Mystery Airplane November 2013

Loening OA-1A

Grover C. Loening, a 1911 graduate of Columbia University, worked with Orville Wright and the Army Signal Corps before forming Loening Aeronautical Engineering in 1917. He was the first to have a degree in Aeronautical Engineering.

First appearing in 1923 as the COA-1, his OA-1 observation amphibian was powered by a 425 hp Liberty. The Army ordered 45 between 1924 and 1928, primarily for use in Hawaii and the Philippines. Fifteen were OA-1A models costing $21,000 each. The landing gear was retracted with a hand crank, the wings were similar to DH-4B, with a .30 caliber Browning f...