North American L-17

North American L-17 Navion
L-17 Navion at the USAF National Museum
Type:	Liaison and observation aircraft
Design country:	United States
Manufacturer:	North American Aviation Ryan Aeronautical
First flight:	April 1946
Number of pieces:	246

The North American L-17 Navion was a liaison and observation aircraft for the US armed forces .

Overview

The NA-145 "Navion" was a construction by North American Aviation with the idea to serve the civilian market after radical order cuts took place after the end of the Second World War . The first flight took place in 1946, and an order from the US Forces for 83 L-17A's soon followed . In 1947 the production rights were sold to Ryan Aeronautical in order to free up capacity for the armaments boom caused by the Cold War . In the same year orders for a further 163 copies followed, now with the designation L-17B . Due to the appearance and the original manufacturer North American, the L-17 was also called "Mustang for the poor", based on the North American P-51 Mustang.

War effort

With the onset of the Korean War , the L-17 was up to the arrival of the L-19 Cessna for Forward Air Control used, as they use a UHF equipped -Funkgerät that the USAF - fighter-bombers could maintain contact. The short take-off and landing characteristics were not comparable to the light liaison aircraft of that time, but the all-metal low-wing design was more comfortable and faster than the " Grasshopper " from World War II: Both General Douglas MacArthur and General Matthew B. Ridgway had an L-17 for your personal use.

L-17s were also used by escort aircraft carriers such as the USS Sicily and the USS Badoeng Strait . After the Korean War, the L-17 were mainly used for training and the Civil Air Patrol .

Some samples were converted to unmanned targeting drones with the designation QL-17 .

In 1962, the L-17 still in military service were renamed U-18A and U-18B.

production

Acceptance of the North American L-17 by the USAF / Ground National Guard (GNG):

version	1947	1948	1949	TOTAL
L-17A	83			83
L-17B		65	59	124
L-17B GNG			34	34
L-17B Greece			5	5
TOTAL	83	65	98	246

Technical specifications

Parameter	Data
crew	a pilot and an observer
length	7.87 m
span	10.97 m
height	2.79 m
Wing area	16.16 m²
Empty mass	830 kg
Max. Takeoff mass	1202 kg
drive	a piston engine Continental O-470-2 with 185 HP (start)
Top speed	262 km / h
Service ceiling	7924 m
Use radius	481 km

See also

• List of aircraft types

Web links

Commons : NA L-17  - Collection of Images, Videos and Audio Files

• North American L-17A Navion. In: Fact Sheet. National Museum of the US Air Force, May 5, 2015, accessed March 9, 2018 . 

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Statistical Digest of the USAF 1947, p. 115; 1948II, p. 16; 1949, p. 164 ff.