Navion Rangemaster
N2420T
(c/n 2420)
After Ryan ceased turning out Navions
(see the entry for Ryan Navion) there
was a nine year hiatus
on
production of them until the
Navion Aircraft Company of Harlingen, Texas decided to reintroduce
a five
seater variant called the Rangemaster in 1960. Although the
Rangemaster was powered by
the
same 260
hp Lycoming engine as the
Navion Super 260, it was a totally different machine from the
original
Navion. Instead of the rear sliding canopy of earlier
Navions, the Rangemaster had a "razor-
back"
style five seat
cabin. The shape of the tail was also revised.
However, the most noticeable
difference between this and the old Navions were the wing tip tanks
(which also made photographing
them
difficult). The Navion Rangemaster, incidentally, was one of the few
types wherein
the constructor's
number
equaled the registration number. This shot, taken at Fullerton
Municipal Airport, some 30 km
east of
Los Angeles depicts the two thousand four hundred and twentieth
Navion built (of all
breeds).