North American NA-16

NA-16

Manufacturer: North American Aviation
First flight: 1 April 1935
Primaryuser: United States Army Air Corps
Developed into: North American BT-9 T-6 Texan North American P-64 CAC Wirraway

The North American Aviation NA-16 was the first trainer aircraft built by North American Aviation, Inc. and was the beginning of a line of North American trainer aircraft that would number more than 17,000 examples.

Design and development

The NA-16 was a single engine, low-wing monoplane with tandem seating in open cockpits and fixed landing gear. A Wright Whirlwind radial air-cooled engine of 400hp powered the aircraft. While it was mostly of metal construction, the rear fuselage was fabric covered.

The NA-16 flew for the first time on 1 April 1935, and was submitted to the United States Army Air Corps for evaluation as a basic trainer. The Army accepted the trainer for production but with some significant changes. These changes included replacing the Wright engine with a Pratt & Whitney R-1340, and enclosing the cockpits as well as fairing the landing gear. The modified NA-16 was re-designated by North American as the NA-18, with production examples entering Air Corps service as the North American BT-9 (NA-19).

In Australia, the Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation produced 755 units of a modified version of the NA-16 known there as the Wirraway between 1939 and 1946.

Two NA-16 trainers were supplied to the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service for evaluation, designated KXA1 and KXA2, in 1938.

Specifications (NA-16)

General characteristics

Crew: two
Length: 27ft 7 in (8.41 m)
Wingspan: 42ft (12.80 m)
Height: ft ( m)
Wing area: ft² ( m²)
Empty: 3,078lb (1399kg)
Loaded: lb ( kg)
Maximum takeoff: lb ( kg)
Powerplant: 1x— Wright Whirlwind 400 shp (298.4kW) each

Performance

Maximum speed: 170mph (273.7km/h)
Range: 700 miles (1127km)
Service ceiling: ft ( m)
Rate of climb: ft/min ( m/min)
Wing loading: lb/ft² ( kg/m²)
Power/mass: 0. hp/lb (0. kW/kg)

Armament

None

Related development

North American BT-9
North American BC-1
North American A-27
T-6 Texan
North American P-64
CAC Wirraway

Comparable aircraft

Miles Master

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Source: WikiPedia