Ryan PT-22 "Recruit"

ADOPTED
As part of the Museum’s Adopt-a-Plane program, the Ryan PT-22 "Recruit" is adopted in memory of WWII pilot Col. Thomas Ruckman.
The Ryan PT-22 “Recruit” monoplane trainer met the increased training need for pilots and aircrews as US air forces rapidly expanded in the early 1940s. Because a military primary trainer spent at least half of its time practicing landings and takeoffs with new pilots, designers removed the landing gear fairings called “spats.” This allowed for easier inspection and repair of the overworked landing gear. As the US Army Air Corps' first purpose built monoplane trainer, Ryan Aeronautical built over 1,000 PT-22s in 1941-42.

Did you know?

The PT-22 made headlines in 2015 when actor Harrison Ford made an emergency landing in his personal Ryan PT-22 “Recruit” on a golf course in Venice, California. Thankfully, he walked away from the crash site.

About our Aircraft

Our beautifully restored Ryan PT-22 “Recruit” is on loan from friends of the Museum, Carl and Darci Neuzil.
PT-22 Top
PT-22 Overhead
Image Credit: Ryan PT-22 "Recruit" by Peter Davis, Used with Permission, 2014
Listen to the Ryan PT-22 Recruit and see it fly in these excerpts from 8mm films of flight training during WWII at Sequoia Field in Visalia, California.
Video Credit: "WWII Primary Flight Training - Ryan PT-22s at Sequoia Field CA," Uploaded to YouTube by Nater 65, 2020