March 2018
This pre-war trainer sits on the tarmac during the LA County Airshow. In the late 1930’s Fairchild began development of a new primary training aircraft that resulted in the PT-19. Compared to the earlier biplane trainers, the PT-19 was capable of higher speeds and handling characteristics more closely approximated that of combat aircraft. As was standard at the time, aircraft type had multiple designation(s) based on the powerplant installed. Production of PT-23’s began in 1942 when concerns mounted over a possible shortage of Ranger engines. Interestingly, while Fairchild built the first two prototype PT-23 aircraft, all subsequent production of this particular model was done by licensed manufacturers. This example was manufactured by Aeronca. Nikon D7100 w/18-200mm.