Camair Twin Navion Explained
The
Camair Twin Navion was a civil
utility aircraft produced in the
United States in the 1950s by converting single-engine
Ryan Navions to twin-engine power. It had been one of two programs to improve the performance of the otherwise-pleasing Navion that was generally considered to be underpowered. The other program had resulted in the
TEMCO-Riley D-16A Twin Navion. The Twin Navion design had been undertaken by the White brothers of White Engineering in
San Antonio, Texas. They replaced the Navion's
engine with a baggage compartment, mounted two engines within new
nacelles attached to the wing leading edges, fitted the aircraft with a new tail
fin made of
fiberglass, and added tip tanks made from recycled
WWII napalm canisters. Designated the
WE-1, the
prototype and the rights were sold to
Camair soon after its first flight in 1953 and Civil Aviation Authority
type certification was achieved in May 1955 under the name
Camair 480. Sales were slow and Camair built only 25 examples before selling off the rights in 1959. The ownership of these rights would change hands twice again over the following decade but only another eight aircraft would be built after the end of Camair's involvement
References
- Book: Bridgman, Leonard . Jane's All The World's Aircraft 1956–57 . 1956 . The McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc . New York .
- Book: Taylor, Michael J. H. . Jane's Encyclopedia of Aviation . 1989 . Studio Editions . London . 225 .
- Book: Jane's All the World's Aircraft 1978-79 . Jane's Yearbooks . London . 263–64 .
- twinnavion.com
