Columbia XJL-1 - Pima ASM, Tucson, AZ
Posted by: kb7ywl
N 32° 08.357 W 110° 51.942
12S E 512666 N 3555881
Columbia XJL-1 BuNo 31400
Waymark Code: WMDYGN
Location: Arizona, United States
Date Posted: 03/09/2012
Views: 6
The Columbia XJL was a large single-engined amphibian aircraft, designed by Grumman Aircraft but built by the Columbia Aircraft Corp. It was intended to replace the Grumman J2F Duck but the type did not reach production status.
The Grumman J2F Duck biplane amphibian had successfully served the US Navy (USN) in quantity from late 1934 onwards. The final 330 examples were built in 1941/42 under sub-contract by the Columbia Aircraft Corp, retaining the J2F-6 designation.
At the end of World War II, Grumman completed a major re-design of the aircraft for the USN as a Wright R-1820-56 powered monoplane amphibian. The new design was turned over to the Columbia Aircraft Corporation for development and construction so that Grumman could focus on the production of fighter aircraft for the USN.
The aircraft strongly resembles the J2F Duck, except for its monoplane layout, and has been referred to as a "single-winged Duck". It is, however, a completely new design.
The USN ordered three XJL-1 experimental aircraft from Columbia, with the first being used for destructive strength testing on the ground. The remaining two airframes, assigned USN BuAer Nos 31399 and 31400, were delivered to the Navy's test establishment at Patuxent River Naval Air Station, MD for evaluation in 1946.
The two aircraft tested at Patuxent River were found to have repeated structural failures of various components and testing was abandoned on 21 September 1948. The aircraft were deleted from the USN inventory in February 1949. No further orders were placed for production of the JL design.
Source: Wikipedia
Type of Aircraft: (make/model): Columbia XJL-1
Tail Number: (S/N): BuNo 31400
Construction:: original aircraft
Location (park, airport, museum, etc.): Located in hangar 1S at Pima Air & Space Museum, Tucson, AZ
inside / outside: inside
Other Information:: Pima Air & Space Museum
6000 E Valencia Rd
Tucson, Arizona 85756
Phone 520-574-0462
Open 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM Daily
Last admittance at 4:00 PM
$15.50-Adults
$12.50-Pima Co Residents
$12.75-Seniors
$ 9.00-Children
FREE---Children 6 & under
$ 7.00-AMARG
$13.50-Group Rate
Access restrictions: None
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Visit Instructions:
Photo of aircraft (required - will be interesting to see if the aircraft is ever repainted or progress if being restored)
Photo of serial number (required unless there is not one or it is a replica)
Photo(s) of any artwork on the aircraft (optional but interesting)
Tell why you are visiting this waymark along with any other interesting facts or personal experiences about the aircraft not already mentioned.