Tag Archives: navion

Navion Rangemaster

The Navion is a type that you see a fair bit around the US. They are a popular aircraft and are both used for private flying and also sometimes for display teams. I’ve shot a bunch of them over the years. However, I did not know until very recently that Ryan, when they took over the design, came up with a larger cabin version of the aircraft called the Rangemaster. I only found out because I happened to shoot one at Paine Field. It was only when I looked it up that I found out what it was. I may have seen one before but I certainly didn’t know it if I did. A quick search shows that there weren’t too many of them built and I guess a lot less are currently airworthy.

So Close to a Gear Up Landing

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A gear up landing is never something you want to have. What is worse is doing it in front of a lot of people. However, the crowd can sometimes be a benefit. The open house at Paine Field included some flybys by various types and one Navion was the last in his group to recover. Coming down the approach with flap deployed but no gear he looked very odd. I imagine the horn should have been blaring but, whatever the reason, he continued. Much frantic waving by the crowd and a call from the air boss had the desired effect, fortunately. A go around ensued followed by a normal approach a landing. I understand many beers were bought that night.

Some Nice Evening Light on the Planes

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During the evening of the Eagle Field fly-in, there was a dinner held in the hangar. I took the time to wander around outside as it had become a lot quieter and the chances to shoot the aircraft had improved. As the sun went down, things got considerably better and the evening light was lovely. Not all aircraft were well oriented to take advantage of it but there was still plenty of scope.

Eagle Field Fly-In

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My trip in the Harpoon was to get to the fly-in at Eagle Field. This is an event that I previously didn’t know anything about so I went with few preconceptions. As it turned out, this year was not the most well attended that they have had. A selection of aircraft showed up for the event but not as many as hoped for. A few T-6s were there along with a C-54, some Navions, an Interstate Kadet and us. Some less exotic types were also there such as Pipers and Cessnas. There was also quite a gathering of military vehicles. These are not something that I know a lot about. During the day some reenactors also carried out some firefight demonstrations.

The following morning, the visitors headed back out. We were one of the last to go so got to watch the other aircraft start up, taxi out and take off. Most put in at least one pass before they headed home.