Navion
Encyclopedia
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
single-engine, four-seat aircraft
Aircraft
An aircraft is a vehicle that is able to fly by gaining support from the air, or, in general, the atmosphere of a planet. An aircraft counters the force of gravity by using either static lift or by using the dynamic lift of an airfoil, or in a few cases the downward thrust from jet engines.Although...
originally designed and built by North American Aviation
North American Aviation
North American Aviation was a major US aerospace manufacturer, responsible for a number of historic aircraft, including the T-6 Texan trainer, the P-51 Mustang fighter, the B-25 Mitchell bomber, the F-86 Sabre jet fighter, the X-15 rocket plane, and the XB-70, as well as Apollo Command and Service...
in the 1940s. It was later built by Ryan Aeronautical Company
Ryan Aeronautical Company
The Ryan Aeronautical Company was founded by T. Claude Ryan in San Diego, California in 1934. Part of Teledyne after 1969, Northrop Grumman purchased Teledyne Ryan in 1999...
and the Tubular Steel Corporation (TUSCO). The Navion was envisioned as an aircraft that would perfectly match the expected postwar boom in civilian aviation, since it was designed along the general lines of, and by the same company which produced the North American P-51 Mustang, generally regarded as one of the best Allied fighter aircraft.
Design and development
The Navion was originally designed at the end of World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
by North American Aviation
North American Aviation
North American Aviation was a major US aerospace manufacturer, responsible for a number of historic aircraft, including the T-6 Texan trainer, the P-51 Mustang fighter, the B-25 Mitchell bomber, the F-86 Sabre jet fighter, the X-15 rocket plane, and the XB-70, as well as Apollo Command and Service...
as the NA-143 (but produced under the NA-145 designation). It was designed for the civilian market but also attracted the interest of the United States Army Air Forces
United States Army Air Forces
The United States Army Air Forces was the military aviation arm of the United States of America during and immediately after World War II, and the direct predecessor of the United States Air Force....
. The Army Air Force ordered 83 of the NA-154 version, designated the L-17A, to be used as a liaison aircraft, personnel and cargo carrier, and trainer for the university-based Reserve Officers Training Corps flight training program, 35 of which were later converted to L-17C standard by the Schweizer Aircraft Company
Schweizer Aircraft
The Schweizer Aircraft Corporation is a manufacturer of sailplanes, agricultural aircraft and helicopters located in Horseheads, New York. It was incorporated in 1939 by three Schweizer brothers , who built their first glider in 1930...
by fitting them with L-17B model features such as an auxiliary fuel tank.
Ryan Aeronautical Company
Ryan Aeronautical Company
The Ryan Aeronautical Company was founded by T. Claude Ryan in San Diego, California in 1934. Part of Teledyne after 1969, Northrop Grumman purchased Teledyne Ryan in 1999...
acquired the design in 1948, and built approximately 1,200 examples over the following three years. Ryan designated the aircraft the Navion A with a 205 hp Continental E-185-3 or -9
Continental O-470
The Continental O-470 engine is a family of carbureted six-cylinder, horizontally opposed, air-cooled aircraft engines that was developed especially for use in light aircraft by Continental Motors. The family includes the E165, E185 and the E225 engines...
and, later, the Navion B with 260 hp engines of either the Lycoming GO-435-C2, or optionally the Continental IO-470
Continental O-470
The Continental O-470 engine is a family of carbureted six-cylinder, horizontally opposed, air-cooled aircraft engines that was developed especially for use in light aircraft by Continental Motors. The family includes the E165, E185 and the E225 engines...
engine. The Navion As became the basis for the military L-17B.
A single prototype
Prototype
A prototype is an early sample or model built to test a concept or process or to act as a thing to be replicated or learned from.The word prototype derives from the Greek πρωτότυπον , "primitive form", neutral of πρωτότυπος , "original, primitive", from πρῶτος , "first" and τύπος ,...
Navion Model 72 was developed to compete for the US Air Force trainer aircraft procurement that was awarded to Beechcraft
Beechcraft
Beechcraft is an American manufacturer of general aviation and military aircraft, ranging from light single engine aircraft to business jets and light military transports. Previously a division of Raytheon, it has been a brand of Hawker Beechcraft since 2006....
and resulted in the T-34
T-34 Mentor
The Beechcraft T-34 Mentor is a propeller-driven, single-engined, military trainer aircraft derived from the Beechcraft Model 35 Bonanza. The earlier versions of the T-34, dating from around the late 1940s to the 1950s, were piston-engined. These were eventually succeeded by the upgraded T-34C...
. This Model 72 was not mass-produced.
TUSCO took over production of the Navion in the mid 1950s, manufacturing D, E and F models with a variety of enhancements including tip tanks and flush rivets. Navion Rangemaster aircraft were manufactured from 1961 to 1976. Their production followed that of earlier canopy-model Navion aircraft. In addition to the 39.5-gallon (150 liter) main fuel tanks, the Rangemasters added tip tanks with 34 gallons (128 l) each. The total fuel capacity of 107.5 gallons (407 l) gave these Navions the range for which they are named. TUSCO also introduced the Navion Rangemaster G model in 1960, which incorporated all previous advancements, replaced the Navion's sliding canopy with a side door, enlarged the cabin, created five separate seats, and standardized use of tiptanks and larger, late-model Continental engines. An H Model was produced as well, very nearly the same as the G Model except for a few minor enhancements. The last few Navions were manufactured (all H Models) by Navion Aircraft Company during a short production run ending in 1976 during one of several attempts to restore the airplane to commercial viability.
Operational history
Pre-World War II, light civilian aircraft such as the Piper J-3 CubPiper J-3
The Piper J-3 Cub is a small, simple, light aircraft that was built between 1937 and 1947 by Piper Aircraft. With tandem seating, it was intended for flight training but became one of the most popular and best-known light aircraft of all time...
and Aeronca Champion
Aeronca Champion
The Aeronca Model 7 Champion, more commonly known as the Champ, is a single-engine, two-seat, fixed conventional gear airplane. Designed for flight training and personal use, it entered production in the United States in 1945....
typically were made of wood or steel-tube fuselage
Fuselage
The fuselage is an aircraft's main body section that holds crew and passengers or cargo. In single-engine aircraft it will usually contain an engine, although in some amphibious aircraft the single engine is mounted on a pylon attached to the fuselage which in turn is used as a floating hull...
s with wooden wings. These pre-war designs were also marketed after the war, but did not sell well.
While Republic offered an amphibious aircraft, the Seabee
Republic RC-3 Seabee
The Republic RC-3 Seabee is an all-metal amphibious sports aircraft designed by Percival Spencer and manufactured by the Republic Aircraft Corporation.-Design and development:...
, Cessna
Cessna
The Cessna Aircraft Company is an airplane manufacturing corporation headquartered in Wichita, Kansas, USA. Their main products are general aviation aircraft. Although they are the most well known for their small, piston-powered aircraft, they also produce business jets. The company is a subsidiary...
offered the 195
Cessna 195
The Cessna 190 and 195 Businessliner are a family of light single radial engine powered, conventional landing gear equipped, general aviation aircraft which were manufactured by Cessna between 1947 and 1954....
, and Beechcraft
Beechcraft
Beechcraft is an American manufacturer of general aviation and military aircraft, ranging from light single engine aircraft to business jets and light military transports. Previously a division of Raytheon, it has been a brand of Hawker Beechcraft since 2006....
offered by far the most successful type Bonanza
Beechcraft Bonanza
The Beechcraft Bonanza is an American general aviation aircraft introduced in 1947 by The Beech Aircraft Corporation of Wichita, Kansas. , it is still being produced by Hawker Beechcraft, and has been in continuous production longer than any other airplane in history...
, which remains in production in 2009. All of these aircraft, including the Navion were significantly more advanced than prewar civilian aircraft and they set the stage for aircraft built from aluminum
Aluminium
Aluminium or aluminum is a silvery white member of the boron group of chemical elements. It has the symbol Al, and its atomic number is 13. It is not soluble in water under normal circumstances....
sheets
Sheet metal
Sheet metal is simply metal formed into thin and flat pieces. It is one of the fundamental forms used in metalworking, and can be cut and bent into a variety of different shapes. Countless everyday objects are constructed of the material...
riveted to aluminum formers. It was thought that wartime pilots would come home and continue flying with their families and friends under more peaceful conditions, but the postwar boom in civilian aviation did not materialize to the extent the manufacturers envisioned.
Sales of the Navion were helped by the visibility of several celebrities who flew them, including Veronica Lake
Veronica Lake
Veronica Lake was an American film actress and pin-up model. She received both popular and critical acclaim, most notably for her role in Sullivan's Travels and her femme fatale roles in film noir with Alan Ladd during the 1940s, and was well-known for her peek-a-boo hairstyle...
, Arthur Godfrey
Arthur Godfrey
Arthur Morton Godfrey was an American radio and television broadcaster and entertainer who was sometimes introduced by his nickname, The Old Redhead...
, Mickey Rooney
Mickey Rooney
Mickey Rooney is an American film actor and entertainer whose film, television, and stage appearances span nearly his entire lifetime. He has won multiple awards, including an Honorary Academy Award, a Golden Globe and an Emmy Award...
and Bill Cullen
Bill Cullen
William Lawrence Francis "Bill" Cullen was an American radio and television personality whose career spanned five decades...
. Retired Utah
Utah
Utah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...
Senator Jake Garn
Jake Garn
Edwin Jacob "Jake" Garn is an American politician, a member of the Republican Party, and served as a U.S. Senator representing Utah from 1974 to 1993...
is a current Navion owner.
Present day
, many Navions are still flying and there is an active Navion owners community. On 18 March 2003 Sierra Hotel Aero of South St. Paul, MinnesotaSouth St. Paul, Minnesota
South St. Paul is a city in Dakota County, Minnesota, immediately south and southeast of the city of Saint Paul, Minnesota. It is also southeast of West St. Paul, Minnesota. The population was 20,160 at the 2010 census. It is notable as one of the historic major meat packing cities in the United...
purchased the type certificate, design data, molds and tooling. Their long term plan is to preserve the existing fleet world wide while simultaneously moving towards production of new Navions.
There are no two Navions alike, in part because numerous companies produced the airplane in different parts of the country, in part due to its long service history and many approved modifications, and because without the continuous manufacturing production and support of these airplanes for most of the last 40 to 50 years, owners and third-party organizations have successfully sought numerous improvements to the aircraft on their own via FAA
Federal Aviation Administration
The Federal Aviation Administration is the national aviation authority of the United States. An agency of the United States Department of Transportation, it has authority to regulate and oversee all aspects of civil aviation in the U.S...
field approval and supplemental type certificate
Supplemental Type Certificate
A Supplemental Type Certificate is an FAA approved major modification or repair to an existing type certified aircraft, engine or propeller. As it adds to the existing type certificate, it is deemed 'supplemental'.-Purpose:...
s. The airplane has been repeatedly modified with numerous larger powerplants including the latest aircraft piston engine designs available. One Navion was fitted with a Czech built Walter turboprop
Turboprop
A turboprop engine is a type of turbine engine which drives an aircraft propeller using a reduction gear.The gas turbine is designed specifically for this application, with almost all of its output being used to drive the propeller...
allowing the aircraft to climb in excess of 5,000 ft per minute.
A pair of highly-modified Navions were flown by Princeton University
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
as the Variable-Response Research Aircraft (VRA) and the Avionics Research Aircraft (ARA). The VRA was given a pair of vertical side-force-generating surfaces mounted midway between wing roots and tips and a digital fly-by-wire (DFBW) control system, first installed in 1978, that parallels the standard Navion's mechanical control system and the fast-acting wing flaps that produce negative as well as positive lift. With these, the VRA can simulate the motions of other aircraft types through independent, closed-loop control of all the forces and moments acting on the airplane. Having completed over 20 years of research at Princeton University
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
's Flight Research Laboratory, the VRA and its sister ship, the Avionics Research Aircraft (which is virtually identical to the VRA but does not have side-force panels) currently are owned and operated by the University of Tennessee Space Institute
University of Tennessee Space Institute
The University of Tennessee Space Institute, also known as UTSI, is a satellite campus of the University of Tennessee located near Tullahoma, Tennessee....
.
Variants
- North American Navion A (NA-143/ NA-145]; civil variant
- North American L-17A (NA-154); military variant
- Ryan Navion A; civil variant
- Ryan Navion B; civil variant
- Ryan L-17B; military variant of Navion A (163 built)
- Ryan L-17C; military variant of L-17A (35 modified)
- Ryan Navion Model 72; military variant (one prototype)
- TUSCO Navion D; civil variant
- TUSCO Navion E; civil variant
- TUSCO Navion F; civil variant
- TUSCO Navion Rangemaster; civil variant (long-range capability)
- Camair Twin NavionCamair Twin Navion|-See also:...
- twin engine conversion - TEMCO-Riley D-16A Twin Navion - twin engine conversion
Military operators
- Dominican Air ForceDominican Air ForceThe Air Force of the Dominican Republic or Fuerza Aérea Dominicana, is one of the three branches of the Military of the Dominican Republic, together with the Army and the Navy.- History :...
(NA-145 Navion) 1949 - middle 1950
- US Air Force
- US Army
- Air National GuardAir National GuardThe Air National Guard , often referred to as the Air Guard, is the air force militia organized by each of the fifty U.S. states, the commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the territories of Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the District of Columbia of the United States. Established under Title 10 and...
Specifications (L-17)
See also
External links
- Sierra Hotel Aircraft - current type certificate holder
- American Navion Society
- Navion Skies web site
- L-17.org
- Warbird Alley L-17 page
- Navion photos at San Diego Air & Space Museum Archives
- Fraser Blues Navion formation demonstration team
- Popular Science, May 1946, Junior Edition of Mustang early article on Navion