Towle TA-2

Thomas Towle was an engineer that had been involved with many early aircraft designs. Having just co-designed the Eastman E-2 Sea Rover and the Towle WC, Towle found funding to create a new entity, the Towle Aircraft Company to produce the TA-2.[1]

The TA-2 featured an corrugated aluminum hull. The wings were all metal with internal stiffeners, rather than ribs, based loosely on the Ford Trimotor, which Towle worked on previously. The twin Wright R-540 engines sat on small pylons on top of the shoulder mounted wing.[2][3] Two floats were mounted directly below the engine pylons which incorporated the hydraulically actuated landing gear.[4] The prototype was originally designed for 165 hp Wright 540 engines.[5]

The TA-2 was tested in Lake St. Clair on 7 November 1929 by test pilot George Pond and James Bradley. It broke up on takeoff and sank to the bottom of the lake.[6] The aircraft appears to have been rebuilt as a Towle TA-2 and was reported to have visited Lympne Airport, Kent, United Kingdom in February 1930.[3] The wing from the prototype was salvaged and used on the next iteration, the Towle TA-3.

• Towle WC The basis for the TA-2

Data from Flight, 14 February 1930, pp215-16.

General characteristics

• Crew: 1
• Capacity: 5 passengers
• Length: 33 ft (10 m)
• Wingspan: 47 ft 9 in (14.55 m)
• Wing area: 292 sq ft (27.1 m²)
• Gross weight: 4,420 lb (2,005 kg)
• Fuel capacity: 90 US gallons (340 L; 75 imp gal)
• Powerplant: 2 × Wright R-540 radial, 165 hp (123 kW) each
• Propellers: 2-bladed

Performance

• Maximum speed: 117 kn (135 mph, 217 km/h)
• Range: 600 nmi (690 mi, 1,100 km)
• Wing loading: 15.15 lb/sq ft (74.0 kg/m²)

Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era

• Saro Cutty Sark