The Ryan ST as had been built in strict accordance with military requirements

With Stearman and Vultee, Ryan was one of three companies selected in 1940 to produce primary trainers for the USAAC’s great expansion of the period, and its initial type was the PT-16 modelled on the civil STA with wheel spats/leg fairings, a wire-braced low-set monoplane wing, and the 93-kW (125-hp) Menasco L-365-1 inline. The Army tested it as the XPT-16. Its performance won a 15-plane service evaluation order, these to be designated YPT-16s.

In the redesign for the YPT-16s, the basic and familiar ST airframe underwent its first external appearance change. The cockpit openings were cut larger, down to meet the channel stiffeners. Addition of a turnover mast at the front cockpit windshield, A Bendix hand-cranked direct drive inertia engine starter, toe brakes and parking brake completed the redesign and met the immediate military specifications. This was the first low-wing trainer to convince the Army to break away from their 30-year precedent of biplanes being used for initial instruction of aviation cadets.

The 16 prototype and trials aircraft were followed by 40 improved PT-20s. Adoption of the 94-kW (132-hp) Kinner R-440-3 radial with a stronger structure led to the PT-21, of which 100 were produced ; re-engining of older aircraft with the R-440-1 produced the PT-16A and PT-20A.

Next came the PT-22 Recruit with the 119-kW (160-hp) Kinner R-540-1 radial, swept back wings, and the 1,023 army aircraft were complemented by 100 naval equivalents designated NR.

The PT 22 was first ordered by the U.S. Army in 1941, and deliveries commenced the same year. The PT-22 was somewhat different to meet military requirements for ease of accessibility to both cockpits with a parachute. The designations PT-22A and PT-22B were applied respectively to 25 aircraft taken over from a Dutch order in 1942, and to 250 PT-22s retrofitted with the R-540-3 radial. The PT-22 was known post WW2 as the civil ST-3-KR.

In the mid ‘thirties, Ryan offered a single-seat armed version of its tandem two-seat STM primary trainer, which, in turn, had been derived from the S-T initially flown on 8 June 1934. Dubbed STA-Special, the single-seater was powered by a 150hp Menasco C4S air-cooled engine, and a second batch of six ordered in December 1938 for the Guatemalan Cuerpo de Aviacion Militar were each fitted with two 7.7mm wing-mounted guns and referred to as light fighters.

The first of the STM-2s were ordered to be equipped with Menasco C-4S “Pirate” supercharged 150hp engines.

The first group of STM-2s was shipped to the Pilots and Observers School (Army Primary Flying School) at the Kalidjati Air Base to the north of Bandung in Western Java. These ships replaced the Koolhoven FK-51s as basic trainers.

Although training was the main duty of the Ryans, when the war got hot in the area, they were constantly being dispersed and used in other roles. The airplanes were pressed into service as reconnaissance aircraft and to supply remote outposts or patrol ships. It was not unusual for the pilots to strap a five-gallon fuel tank in the front cockpit and go out on a long coastal patrol. When the fuel became low the pilot would land at a convenient clearing, refuel the aircraft and continue his flight. During air raids the Ryans would be hidden under palm leaves.

There are a number of reports involving the agile Ryans serving with the Dutch colonial military services. Several were caught or chased by Japanese aircraft while on training or reconnaissance flights; some managed to get back to their base safely, while others were shot down. During another attack the aviators were given orders to fly at a very high altitude in order to report Japanese airplanes approaching the airfield. At times the Ryans engaged in dogfights with the Zeros. The Ryan showed such maneuverability that it did a fair job of staying out of the firing range of the Japanese airplane. One Ryan had an aileron shot off and still the pilot was able to set the airplane down safely.

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ST
Engine: Menasco B4, 95 hp

STM S2
Engine: Menasco C-4S, 150 hp
Propeller: Sensenich wooden, fixed pitch
Fuel: Aviation Gasoline 100 Octane
Wingspan: 29′ 11″ / 9.12 m
Length: 21′ 5″ / 6.54 m
Wing Area: 124.0 sq. ft / 11.52 sq. m
Height: 6′ 11″ / 2.11 m
Empty: 1,083 lb / 491 kg
Maximum Takeoff weight: 1,600 lb / 726 kg
Armament: Nil
Maximum Speed: 123 knots / 141 mph / 228 km/h
Cruise Speed: 111 knots / 128 mph / 206 km/h
Loading: +/- 10G

STA
Engine: Menasco C4

STA-Special
Engine: Supercharged Menasco, 150 hp

ST-R
Engine: Menasco C-4/D-4, 125 hp
HP range: 125-160
Height: 6.9 ft
Length: 21.5 ft
Wing span: 30 ft
Wing area: 124 sq.ft
Fuel cap: 24 USG
Weight empty: 1030 lb
Gross: 1575 lb
Speed max: 140 mph
Cruise: 120 mph
Range: 350 sm
Stall: 42 mph
ROC: 850 fpm
Take-off dist: 525 ft
Landing dist: 1000 ft
Service ceiling: 17,500 ft
Seats: 2
Landing gear: tail wheel

ST3KR / PT-21-RY
Engine: Kinner

PT-16
Powerplant: l x Menasco L-365-1, 93kW (125 hp)
Span: 9.14m (30ft )
Length: 6.55m (21 ft 6in)
Max TO weight: 726 kg (1,600 lb)
Max speed: 128 mph at sea level
Operational range: 350 miles
Armament: none

PT-22 Recruit
Engine: Kinner R-540 1 5 cylinder radial, 540ci, 160 hp
Empty wt: 1316 lb
MAUW: 1860 lb
Fuel cap: 20 Imp Gal
Cruise approx: 105 mph
Loading: +/- 10G
Stall: 62-64 mph

NR-1
Engine: Kinner R-440, 132 hp

Only 12 Ryan SC-W were built.

Early in 1927 Charles A. Lindbergh obtained the backing of several St. Louis men to compete for the $25,000 prize offered by Raymond Orteig in 1919 for the first non-stop flight between New York City and Paris. In February of that year Lindbergh placed an order with Ryan Airlines in San Diego for an aircraft with specifications necessary to make the flight.

Development began based on a standard Ryan M-2, with Donald A. Hall as principal designer, under the direct supervision of Charles Lindbergh. Certain modifications to the basic high-wing, strut-braced monoplane design had to be made because of the nature of the flight. The wingspan was increased by 10 feet, the ribs had to be spaced 11 in. apart instead of the usual 14 15 in, and the structural members of the fuselage and wing cellule were redesigned to accommodate the greater fuel load (around 2,750 lb). Plywood was fitted along the leading edge of the wings. The fuselage design followed that of a standard M-2 except that it was lengthened 2 feet and streamlined, with no “step” for a windscreen. The cockpit was moved further to the rear for safety and the engine was moved forward for balance, thus permitting the fuel tank to be installed at the center of gravity, completely filling the fore part of the fuselage, up to the roof. The pilot could see forward only by means of a periscope or by turning the aircraft to look out of a side window. A Wright Whirlwind J-5C engine supplied the power. The changes involved only 850 design man hours of work.

Late in April 1927, the work on the aircraft was completed. It was painted silver and carried registration number N-X-211, which, with all other lettering on the plane, was painted in black. Lindbergh made several test flights, and then flew the aircraft from San Diego to New York on May 10-12, making only one stop, at St. Louis. His flight time of 21 hours, 40 minutes set a new transcontinental record.

Flying the Tallmantz Spirit of Saint Louis

After waiting several days in New York for favourable weather, Lindbergh took off for Paris alone, on the morning of May 20, 1927. Thirty-three hours, 30 minutes, and 3,610 miles later he landed safely at Le Bourget Field, near Paris, where he was greeted by a wildly enthusiastic crowd of 100,000.

No flight in history captured the imagination of the Public more than the solo flight across the Atlantic by 24 year old Charles Lindbergh, from New York to Paris, In May, 1927. The distance of 3,610 miles and the time of 33 hrs 39 min spent alone in the air were formidable enough at an average speed of 107 m.p.h. (171 kph). Added to them was the fact that Lindbergh carried no radio or navigation aids, relying instead on dead reckoning, which brought him within three miles of his planned landfall in Ireland.

Lindbergh and the Spirit of St Louis returned to the United States aboard the U.S.S. Memphis on June 11. He received tumultuous welcomes in Washington, D.C. and New York City. From July 20 until October 23 of that year he took the famous plane on a tour of the United States. Then, on December 13, he and the Spirit of St. Louis flew nonstop from Washington to Mexico City; through Central America, Colombia, Venezuela, Puerto Rico; and nonstop from Havana to St. Louis. Beginning in Mexico City, flags of the countries he visited were painted on both sides of the cowling. The two tubes beneath the fuselage are flare dispensers that were installed for Lindbergh’s flights to Latin America and the Caribbean.

On April 30, 1928, the Spirit of St. Louis made its final flight – from St. Louis to Washington, D.C where Lindbergh presented the aircraft to the Smithsonian Institution.

Gallery

Replica:
Tallmantz Aviation Spirit of Saint Louis
Whitney Spirit of Saint Louis

Engine: One Wright J 5C Whirlwind, 200 hp / 165kW
Wing span: 46 ft (14.02 m)
Length: 27 ft 8 in / 8.4328 m
Height: 9 ft 10 in / 2.9992m
Wing area: 29.7 sq.m / 319.69 sq ft
Wing chord: 7 ft
Weight empty: 975 kg / 2150 lb
Weight loaded: 5135lb / 2329.2kg
Fuel capacity : 571 gal / 2160 lt
Cruise speed: 105 mph (170 kph)
Ceiling: 17,500 ft (5,300 m) fully loaded
Max speed: 124 mph
Crew: 1

Twenty-one M-2s were built.

AC-pi
From servicing its planes, Ryan Airlines went into modifying them; and from modifying to building Ryan’s own design, the fast, clean M 1 monoplane. The Ryan M 1 first flew on February 14, 1926, and 16 were built for use on the early Western air routes. The M 1 was reputedly a difficult aircraft to fly, but it led ultimately to one of the most famous aircraft in the world, the Ryan Spirit of St. Louis.
Built by B. F. Mahoney Aircraft Corporation, San Diego.

Design work on the RWD 23 was started in September 1938 as a light low-wing trainer. The main designer was Andrzej Anczutin of the RWD bureau. Among the designers were also Bronisław Żurakowski and Tadeusz Chyliński. Chyliński designed the base mount for its engine. Low power output and simple wooden construction would make it cheap and economical in service.

The first prototype (registration SP-BPO) was flown in late 1938 or early 1939 at Warsaw by Eugenne Przysiecki. It underwent factory trials in June 1939, then it was given to the Aviation Technical Institute for tests. In July 1939, the aircraft at the Torun Sea Rally, organised by the Aero Club of Pomerania. It was destroyed in the factory in the first days of World War II, in September 1939. The plane was found as successful; it could also perform basic aerobatics.

A wooden construction low-wing cantilever monoplane, conventional in layout, with a fixed landing gear and open cockpits. Fuselage semi-monocoque, rectangular in cross-section, plywood-covered. Single-piece trapezoid wings with rounded tips, single-spar, plywood (front) and canvas covered, fitted with flaps. Conventional tail, plywood (fins) and canvas (elevators and rudder) covered. Two open cockpits in tandem, with individual windshields and twin controls. Rear cockpit was raised a bit for a better view. Conventional fixed landing gear with a rear skid, main gear in aerodynamic covers.

62 hp (46 kW) Walter Mikron II inline engine in front, with two-blade wooden propeller. Fuel tank 45 l in a fuselage, cruise fuel consumption 14 l/h.

The second improved prototype was started in the Summer of 1939, with some modifications based on results of the tests of the first prototype, and was under construction when the war broke out, but it was not completed. The LOPP paramilitary organization ordered a series of 10 aircraft, that were not completed due to the war. One RWD-23 was commissioned as a show for Egypt. It has not been delivered because of the war. The sole RWD 23 remained a prototype.

There was design work on a sports version of the RWD-23, which received the designation RWD-26 .

RWD 23
Engine: 1 × Walter Mikron II, Takeoff – 48 kW (65 hp), Continuous – 44 kW (60 hp)
Length: 8 m (26 ft 3 in)
Wingspan: 11.1 m (364 ft 2 in)
Height: 1.9 m (6 ft 3 in)
Wing area: 16 m2 (170 sq ft)
Empty weight: 325 kg (717 lb)
Gross weight: 550 kg (1,213 lb)
Fuel capacity: 50 l (11 imp gal)
Maximum speed: 171 km/h (106 mph; 92 kn) at sea level
Cruising speed: 145 km/h (90 mph; 78 kn)
Stall speed: 65 km/h (40 mph; 35 kn)
Range: 450 km (280 mi; 243 nmi)
Service ceiling: 4,000 m (13,123 ft)
Rate of climb: 2.083 m/s (410.0 ft/min)
Time to altitude: 1,000 m (3,281 ft) in 8 minutes
Endurance: 3.2 hr
Wing loading: 34.4 kg/m2 (7.0 lb/sq ft)
Power/mass: 0.081 kW/kg (0.049 hp/lb)
Crew: 2

During testing of the prototype aircraft RWD-16 bis Eng. Andrzej Anczutin and Eng. Tadeusz Chylinski developed a draft version of this airplane with an engine more powerful, which received the designation RWD-21. With a more powerful performance of the airplane rose substantially. The design of the airplane was not fundamentally different from RWD 16 bis. RWD-21 and RWD 16 bis could distinguish between the different engine cover and windows.

The RWD 21 was a development variant with a stronger 90 hp engine Cirrus Minor and some minor changes, mostly to a canopy.

A wooden construction low-wing cantilever monoplane, conventional in layout, with a fixed landing gear and a closed cockpit. Fuselage semi-monocoque, plywood-covered, duralumin in front engine section. Single-part trapezoid wings with rounded tips, two-spar, plywood (in front) and canvas covered, fitted with split flaps. Conventional cantilever empennage, plywood (fins) and canvas (elevators and rudder) covered. Two seats side-by-side, with twin controls, under a canopy, with a fixed windshield. Behind a cockpit, a place for a baggage. The control column was placed between pilot seats which were situated side-by-side. Conventional fixed landing gear with a rear skid, the main gear in covers. 4-cylinder straight engine in front, driving a two-blade tractor wooden propeller Szomański of a fixed pitch. Fuel tank 73 l in mid-wing section, under the crew seats.

The prototype was flown in February 1939 (registration SP-BPE), the pilot being Eugeniusz Przysiecki. The first series of 10 aircraft was ordered and at least six were completed and registered before the war outbreak (SP-BRE, BRF, BRG, BRH, BRM, KAR).

The aircraft were found by the LOPP paramilitary organization as successful economical planes, suitable for the plan of subsiding a development of the private aviation in Poland. A series of RWD 16bis was ordered by the LOPP at a price of 17,800 złoty (including the engine 6,200 zł), in order to sell airframes to private owners for 9,500 zł (the price of a mid-class car), lending them engines. The price of the RWD 21 was 20,500 zł (including the engine 8,000 zł).

At the outbreak of World War II, one RWD 21 was owned by Wilno Aero Club (SP-BRF), three by the LOPP (SP-BRE, BRG, BRH), one by private owner (SP-KAR) and two remained in the factory (SP-BPE, BRM). After the German invasion on Poland, in September 1939, two RWD 21s (SP-BPE and BRM) were evacuated from the factory to Romania (one of them by a glider pilot Bronisław Żurakowski, who had not flown a plane before). At least one of them (SP-BPE) was used in Romania with markings YR-VEN and returned to Poland after the war. It was next used until the mid-1950s with new markings SP-AKG. It is currently restored and preserved in the Polish Aviation Museum in Kraków. The aircraft was restored then at the No 3 Military Aviation Works in Dęblin. The engine was also restored and started. Since 1995, it is presented in the pre-war colours.

One RWD-21 was commissioned as a show for Egypt. It was not delivered because of the war.

One RWD 21 was evacuated to Latvia, its further fate is unknown.

Gallery

RWD-21
Engine: 1 x Blackburn Cirrus Minor, 65kW / 90hp
Wingspan: 11.00 m / 36 ft 1 in
Wing area: 14.95 sq.m / 160.92 sq ft
Length: 8.40 m / 28 ft 7 in
Height: 2.12 m / 7 ft 11 in
Max take-off weight: 685 kg / 1510 lb
Empty weight: 425 kg / 937 lb
Max. speed: 210 km/h / 130 mph
Cruise speed: 180 km/h / 112 mph
Stall speed: 72 kph
Ceiling: 5500 m / 18050 ft
Range: 650 km / 404 miles
Climb rate: 4.7 m/sec
Crew: 2

A high wing, two seat, single engine experimental touring aircraft. First flying in 1937, one was built.

A low wing, two seat, single engine sports aircraft. First flying in 1938, one was built.