C-2H Air Yacht

The C-2H Air Yacht was the culminating product of Loening Aeronautical Engineering Corporation’s early 1930s amphibious program. First flown in 1930, the aircraft evolved from the original Loening C-2, a single‑engine biplane with a watertight hull that could operate from both water and land. The H model incorporated a more powerful 420‑hp Pratt & Whitney R‑1340 Wasp radial engine, a refined hull with a central step for smoother water takeoffs, and an enclosed cabin that seated up to six passengers in comfort. Its mixed‑construction airframe combined a metal tube fuselage with wooden wing ribs, providing a good strength‑to‑weight ratio and ease of maintenance. The C-2H’s versatile design made it popular with coastal air‑mail carriers, executive charter services, and the United States Navy, which evaluated it for transport and rescue missions. Although only a limited number were built, the Air Yacht demonstrated the practicality of amphibious aircraft in the pre‑World War II era and influenced later Loening designs such as the OA‑1 and the iconic Grumman JRF Goose. Its legacy lies in proving that a single‑engine amphibian could safely carry multiple passengers while operating from unprepared waterways, paving the way for modern seaplane transport.