Art Laguna in front of Ryan L-17B 48-1046 at Ft. Rucker, AL Photo by Art Laguna
Art Laguna in front of Ryan
L-17B 48-1046 at
Ft. Rucker, AL
Photo by Art Laguna
Art Laguna was an Army Aviator and a strong L-17 enthusiast, providing great information to L-17.ORG. I never had a chance to meet Art, but we looked forward to the possibility at some point. I learned not all that long ago that we lost Art in Iraq (from his wife):
"Art was killed in Baghdad on January 23, 2007 flying an MD500 for Blackwater air providing cover for an embassy convoy that had come under attack. Five men lost their lives flying cover that day. The woman in charge of reconstructing Iraq and other members of the convoy were safe and made it back to base."
Clear skies and tailwinds, Art.
The NAvion
was the first civilian aircraft
manufactured by
North American
Aviation after ceasing
production of the P-51
Mustang of WW II fame. 246 military NAvions were built for liaison,
reconnaissance, personnel, and light cargo duties and given the military designation
L-17.
Two models of L-17s were
built: 83 L-17A models were manufactured by
North American Aviation and
163 L-17B models
were built
by
Ryan
Aeronautical Company after they acquired
the rights to the NAvion (and L-17) in July, 1947. 35 L-17A aircraft were
later updated to L-17C configuration
by the Schweitzer
Aircraft Company, fitting them with L-17B model features such as an auxiliary fuel tank.
4 L-17A aircraft were later adapted as
QL-17 radio-controlled target drones. A special-built L-17, the
Model 72, was tested as a
primary flight trainer for the USAF and Navy but lost the competition to the
Beech T-34 Mentor
Used for a variety of purposes
by the USAF and U.S. Army Air Forces, the L-17
was pressed into
Forward Artillery Control (FAC)
for a time during the Korean War until replaced by other aircraft such as the
T-6 Texan. The L-17 was then relegated to a support role, hauling light cargo and
personnel. Both General Douglas MacArthur and
Major General Matthew Ridgeway had
personal
L-17s. After the Korean War, most L-17s were released to squadron "hack"
duties and finally released to the Civil Air Patrol (CAP) or Air Force/Army
Flying Clubs before entering civilian hands.
The NAvion is experiencing a resurgence based on it's rugged design, excellent flying qualities and availability of a broad range of speed and utility modifications. However, few of the current generation of NAvion owners are aware of it's true military heritage. Although 246 L-17s were manufactured, less than 70 are registered today, very few of those are in military colors and virtually none in an original configuration.
Myths and legends abound, but these aircraft served their country well and exist in relative obscurity today. This web site is intended to preserve the military heritage of the L-17 by acting as a registry and central repository of photos, documents and other information.
L-17.ORG is dedicated to those that built, maintained and flew the North American/Ryan L-17/U-18 NAvion aircraft operated by the U.S. Army Air Forces, U.S. Air Force, U.S. Air National Guard, Civil Air Patrol and other Air Forces around the world from 1947 through the late 1960's and the current-day owners, operators and enthusiasts!
This site is made possible by our Contributors!
Bill Lattimer
Owner/Pilot, Ryan L-17B 48-1007
billla@warbird.org
Material contained in this website is published for examination and evaluation by the reader. L-17.ORG/WARBIRD.ORG accepts no responsibility for any item on this website.