Mike Rhodes - Ryan
Recruit - PT-22
The Ryan Recruit
was the U.S. Army Air Corps' first monoplane primary
trainer. Initial testing of a single RYAN S-T-A
(Sport-Trainer-A) resulted in an order for 15 more
aircraft, re-designated the YPT-16,
for evaluation in 1939. Finding this tandem two-seater
to be an excellent design, the USAAC ordered a
production batch of 30 aircraft, designated the
PT-20. In 1941, the Army decided a
new more powerful engine was needed to endure the rigors
of training new pilots. Ryan Aeronautical replaced the
inline engine of the previous version with a Kinner
radial engine. The resulting PT-21
was so superior that many PT-16s
and PT-20s were upgraded with
the new engine, becoming PT-16As
and PT-20As.
With flight
training programs expanding across the United States,
1,023 more planes were ordered. These had an improved
Kinner radial, no wheel spats, and the deletion of the
main landing gear fairings. This became the
PT-22. The Navy also ordered the Recruits
and re-designated them as NR-1s,
and the Netherlands ordered 25 Recruits and called them
NR-3s. The Navy used these
trainers until 1944, and the USAAC would retire the
Recruit at the end of World War Two.
Today there are flying examples of each variant to be
found across North America. There are also examples
operated by warbird enthusiasts in the UK and
Australia.
Diane Tjerrild - Photographer
The plane's owner and
restorer, Mike Rhodes, was excited with this unusual
find on the plane:
The image below is an extreme close-up of the surprise
he found... it shows the tiny initials
"D.V.C." hand carved into the plane's metal exterior,
possibly the initials of a young pilot who
flew or trained in this beautiful PT-22 a very long time
ago!!
|
