Back in the early 90's my neighbor in the next door hangar had an NA Navion with a full glass/clear [plastic} canopy, in beautiful restored condition and repowered, as I recall, to around 300-hp. One day we flew it up around Mt. St. Helens and during that flight a local guy we called the Red Baron who had this very hi-powered biplane did a roll around our plane. What dramatic sight he presented in his leather cap and scarf flying back all of which added to a very memorable day and I have wanted one ever since, but still tail-dragging. There is a beauty of a Navion in the tie-down area at our local airport(Roseburg, Or,) that gets flown quite often. Always have to watch take-off. Thanks for the vid.

A cousin of mine lived @ an AIRPARK, he owned a RYAN NAVION 4 PLACE RETRACTABLE, CONTINENTAL ENGINE , He flew it all over including several trips to JAMAICA WI, , it’s still in his home , he has passed on few years ago. 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸

Being a former pilot/owner of the Nation I enjoyed your flight. Brings back wonderful memories.

i've been flying since the late 70's and i have always admired the poor man's p51....yes the NAVION!!!!

I've owned my 1949 Navion A since 1990. (yes, I'm 67) It has an IO-470-H with 260 HP. Fly it IFR routinely. Great machine. Thanks for the video. Loved the Beech 18 contribution.

Loved how it went from being a low wing to a strut braced high wing in the pattern for a moment. That was a neat trick. Kind of reminded me of the old Midway movie with Charlotte Heston. You know the one where a guy takes off from the carrier in a Hellcat, dive bombs a ship in a Helldiver then crashes back on deck in a Corsair…all in the same flight.

Always liked the "Baby Mustang".

Also, I believe all North American built Navions had the E185-3, which were limited to 185hp; Ryan built ones, starting in 1949 came with a slightly different version E185, the -9, which allowed higher RPM operation for 205hp for 1 minute at takeoff, but then limited to 185hp max continuous operation afterwards. As I understand it, an E-185-3 can be converted to a E-185-9 by adding counterweights to the crankshaft.

Back in the early 70's when I was in high school, a friend of mine and I had a plan to get our pilot's certs, buy a couple of Navions, and fly around the world. Sadly, the plan never came to fruition, but I still love the Navion. North American Aviation made some great planes. Thank you for this trip back in time.

I remember fairly good when I was at flying school. I once said that a NAVION wasn't an option for me to own an airplane but certainly, this NAVION and others like ERCOUPE are fascinating airplanes to get some fun and good flights. Great video,. Thank you for sharing.

I've owned three Navions...a North American A Model with an E 225, a Ryan B with a 300 HP geared Lycoming and another NA with a 285 Continental. First, there's no reason to ever be on the ground with the hydraulic pump off. Too easy to forget and if you taxi off over a bumpy surface the gear can fold. And that amber "HYD PUMP ON" light only shows you the position of the switch, not whether the pump is actually doing anything. For that, you must crosscheck the hyd pressure gauge. Basically, the airplane was built to military standard to allow North American engineers to stay employed until the F86 program geared up. So it was complex, strong, expensive and remarkably light for its size. It boasted a wing borrowed from a proposed Army Air Corps trainer that NA had sitting around....with an airfoil designed to provide gobs of lift and preserve the tender pink fundiments of fledgling cadets. It does that admirably, with awe-inspiring slow flight capabilities (mine stalled at 48 MPH), getting off the ground very, very fast (even when underpowered with the smaller engines), carrying lots of payload, while staying pleasantly light on the controls yet incredibly stable (two things that are hard to to combine). Contrast that with the Bonanza, which was simple to build and used a wing and airfoil borrowed from a Cleveland racer, making it fast, slippery and very much not stable. In the age-old fight between Navion and Bonanzas, speed and simplicity (read cost) of construction won out. The Bonanza was cheaper to build and 15-20 knots faster on the same horsepower. But when you want to get off the ground quickly and in flying Packard style, nothing beats the Navion.

I’m absolutely in love with the navion. First plane I ever got to take control of as a teenager. It’s like sitting in a B-25 cockpit inside of a P-51 body.

I am from South Africa ..as a kid in 1980 my Dad had a friend that owned one of these ..I have about 60 hours as a Pax in this Plane .Awsome Days .Great video.Thanks.

Wow, I had a ride in a Navion when I was a kid, the sliding canopy is about the only thing I remember. It is great that so many of them survive. You wonder if there are any others that are not on the registry, hiding in a barn somewhere! Thanks for the video!

Beautiful aircraft with such a distinctive design. I've always loved the Navion although I've never seen one in real life.

My late uncle (husband to a paternal aunt) was a pilot starting with the Army Air Corps before the US Air Force even existed. From WWII through the Korean conflict, he flew a collective 187 missions and finally retired a Major. Sometime afterwards, he purchased a Ryan Navion, very similar to the model you presented in the video, even the red on white paint job. I assume he acquired it between 1960 and 66 because his first granddaughter was born in the summer of 1966 and when only a week old, that baby rode in that airplane! I, too, had the opportunity on occasion. Alas, his health declined in the late 1970s. Because he could no longer fly, he sold the Navion. Now, I was not present to witness the events myself, but family told me what happened. His two granddaughters were crying a flood of tears as he and the new owner signed the required documents. Before he ink had dried, the buyer climbed into the craft and started to taxi it from the hangar. Suddenly, the nose tipped downward, smashing the propeller into the asphalt while the tail slammed upward into the door frame of the storage building! the fool had not properly inspected the landing gear mechanisms. Not securely "locked" the nose wheel folded into its "gear well" and the plane teetered upon its wing mounted wheels! Not even an hour after a transfer of ownership the buyer "crashed" the plane before it even exited the hangar! No, the new owner was not injured other than his wallet. Supposedly, my cousins' weeping turned to mocking laughter at the buyer's carelessness.🙄 The buyer repaired the plane and it flew again, but eventually, it got sold once more and the next pilot "traditionally" crashed it. Thankfully, that person survived (I think), but that time, well, my uncle's former plane was truly "destroyed". Such a waste because my uncle treated that robust lil' "pond hopper" like gold.😭 Anyway, thank you for the "inspection" and the co-pilot's POV of a short flight! It felt like I was in my uncle's Navion once again! 🥰

I flew a friend's 285/three blade years ago. So solid. His was an Oshkosh category winner way back when. A truly a superb aircraft.

I have never seen one of these before...what a great airplane! Thank you for sharing.

Another great video. Thanks Mark.

I owned a Navion N91768 that I flew all over the south , Built like a tank could fly in and out of a short distance,Love it

My goodness, I enjoy these videos! Keep up the great work, Mark!

That was a lot of fun! My father was very fond of these planes. I have only seen one in person, that was back in the mid "80s. Great video.

I can't stop smiling. What a beautiful little aircraft!

I am a ‘62 Rangemaster G1 w/ IO-520-BA owner. Door is on LH/pilot’s side. Great airplane. Excellent video on these fantastic airplanes - thanks for sharing!

Really enjoyed the video, thanks Mark!

Nice walk around and info. Always been a favorite of mine.

Great everything. Plane, story, narration, flying, video inside and from outside.

So enjoying the format. I'm learning a lot.

I like how the Navion turned back into a Cessna @ 16:58. The app must need to be updated or reinstalled.

Great review of the Navion.

Beautiful plane! I've only ever seen one Navion with my own eyes and they look a bit different than most.

The propeller is variable speed rather than constant speed. If the throttle setting is changed the RPM also changes, so a bit of balancing is required. Another thing...the carburetor will last longer between overhauls if the plane is parked with the mixture knob pushed in to "full rich." Leaving the mixture knob pulled out at "full lean" leaves some rubber parts in the carburetor stretched, which deforms them over time.

Great job Mark. Look forward to watching every video you put out. Hope to pass through in the Skywagon this summer to say hello. Rick from Bellingham

Beautiful!

Nice looking center stack radio panel and one piece windshield. That make this a nice piece of equipment.

Very good thanks. Lots of memories.

I worked with a Lady who owned a Navion. Her and her husband were pilot's and she worked for the Smithsonian Air& Space/Udvar Hazy Center. That plane always stood out. Great looking Air plane 👍

Always wanted to try one of these Navions along with a Varga Kachina.

Gorgeous airport!

Nicely done video. Inspired me to come out to CA and fly it! See you on Saturday!!

My grandfather had a 1949 Ryan Navion complete with tip tanks. I flew many times with him as a kid from a grass airfield in York PA to KLNS for lunch or just to goof around. He had a map in his basement of the continental US with red push pins of all the places he had flown her. Great airplane with styling ahead of its time. This brought back great memories. Ty for the video !

I have always loved the way the Navion had a resemblance to the Mustang. Nice video!

Amazing

These are very good aircraft reviews

After watching this video I’m downloading the restoration APP!! I’m an A&P/IA in Texas. This APP will save me a lot of time. As usual the APP awaiting for FAA approval😎. Great video! Creative, informative, and interesting.

His accent in the airplane review is so freaking cool. And I met a lot of people with cool accents. It was fun. And the inside of this airplane it has seats and it makes this Twin Navion look like a car with wings and I mean the flying car from 1946. And it’s set in a hot place because pilots find it safer to see where they want to fly in order to reach destination.

Good Presentation. Pleasure to hear someone who knows his numbers. 11 gph is spot on for the E225 at cruise. I first saw one of these at an airport in Monticello, Arkansas in the late 1940s...when I was just a kid. We arrived in a Stinson "Voyager"; I asked my dad what the new airplane was. He had worked at NAA on the P-51 and knew a great deal about the Navion. It is good you have the Hartzell prop setup. I had that on a Bonanza converted from electric prop.

Love the Navion.

my dad too WWII guy loved these. he had a piper tri pacer then a c182 but we looked at these and a mooney. we almost got the navion... but dad found a small c182 partnership so.... always have wanted to fly one. not too old yet so who knows :)

600ft takeoff over 50ft at gross with a big engine, that cambered wing is awesome, slow but full of lift, With a Navion you gotta hold 80-100mph for gear retraction, its very hard on the gear doors and pump otherwise, shows how the airplane was designed with 165hp. small tanks too

You can always tell lineage,75 years old and cut from the same cloth,great looking plane!

Gorgeous plane! I would love to own one of those one day. That restoration app must be from the same future as Star Trek.

Thanks. A friend had a Navion in MN in 1960 when we were students at the U of M. He took me flying in one my early experiences airborne. I was inspired and went on to a 63 year career as an active aviator. I really like the plane. Wonder where that one is now.

I have a 100 storied about a 1946 Navion - it was a lot of wild and funny experiences!

The rear step has nothing to do with making a Navion a "B" model. That's an entirely aftermarket STC. What makes a B model are the changes to the engine mount, fuselage reinforcements, an increase in the gear leg hardness (and resulting increase in MGTOW), and several other small changes to support the extra weight of a 260hp Lyc. GO-435 installed in the front. All "big engine" (260hp and up) installs from the TCDS for the Navion require the fuselage reinforcements (often referred to as the "beef up kit"), which is a desirable upgrade, but that alone doesn't make it a B model. This one appears to be still registered as an Navion A, so I'd imagine that what the owner meant when saying that it was rebuilt as a B model, is that it has had the beef up kit installed.

Neat trick going from a Navion to a Cessna in the pattern then back to a Navion.

Great job Mark !! Good description of that beautiful Aircraft. It Is a part of the history.

Seen some with longer sporty front their good looking plane

I've owned & flown two of them. Navion's are great flying aircraft. They are built like a tank with wings.

Mark, I can’t find the app! Does it work on old cars too? 😂 Love the Navion! Beautiful lines!!

Inspired by the P 51, but a wider and longer cockpit, tricycle gear, and about 80% reduction in power and it still does pretty good. It's a nice plane and I have heard it is fun to fly.

that was some serious editing at 14:42 :)

I remember these, in the early 70's I worked the ramp at Sanford airport in Florida. There were still enough of them flying to be readily recognizable. Navion's were also known to be solid, reliable airplanes. Good video, thanks for the memories.

I’ve always loved the Navion. We had one at the FBO I worked for in Kentucky USA for years. Never saw it fly. The gentleman that owned it was a WW2 Wildcat pilot who flew it one hour, ever day, at sun up then put it back in the hangar, every day until he passed away. His son owns it now and doesn’t fly it. It’s a shame.

How tempting to put your favorite mustang livery with dday stripes and a few swastikas by the cockpit.

This is good entertainment while planting peanuts. Thanks!

Aka L-17 in US military service. "L" for Liaison. One was used to take Marion Monroe on a troop entertainment tour during the Korean War. (It's still flying.)

I’ve flown one and the controls felt like a flying tanker but stability was great

i spent lots of time at that airport, visiting with an absent father, early 1960's..watching airplanes. a Navion there always intrigued me. i remember old single engine borate bombers would sink as they left the runway.

Back in the '70's my father-N-L had a copy of this small Mustang. He was a WW2 pilot advanced instructor for ones going into aircraft-over two. He really loved this acft but it was a bit difficult for grand-ma to ngress or egress, later traded for a high wing Caravan to shuttle into remote Canadian strips.

Loved my Navion…wish I still had it. The stiff trim wheel….check the adjustment mechanism way back inside the fuselage…likely needs some lubrication.

Хорошие видосы получаются, спасибо!

That's a beauty of an airplane. I've always loved the looks of the Navion, since I was a wee one. I'm 55 and they have been a rare catch all my life. But when I've had the chance to see one up close, I've taken full advantage. I need that Plane Restoration App, for sure. Is it in the Play Store? LoL There's a full metal C170 at the municipal airport down the road from me that needs it.

An aircraft mechanic once told me that the Navion is such a robust airplane that you could "plow fields with it."

Looks just like the 1970's FA200 (Fuji Aviation) Subaru (SUBA) - which is fixed gear & aerobatic with 2 front seat occupants - unusual for a 4-place.

My dad had a Ryan navion serial no 006 I believe was a 1947 plane no n91104 cool video

The Navion was the first airplane I flew in which was around 1968.

Hi Mark, Hop into the NAvion and fly down to LOO for lunch sometime. That's where I have my 1949 A-Model. Cheers !

Mark the older Navion has the Smiley face

Couple of things with the E-225-8 and the Hartzell propeller. One when starting you don't want to just jam the starter button. You want to just jab it quickly and then wait for the starter to engage. This is the "tick" method. Once engage then do push the button again to start the engine. If it has the E-80 starter you can end up breaking the gear in the accessory case that the starter engage with. On runup no need to pull the prop control all the way out. Just enough to see a drop in RPM then return it. Note how fast it reacts, this will give you an idea on the OTU health. Also with this setup oil pressure keeps fine pitch/high rpm so you are starving the fragile OTU of oil by pulling it all they way out. In general with any CS propeller plane pulling the prop control all the way out and seeing the engine drop significant rpms is not doing the engine any good. Great video really get a feel for the grand old lady.

We had an EAA chapter member who had a twin Navion. He is now deceased and I believe it was donated to a museum.

16:45 She has very handsome wing dihedral. Profile reminds me of Jane Russell.

Good Strong Aircraft.

Another great informative video mark,!thank you. What is its gross and empty weight? Any room for cargo?

New subscriber here--enjoying your content! Love the Navion; have some time in a Rangemaster H...

When you drop the flaps it raises the wings. Crazy! 😂😂😂

😂😂loved the app bit

If I'm not mistaken it had a E-185 and then 205. I had a 47 for 7 yrs and put 750hrs on it. Wonderful airplane.

Nice! If only it was that easy!! Reminds me of a Subaru/Fuji FA200/160. I remember one of those parked at Thruxton UK in the early 1980s, in green and white, iirc, quite striking. This one though looks much smarter! The yoke reminds me of an Aeronca Chief's of the same vintage. Why was there a cutaway to a Cessna/high wing?

The tail, fuselage, and empennage all herald it's ancestor.

Had a good feeling that was placerville from the very start ahaha

Expensive air plane

Always thought the Navion was a good looking airplane 👌🏻

The postwar aviation boom that never materialized ( especially in the case of the Navion ) ?? A lot of pilots, due to their experiences in combat, may have never cared to get under a canopy again.

ok, now i have to have one too.

"Make it so!"

Wasn't there a version of the Navy on

Pre-restoration version can do a barrel roll without leaving the ground. Very economical.

The owner's manual shows that the proper pronounciation is NAvion (Nay VEE On).

Hw is it when your on final saying a lil more flap you are miraculously flying a high wing cessna single and then the next second uour back in the navion lol???