The Stinson Vultee V-77 Gull Wing is a four-to-five seat single engine
high wing aircraft designed for private operators and small charter
companies. The Stinson Reliant is a tail dragger built of fabric-covered
welded steel-tubing structures with a single strut-braced double-tapered
wing and flew first in 1933. There were three basic versions of the SR
Reliant series airplanes each variation building upon its predecessor
with upgraded engines and design refinements. The SR, SR Special, SR-1,
SR-2, SR-3, SR-4, SR-5 and the SR-6 together are one version commonly
known as the "Straight Wing" Reliant's. These Straight Wing Reliant's
have two struts on each side. Second SR series were the SR-7, SR-8, SR-9
and SR-10 which together are known as the "Gull Wing" Reliant's, these
aircraft have a single strut for each wing. The third and last Stinson
Reliant version was the V-77 which was a modified SR-10 designed for the
American military under the designation AT-19. The construction details
and general arrangement of the model AT-19 were typical to that of the
SR-10 series, and varied only in basic detail, primarily the fuselage
and the cowling. The prototype of the AT-19 was first flown in July
1942. The Reliant was used by the U.S. Army in World War II as a utility
aircraft, designated UC-81, and as trainer designated AT-19, but was
built during World War II primarily for the Royal Navy FAA. Vultee Aircraft Inc.
built 500 Stinson Reliants for the Army Air Corps as AT-19’s. Half of them were built
in 1942 and half in 1943. All of the AT-19’s were lent to Britain on the Lend-Lease Plan during WWII.
They were all ferried to Britain by way of Brazil and the Azores. The
AT-19 version as "Reliant 1" was a five-place airplane used to ferry
personnel, the AT-19A as "Reliant 2" was equipped with radios and used
to train British military personnel in the arts of navigation and radio
communication; the AT-19B as the "Reliant 3" was used for observation
and aerial photography, while the AT-19C as "Reliant 4" was used mostly
for cargo hauling and air express shipments. The V-77 is actually a
Vultee model number, as in 1940, the Stinson Aircraft Division had been
purchached by Vultee Aircraft Inc. and Stinson was at that time the
Stinson Division of Consolidated Vultee Aircraft Corporation. The V-77
was Vultee's 77th design. From 1933 to 1941, Stinson delivered 1,327
Reliant's ranging from the SR-1 through the SR-10. Into late 1943, five
hundred of the AT-19 series were built. Stinson Aircraft was actual the
Stinson Aircraft Division of the Aviation Manufacturing Corporation. In
1940, the Aviation Manufacturing Corporation sold the Stinson Aircraft
Division to Vultee Aircraft Inc.. On 17 March 1943, Vultee Aircraft Inc.
merged with Consolidated Aircraft Corporation: the new company name was
Consolidated Vultee Aircraft Corporation, Stinson Division.
Stinson Vultee V-77 Gull Wing Reliant
NC64435 was built in 1943 by the Stinson Aircraft Division of Vultee
Inc. for the Royal Navy as an AT-19 / Stinson Reliant during WWII. In total the RN Fleet
Air Arm ordered 250 Stinson AT-19 Reliant I under Contract No. DA1072-10
(Serial Numbers: FB523-FB772, ex USAAF 42-43964-44213) and 250 Stinson
AT-19 Reliant I under Contract No. DA-1072 (Serial Numbers: FK814-FL163,
ex USAAF 42-46640-46889). The aircraft were produced in in Romulus, Michigan where the current Detroit Metro
Airport sits today. However 500 aircraft were ordered and built,
it is not known how many actually went to England or overseas, and how
many stayed unassembled in crates in the US. The lend-lease aircraft
that were delivered were used as an advanced trainer, utility passenger
carrier and for photo-reconnaissance work. After the war, reportedly 353
AT-19 Stinson Reliant aircraft were returned from England and overseas
to the United States, with the last aircraft returned to Norfolk,
Virginia, in February 1946. The US authorities attempted to sell the
former Fleet Air Arm Reliants as "war surplus", but no one could buy
them because the AT-19 / Reliant I had never been certified as a
civilian aircraft. Vultee bought them all up and "remanufactured" them
as the V-77 to comply with the type certificate, that was approved by
the FAA on 26 November 1946. As a result all of the wartime Reliants are
known as V-77's instead of SR-10s. All the V-77's show a manufacture
date in 1946 and the factory started new logs, so the military logs are
not associated with the individual airplanes. The Stinson Vultee V-77
Gull Wing Reliant "NC64435" airframe received the c/n 77-499. On 18
April 1958, the aircraft was registered N64435 in the USA. In November
1988, the N64435 was registered with European Aircraft Charter Inc,
Wilmington, Delaware. The Stinson Vultee V-77 Gull Wing Reliant N64435
was painted in pre-war 'American Airlines' colors with registration
NC64435 and was seen at oldtimer fly-ins, like the 1994 fly-in at
Oldenburg-Hatten. In 1995, the aircraft was stored after an incident. On
3 June 2006, the aircraft was registered with David O Michaud, Nurnberg.
On 14 February 2011, the aircraft was registered with Gk Aviation
Consulting Inc., Wilmington, Delaware. On 13 february 2015, the N64435
was registered with Egmond Aircraft LLC, Lewis, Delaware. In March 2015,
after about twenty-years in storage in Germany, the fuselage, wings,
etc. of the N64435 were delivered at Hoogeveen airfield in the
Netherlands. On 29 June 2015, the Stinson Vultee V-77 Gull Wing was seen
in pre-war American Airlines colors at Hoogeveen airfield after rebuilt
and major overhaul by ATN Aircraft Division in association with Howard
Cox. The colors are based on the colors of the pre-war Stinson SR-9C
Reliants operated by American Airlines for instrument pilot training and
route survey. On 30 June 2015, the aircraft flew first after its
restoration and was flown by its owner Howard Cox. The restoration of
the Stinson Vultee V-77 Gull Wing Reliant N64435 will be finished in the
UK with a repaint.
Luchtvaart déjà vu
