

Aircraft

See also

References

External links