Navion
 Navion. Photo: FlugKerl2, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
| |
| Make | Navion |
|---|---|
| Model | Navion |
| Type | Light fixed-wing aircraft |
| Country |  United States
|
| Status | Active |
| Number built | 2,634 |
| Registered in the US | 863 (FAA register, October 30, 2026) |
| Seats | 1, 3 passengers |
| Engine | Lycoming GO-435-C2, 260 hp |
| Cruise speed | 170 mph (Super 260 Navion) |
| Range | 595 mi (Super 260 Navion) |
| Service ceiling | 18,000 ft (Super 260 Navion) |
| Max weight | 2,850 lb (Super 260 Navion)
|
| More aircraft · For sale | |
The Navion is a four-seat, single-engine airplane with retractable landing gear, designed at the end of World War II by North American Aviation, the company that built the P-51 Mustang and T-28 Trojan. It was later built by Ryan Aeronautical and by the Tubular Steel Corporation (TUSCO).[1] In the U.S. there are 863 with a valid registration.[2]
History
North American designed the Navion (NA-143, built as the NA-145) for the expected boom in private flying after the war. It built 1,109 in 1946–47, first selling them below cost at US$3,995, later $6,100, although each one cost about $9,000 to build.[1] These included 83 L-17As for the U.S. Army and National Guard.[1]
Ryan bought the design in the summer of 1947 and built 1,240 more in San Diego from 1948 to 1951, with Continental O-470 or Lycoming O-435 engines, including 163 for the armed forces.[1] The postwar boom never came on the scale the makers hoped, and the Navion competed with the Bonanza, the Cessna 195 and the Republic Seabee.[1]
Registered in the United States
The FAA register lists 863 of these airplanes with a valid U.S. registration. Here they are by the model name the FAA uses.[2]
| FAA model name | Registered |
|---|---|
| NAVION | 370 |
| NAVION A | 258 |
| NAVION B | 112 |
| NAVION G | 65 |
| NAVION H | 36 |
| NAVION D | 8 |
| NAVION F | 7 |
| NAVION L-17B | 4 |
| NAVION L-17A | 1 |
| NAVION NAV 4 | 1 |
| NAVION E | 1 |
| Item | Super 260 Navion |
|---|---|
| Crew | 1 |
| Passengers / capacity | 3 passengers |
| Length | 27 ft 6 in |
| Wingspan | 33 ft 5 in |
| Height | 8 ft 8 in |
| Wing area | 184 sq ft |
| Empty weight | 1,930 lb |
| Maximum takeoff weight | 2,850 lb |
| Fuel | 40 USgal |
| Engine | Lycoming GO-435-C2, 260 hp (air-cooled flat-six engine) |
| Maximum speed | 174 mph |
| Cruise speed | 170 mph |
| Range | 595 mi |
| Service ceiling | 18,000 ft |
| Rate of climb | 1,250 ft/min |
Figures as given in the Wikipedia article and its sources.[1]
Photos
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Tail number CF-EZI - 1946 North American Aviation Navion. Photo: Mark Wagner, CC BY 2.5 -
N4591K - 1958 Ryan Navion A. Photo: Mark Wagner, CC BY 2.5 -
North American L-17 Navion, Camarillo Airport Museum, Camarillo, California, USA. Photo: Holly Cheng, CC BY-SA 3.0 -
Navion. Photo: Ahunt at English Wikipedia, Public domain -
Navion. Photo: FlugKerl2, CC BY-SA 3.0 -
Navion. Photo: SDASM Archives, Public domain -
Ryan Navion. Photo: FlugKerl2, CC BY-SA 3.0 -
Ryan North American Navion G RangemasterF-BKQT at Toussus-le-Noble near Paris in 1963. Photo: RuthAS, CC BY 3.0
All photos are from Wikimedia Commons; click a photo for its full credit and license.
Sources
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 Wikipedia, "Ryan Navion", read November 1, 2026. Airplane Wiki's text is written in its own words; facts are checked against this article and its sources.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Federal Aviation Administration, Releasable Aircraft Database, file dated October 30, 2026. Valid registrations of fixed-wing airplanes whose FAA maker and model names belong to this family. Airplane Wiki uses only counts from this file, never owner names or addresses.