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Navion L17B

Hangar Studios 713

NAVION L17B

4.4/5 (53)

The Navion was the first civilian aircraft manufactured by North American Aviation, famous for producing legendary military aircraft such as the P-51 Mustang fighter, AT-6 Texan trainer, B-25 Mitchell bomber, and F-86 Saber Jet fighter. The Navion was a rugged aircraft with excellent short and rough field capabilities, good range, and capacity for 4 people along with reasonable cargo. Navions are a dream to fly like all North American aircraft: light on the controls and perfectly harmonized in all axis of flight. The same qualities that made it attractive to civilian buyers caught the attention of the U.S. Army that was looking for a "flying pickup truck" for liaison functions including reconnaissance, per¬sonnel and light cargo carrying, column control, camouflage checking and courier service. Prohibited by the Key West Agreement from procuring fixed-wing aircraft, the Army requested the Air Force place an order for a military version of the Navion. 83 aircraft were ordered in 1947 and given the military designation L-17. Faced with demand for the F-86, North American sold the Navion design and tooling in July 1947 - along with about 60 uncompleted aircraft - to Ryan Aeronautical, famed producer of the Spirit of St. Louis as well as WW II trainers such as the PT-22 Recruit. Ryan received an order for 158 upgraded L-17s in 1948 and a further order in 1949 for 5 more aircraft for the Hellenic (Greek) Air Force for a total of 163 aircraft. Ryan also subcontracted with Schweitzer Aircraft Company to upgrade 33 North American Aviation L-17s with Ryan features such as improved brakes, radios, and aux fuel. To track what were now 3 different types of L-17, unmodified North Amercian Aviation aircraft were designated L-17A, new Ryan aircraft were designated L-17B, and Schwietzer-modified North American aircraft were designated L-17C. The last L-17s were 3 "Super" L-17Ds (also listed as XL-22A or XL-22D) ordered in 1951, based on the new Ryan Navion Model B. This makes for a total of 249 L-17s with about 45 surviving today. 1951 Ryan L-17D 51-16427 - Hangar Studios 713 has modeled 1 of the 3 L-17D models built based on the civilian Ryan 260 HP "Super 260" Navion. It participated in the "Sliding On Ice And Snow”(SOIAS) project for the USAF in December of 1951 in Kenora, Ontario Canada in the Lake of the Woods area. The aircraft were fitted with instrumentation to measure the effectiveness of skis on a variety of aircraft including the L-17D, Northrup YC-125, and the Douglas C-47.

The L-17B Navion is a 4-seat, single-engine, low-wing monoplane manufactured by American aircraft company Ryan Aeronautical. The L-17B is the military variant of the Ryan Navion A aircraft, which took its maiden flight in April of 1946. A total of 163 L-17Bs were created, 158 of which were delivered to the United States Air Force and five of which were delivered to the Hellenic (Greek) Air Force. Operationally, the L-17B had a variety of intended roles, including trainer, personnel and cargo transport, and liaison.

The L-17B traces its lineage to the end of World War II, when North American Aviation, producer of the famed P-51 Mustang, sought to ride a predicted wave of civil fight enthusiasm. North American reportedly developed the original civil Navion (using its initials, NA, for the first two letters of the aircraft’s name) in roughly 30 days. Engineers incorporated some of the P-51’s design elements into the new civilian aircraft, notably the squared wing tips, squared stabilizers on the empennage, and a sliding canopy. The Navion took its maiden flight in April of 1946 and it quickly became known for its great short field performance and rugged build. North American sold the design to Ryan Aeronautical in 1947.

Notable features of the L-17B Navion include side-by-side seating, a sliding canopy, and a retractable tricycle undercarriage. The main wing has just over seven degrees of dihedral, making the aircraft particularly forgiving throughout a wide range of speeds. It measures 27 feet, 6 inches in length, stands 8 feet, 8 inches tall, and has a wingspan of 33 feet, 5 inches. The L-17B is powered by a single 6-cylinder Continental E185-9 piston engine that produces up to 205 horsepower.

The L-17B Navion has a range of 701 miles, a service ceiling of 15,000 feet above sea level, and a climb rate of 1,100 feet per minute. It cruises at 163 miles per hour and has a top speed of 174 mph. It can launch with just 400 feet of ground run and land in 875 feet.

The Navion L-17D was a single-engine, low-wing, 4-seat military aircraft manufactured by the Ryan Aeronautical Company of the United States. Ryan Aeronautical built only three D models, all of which were used for a United States Air Force program to test skis used as aircraft landing gear in the early 1950s.

The L-17D was adapted from Ryan Aeronautical Company’s Navion Model B. The Model B, also called the Super 260 Navion (and sometimes Super Navion 260), is an enhanced variant of the original Navion that features a more powerful engine producing up to 260 horsepower. The Model B took its maiden flight in 1948, was introduced on November 5, 1948, and was produced until 1951. Ryan Aeronautical built a total of 222 Navion Model B aircraft.

The Navion Model B traces its lineage to the end of World War II, when North American Aviation, producer of the famed P-51 Mustang, sought to ride a predicted wave of civil flight enthusiasm. North American reportedly developed the Navion (using its initials, NA, for the first two letters of the aircraft’s name) in roughly 30 days. Engineers incorporated some of the P-51’s design elements into the new civilian aircraft, notably the squared-off wing tips, squared-off stabilizers on the empennage, and a sliding canopy. The Navion took its maiden flight in April of 1946 and it quickly became known for its great short field performance and rugged build. North American Aviation sold over 1,100 Navions to the civil market. The expected surge of civilian aviation interest never materialized, however, and North American sold the design to Ryan Aeronautical in 1947.

Ryan Aeronautical developed the Navion Model B by upgrading the original Navion’s engine to a 260-horsepower model, hence the alternative designation “Super 260 Navion.”

The L-17D, adapted from the Ryan Model B for the military, featured side-by-side seating, a sliding canopy, and skis in place of the retractable tricycle undercarriage. The main wing had just over seven degrees of dihedral, making the aircraft particularly forgiving throughout a wide range of speeds. It measured 27 feet, 6 inches in length, stood 8 feet, 8 inches tall, and had a wingspan of 33 feet, 5 inches. The L-17D was powered by a single 6-cylinder Lycoming GO-435-C2 piston engine that produced up to 260 horsepower.

The L-17D had a range of 640 miles, a service ceiling of 18,000 feet above sea level, and a climb rate of 1,250 feet per minute. It cruised at 170 miles per hour and had a top speed of 174 mph.

All three L-17Ds were used in the United States Air Force experimental testing and evaluation program called SOIAS, an acronym for Sliding on Ice and Snow. The ski-equipped L-17Ds were fitted with sensors and tested in Canada during the winters of 1950-1951 and 1951-1952. The purpose of SOIAS was to gain information on how skis on aircraft performed on a variety of ice and snow conditions, from solid lake ice to deep powder snow.

Specifications

ENGINE205 HP
CRUISE SPEED154 MPH
MAX ALTITUDE18,000 Feet
RANGE700 NM
MAX WEIGHT2850 lbs.
FUEL CAPACITY39.5 Gallons
LENGTH27.25 Feet
WINGSPAN33.5

VERSION 1.0.3 RELEASED JUNE 17, 2024

Fixed Whiskey Compass

VERSION 1.0.0 RELEASED MARCH 26, 2024

Initial Release

VERSION 1.0.1 RELEASED APRIL 1, 2024

Multiple Livery texture adjustments Aircraft Takeoff Performance Enhancements Prop RPM adjustments Altitude Ceiling Improvements Hydraulic Lever animations reversed Elevator trim animations reversed Gauge Texture Enhancements Save state changes Flight files adjusted for hydraulics L-17D gear lever function removed Revised Checklists Enhanced Night Lighting Revised User Manual

VERSION 1.0.2 RELEASED MAY 23, 2024

SU15 Updates Added new SU15 ground handling physics New CFD parameters Fixed Heat blur