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[[Stamp of left of page]] 
FROM THE 
FLYING PIONEERS BIOGRAPHIES 
OF HAROLD E. MOREHOUSE 
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In 1919 Loening built some M-8 planes for the Navy and Major R. W. Schroeder established an altitude record of 29,000 feet, carrying two passengers, with one of the Army planes at Dayton, Ohio. Caleb Bragg also flew an M-8 on floats to 18,500 feet on Long Island. Following the M-8 Loening began the development of his famous flying boat designs, first with the pusher 5-seat FLYING YACHT in 1921, powered by a World War I Liberty-12 engine. This was a 42 foot span, externally braced high wing monoplane with flying boat hull. On August 16th, 1921 a FLYING YACHT was flown to a new world record of 19,500 feet on Long Island, carrying 3 passengers. Many notable records were later made with these planes and several were sold to wealthy sportsmen for their private use. A commuters Air Line between New York and Newport, Rhode Island was operated for some time using Air Yachts. In 1921 Loening received the Wright Award for the outstanding development of this craft, then later was awarded the Collier Trophy. 

Following this development Loening started work on an amphibian, hoping to devise a plane to operate as either a land or water machine. The size and arrangement of the DH-4B wings seemed ideal for his purpose so he made them to these specifications, using a new wing section and an improved detail construction for his first machine. These wings worked so well that he obtained a contract to make several sets for the Air Mail Service on their DH planes, which gave them more air speed, lower landing speed, higher ceiling and much improved no-stall characteristics. Following the Air Mail experience the U.S. Marine Corps ordered some of the new wings for their DH machines. 

During this time the Loening factory facilities were moved from Long Island City to 31st and the East River in New York City, with hangars and a ramp for docking planes. The first completed Loening amphibian was tested in June, 1924. It used the new DH size biplane wings, a novel new flying boat hull with fully retractable landing gear, and was powered by a tractor inverted Liberty-12 engine driving a 4 blade propeller. The plane was a success from the start, having 125 MPH top speed, a higher ceiling and slower landing speed than a DH. The history of these planes is legend, the development and production of them 

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