Fairchild PT-19

Fairchild PT-19
Description
Role	Primary trainer
Crew	Student & instructor
First Flight
Entered Service	1940
Manufacturer	Fairchild, Aeronca, St Louis Aircraft Corp., Howard Aircraft Corp., Fleet Aircraft Corp.
Dimensions
Length	28 ft 0 in	8.53 m
Wingspan	36 ft 0 in	10.97 m
Height	10 ft 6 in	3.20 m
Wing area	ft²	m²
Weights
Empty	lb	kg
Loaded	2,545 lb	1,154 kg
Powerplant
Engines	Ranger L-440-1 (PT-19) Ranger L-440-3 (PT-19A/B) Continental R-670 (PT-23) Ranger L-440-7 (PT-26)
Power	175 hp (L-440-1) 200 hp (L-440-3) 220 hp (R-670)	kW
Performance
Maximum speed	132 mph	212 km/h
Range	430 miles	692 km
Service ceiling	15,300 ft	4,663 m
Rate of climb	ft/min	m/min
Wing loading	lb/ft²	kg/m²
Power/Mass	hp/lb	kW/kg
Armament
None

The Fairchild PT-19 was a monoplane primary trainer aircraft that served with the USAAC, RAF and RCAF during World War II. It was a contemporary of the Kaydet biplane trainer.

In 1940, the original production batch of 275, designated the PT-19, were powered by the 175 hp Ranger L-440-1 engine. In 1941 mass production began and 3,181 of the PT-19A model, powered by the 200 hp L-440-3, were made by Fairchild. An additional 477 were built by Aeronca and 44 by the St Louis Aircraft Corporation. The PT-19B, of which 917 were built, was equipped for blind flying training by attaching a collapsible hood to the front cockpit.

When a shortage of Ranger engines threatened production, the PT-23 model was introduced which was identical except for the 220 hp Continental R-670 powerplant. 869 PT-23s were built as well as 256 of the PT-23A, which was the blind flying-equipped version.

The final variant was the PT-26 which used the L-440-7 engine. The Canadian-built versions of these were designated the Cornell for use by the RAF Empire Air Training Scheme in Canada and Rhodesia. On September 5, 2004, a PT-26 experienced an engine failure on takeoff in Corsicana, Texas. The subsequent crash killed the pilot and his passenger.

• CNN story about PT-26 crash in Texas (http://www.cnn.com/2004/US/Southwest/09/05/plane.crash.ap/index.html)