Navion

The four place, all metal, low wing Navion is one of several advanced aircraft designed at the end of WWII to take advantage of the imagined post war general aviation boom. The Navion, along with its contemporaries the Cessna 195 and Beechcraft Bonanza were radical departures from the fabric models that dominated flying before the war.

The Navion comes with a strong pedigree, born of the same company that built the T-6 Texan, B-25 Mitchell, and P-51 Mustang. Designed for the civilian market, it also attracted the interest of the military. The Army Air Force ordered 83, designated the L-17A, to be used as liaison aircraft, personnel and cargo carriers, and trainers for the ROTC flight training program.

Ryan Aeronautical Company 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 and, later, the Navion B with 260 hp engines of either the Lycoming GO-435-C2 or optionally the Continental IO-470 engine. The Navion A became the basis for the military L-17B.

TUSCO took over production in the mid 1950s, manufacturing D, E and F models with a variety of enhancements including tip tanks and flush rivets.

In 1961 TUSCO added 34 gallon tip tanks to create the Rangemaster. The new total fuel capacity of 107.5 gallons gave these Navions the range for which they are named.

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.

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 C; 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)