The Alco Hydro-Aeroplane Company was established in San Francisco on December 19, 1912 by the brothers Allan and Malcolm Loughead. In 1916, the company was renamed the Loughead Aircraft Manufacturing Company and relocated to Santa Barbara, California, the same year Santa Barbara native Jack Northrop (aged 20) took his first job in aviation working as a draftsman for Loughead Aircraft. The company proceeded to design and construct the Model F-1 flying boat, which debuted on March 29, 1918, and set the American non-stop record for seaplane flight by flying from Santa Barbara to San Diego.[1]