American Aeronautical S-56 in Flight

Specifications:
Wingspan: 34' 2"
Length: 25' 7"
Engine: 100 hp K-5 Kinner
Top Speed: 92 mph
Weight: 1100 lbs

On Loan: Ralph Cox

Port Washington, 1929

All aspects of American aviation were booming after the heroic Lindbergh flight of 1927 and many new firms with hastily developed designs were emerging to fill the demand for new aircraft. One firm, American Aeronautical of Port Washington, decided to market a foreign design rather than take the time to develop new ones. The principal design chosen was the Italian Savoia Marchetti S-56, a three-place amphibian. Able to operate off land or sea, this was the only foreign designed aircraft built on Long Island. However, like many other designs of the period, the S-56 succumbed to the Depression. Of the 36 built, this is but one of two surviving examples.