Ryan PT-22 Recruit

In 1933, Claude Ryan began producing the S-T (Sport-Trainer) monoplane for civilian pilot training. The U.S. Army Air Corps acquired an example of the S-T in 1939; the USAAC was seeking monowing trainers to replace its fleet of biplane training aircraft, since all of the combat aircraft being produced were of monowing design. They found the plane to their liking, and contracted with Ryan for production of the aircraft. The PT-22 was the most extensively built model, with 1,023 planes being produced.

The plane has a crew of two: pupil and instructor. The plane uses 6 gallons of aviation fuel per hour at routine usage. A full load of fuel costs $4.80. The plane had a historical range of 352 miles.

Ryan P-22 Recruit

Subassemblies: Recon Fighter chassis +2; Recon Plane wings +2; 3 fixed wheels +0.

Powertrain: 119-kW HP gasoline engine with 119-kW prop and 24-gallon fuel tank [Body], 4,000 kWs battery.

Occ.: 2 XCS Body

Cargo: 7 Body

Armor F RL B T U

All: 2/3 2/3 2/3 2/3 2/3

Equipment:

Body: Backup driver option, autopilot, small radio transmitter and receiver (3-mile range), navigation instruments.

Statistics:

Size: 22'x30'x7' Payload: 0.27 tons Lwt.: 0.93 tons

Volume: 96 Maint.: 150 hours Cost: $1,772

HT: 7. HPs: 15 Body, 25 each Wing, 2 each Wheel.

aSpeed: 131 aAccel: 4 aDecel: 19 aMR: 5 aSR: 1

Stall Speed: 50 mph. Take Off Run: 278 yards. Landing Run: 250 yards.

gSpeed: 181 gAccel: 9 gDecel: 10 gMR: 0.5 gSR: 2

Ground Pressure: Low. 1/3 Off-Road Speed.

Design Notes:

Historical wing area was 134 sf. Design loaded weight was 1,923 lbs.; it was decreased 3% to the historical. Design aSpeed was 136 mph. Historical values were used for all calculations when available. A 30-gallon fuel tank was purchased for the design; the historical 24-gallon capacity is shown. Using the calculated gSpeed at 1/3 Off-Road speed (60 mph) gSpeed is 120% of stall speed, allowing the aircraft to easily get airborne from a rough field, at the GM's discretion.

Variants:

The YPT-16 (1939) were 15 aircraft initially acquired by the USAAC for further evaluations. They featured a 93-kW engine.

The PT-20 (1940) was the USAAC's initial order of 30 aircraft. They were essentially the same as the YPT-16.

The PT-21 (1941) featured a 98-kW engine. 100 produced. The PT-16A and PT-20A were up-engined aircraft of the former models. All of these aircraft also featured wheel spats for improved aerodynamics. The spats were deleted from the PT-22 to allow for easier maintenance and inspection of the landing gear--a vital task for a training plane!

The PT-22A (1941) were 25 aircraft built for the Netherlands that were ultimately acquired by the USAAC. The Navy ordered 100 examples of the PT-22 as well. Their version was designated the NR-1 Recruit.

From the Aerodrome for GURPS

© 2009 by Jim Antonicic