North American Navion

1 × Piston Unpressurized Low Wing • Retractable

Range Map

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+ cargo

Payload vs. Range

Occupants:

Fuel on board

Cargo

Range

Cargo is additional payload after occupants and baggage.

Adjust payload

full tanks

Available Range / nm

Mission capable. This load flies with full fuel.

Fuel reduced by . left aboard for nm range.

Over max payload by . At this load it cannot lift a single occupant.

Trip Preview

Mission Profile

MOSAIC Eligible

Used market

115

KTAS

Cruise Speed

450

Max Range

15,600

Service Ceiling

Occupants

810

lbs

Wet Payload

Endorsements & ratings:

Complex

North American NA-145 Navion (N91766). Photo: ZLEA, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Estimated Ownership Costs

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About the North American Navion

Type certificated 1947 Source: FAA Type Certificate Data Sheet

Overview

The North American Navion is a four-seat, low-wing cruiser with an all-metal airframe, retractable tricycle gear, and a sliding bubble canopy, type-approved under FAA TCDS A-782. North American Aviation designed it in 1946 as a civil companion to its wartime fighters and marketed it as a little brother to the P-51 Mustang; the family resemblance is real, but the airframe shares no Mustang structure. North American sold the design to Ryan Aeronautical in 1947, which built the Navion A and B through 1951, and the type later continued as the long-range Navion Rangemaster under Tulsa-based successors.

For a buyer it is a roomy, docile cruiser built for solidity rather than speed. On the original 185 hp Continental E-185 it trues around 115 knots, comfortably behind the contemporary Beechcraft Bonanza, which was faster and outsold it, but it answers with a wider cabin, honest manners, and a reputation for strength. Its clean stall near 54 knots sits just inside the MOSAIC sport-pilot envelope, though as a retractable, complex airplane it requires the matching endorsements.

Key Features for GA Buyers

Cabin and visibility: a 47-inch-wide cabin and a sliding canopy give four occupants room and good all-round visibility, easy to enter and pleasant on long legs.
Docile, forgiving handling: the Navion is famously honest at low speed, resists spinning, and lands short, a legacy of its L-17 military liaison heritage.
Built like a tank: the heavy all-metal structure is a large part of the type’s enduring appeal and its safety record.

Trade-offs

Heavy and thirsty for its speed: the weight that makes it feel solid also makes it slow and fuel-hungry per knot, roughly 11 gph to true 115 knots on the E-185.
Short legs on base fuel: the standard 40-gallon tankage gives only about 450 nm, so most flying examples add auxiliary or tip tanks to be useful cross-country.
Orphan-type support: there is no factory behind it; parts, knowledge, and the hydraulically actuated gear system depend on the American Navion Society and a specialist shop network.

Technical Specifications

Dimensions & Weights

Height: 9 ft
Length: 28 ft
Parking area (ft²²): 1,410 ft²

Max Takeoff Weight: Source: FAA Type Certificate Data Sheet 2,850 lbs
Max Landing Weight: 2,850 lbs
Useful Load: Source: third-party reference 1,050 lbs
Fuel Capacity: Source: FAA Type Certificate Data Sheet 40 gal

Performance

Cruise Speed: Source: third-party reference 115 KTAS
Never-Exceed (V_NE): Source: FAA Type Certificate Data Sheet 165 KIAS
Max Structural Cruise (V_NO): Source: FAA Type Certificate Data Sheet 139 KIAS
Approach Speed: 56 KIAS
Stall, Clean (V_S₁): Source: third-party reference 54 KIAS
Range: Source: third-party reference 450 NM
Service Ceiling: Source: third-party reference 15,600 ft
Rate of Climb: 1000 fpm

Engine

Sources

Where the figures on this page come from. North American Navion specifications are traced to published references; estimated values are flagged inline next to the figure.

1 × Piston Low Wing Used market

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