[red sta image]

Do I own & fly one of these beauties? Only in my dreams... What you see is a Ryan STA. These aircraft were popular in the thirties, being one of the first low-wing sportplanes to follow the biplane age. The Ryan Sport Trainer series was one of, if not the, first aircraft in production to use an aluminum monocoque structure. The aircraft is powered by the Menasco Pirate, an inverted 4 cylinder engine of between 95 and 150 horsepower, depending on the model.

[silver sta image]

I like the plane for its appearance & performance. Its aerobatic; in fact a man named Tex Rankin flew a stock version to win the International Aerobatic competition in 1937. The appearance speaks for itself. The photos are from Oshkosh, in 1995.

If I had a spare $100,000+, I'd have one today...

Below is a photo of the prototype Ryan YPT-16. This aircraft is an adaptation of the ST/A for military testing. Eventually, the U.S. Army bought many of these aircraft for training purposes. Thousands of aviators were trained for and during WWII in these aircraft, and also in an offspring, the PT-19 - a round motor, wood fuselage version.

Another military version was also developed - a float version that saw action with Japanese Zeros while in use in the South Pacific. I don't have my reference handy, but I believe it was the STM version that was float equipped and saw action as aircraft in the Dutch air corps. Check out another enthusiats page for more information; or the museum's own site.

[YPT-16 Prototype]

Thanks to the people at Aero Web That's where I got the YPT-16 image. For a while, this was the only image I could find online of this breed of Ryan. Check them out for photos & data of various historic aircraft (primarily military, prior to the Jet Age).
Comments and corrections: B Simon