Towle TA-2
Towle Aircraft Company · United States · first flew 1929 · light aircraft
The Towle TA-2 was an amphibious aircraft based on the Towle WC, built for a 1929 round-the-world flight. It had a corrugated aluminium hull and two Wright R-540 radial engines.
Recognition (WEFT)
| W — Wings | High-mounted, tapered |
|---|---|
| E — Engines | 2 × piston, wing-mounted |
| F — Fuselage | 10.06 m fuselage |
| T — Tail | Conventional |
WEFT is AircraftIQ's four-point recognition method — how it works.
Spot it by:
- Corrugated aluminium hull
- Two radial engines on small pylons above a shoulder-mounted wing
- Two floats directly below the engine pylons carrying the hydraulically retracted landing gear
A boat-hulled amphibian with two engines carried on pylons above a high wing. The floats under the engine pylons incorporate the landing gear.
Specifications
- The Towle TA-2 has a length of 10.06 m (33 ft).
- It has a wingspan of 14.55 m (48 ft).
- Typical crew: 1.
Figures are for the representative variant described above; marks differ. See how AircraftIQ sources figures.
History
Thomas Towle, who had just co-designed the Eastman E-2 Sea Rover and the Towle WC, formed the Towle Aircraft Company to build the TA-2. The all-metal wings used internal stiffeners rather than ribs, loosely based on the Ford Trimotor on which Towle had worked.
Variants
The TA-2 was developed from the Towle WC. Its wing was salvaged after the first aircraft sank and was used on the next iteration, the Towle TA-3.
Where you'll see it
The TA-2 was tested on Lake St Clair on 7 November 1929 by George Pond and James Bradley, and broke up on take-off and sank. An aircraft appears to have been rebuilt and was reported to have visited Lympne Airport in Kent in February 1930.
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