The Temco D-16 is a 1950s twin engine civil aircraft from the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. It was produced by conversion of a

Ryan Navion The Ryan (originally North American) Navion is a single-engine, unpressurized, retractable gear, four-seat aircraft originally designed and built by North American Aviation in the 1940s. It was later built by Ryan Aeronautical Company and ...

to replace its single engine with two wing-mounted engines. It is commonly known as the Twin Navion, although that name is also often applied to a later similar conversion, the Camair 480.

Background

The project began in 1951 as a requirement by Charles Daubenberger for an inexpensive replacement for the corporate Ryan Navion operated by his Dauby Equipment Company, to achieve better reliability while crossing high mountain ranges. He commissioned Roger Keeney of the Acme Aircraft Company to provide a solution, that evolved into a twin engine conversion of a Navion.twinnavion.com
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Design and development

Jack Riley Sr. built the first model with a team of four. With encouragement from Lycoming, the 125 hp

Lycoming O-290 Lycoming may refer to the following, most of which are at least partly in Lycoming County, Pennsylvania, United States: Geography * Lycoming, New York, a hamlet * Lycoming County, Pennsylvania * Lycoming Township, Lycoming County, Pennsylvania * Ly ...

four-cylinder engine was selected for the project. Design changes from the basic Navion structure included strengthened wing spars, that supported engine mounts and other components from

Piper PA-18 Super Cub The Piper PA-18 Super Cub is a two-seat, single-engine monoplane. Introduced in 1949 by Piper Aircraft, it was developed from the PA-11 Cub Special, and traces its lineage back through the J-3 Cub to the Taylor E-2 Cub of the 1930s. In close ...

, plus new engine nacelles, a faired nose section that replaced the existing engine and cowling, and a new vertical tail and rudder based on the existing horizontal stabilizer. During testing in 1952, the aircraft was initially named the X-16 Bi-Navion. On 10 November 1952, it was granted certification by the Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA), after which it was renamed as the D-16 Twin Navion.Simpson 2001 A second aircraft was converted for Jack Riley, who specified 140 hp engines, and he purchased the production rights from Dauby.

Riley Aircraft Riley may refer to: Names * Riley (given name) * Riley (surname) Places * Riley Park–Little Mountain, a neighborhood in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada * Riley Creek (Ontario), a tributary of the Black River in Central Ontario, Canada * Ri ...

then started production of the Riley D-16 Twin Navion, that standardized the design with 150 hp

Lycoming O-320 The Lycoming O-320 is a large family of naturally aspirated, air-cooled, four-cylinder, direct-drive engines produced by Lycoming Engines. They are commonly used on light aircraft such as the Cessna 172 and Piper Cherokee. Different variants ...

engines and other improvements. In March 1953, after 19 conversions had been carried out, Riley subcontracted production to

Temco Aircraft The Texas Engineering & Manufacturing Company (TEMCO), also known as Temco Aircraft Corporation, was a U.S.-based manufacturing company located in Dallas, Texas, USA. It is best known for eventually forming part of the conglomerate Ling-Temco-Vo ...

. Temco then purchased the sole production rights, and produced a further 46 conversions under the name Temco D-16. In September 1954, the design was upgraded to include 170 hp

Lycoming O-340 The Lycoming O-340 is a family of four-cylinder Flat engine, horizontally opposed, carburetor-equipped aircraft engines, that was manufactured by Lycoming Engines in the mid-1950s. Design and development The O-340 was designed by Lycoming specif ...

engines plus increased fuel capacity in wingtip tanks, officially named Temco D-16A but typically marketed as the ''Riley 55'' for the 1955 model year.Simpson 1995

Operational history

In 1957, after 45 conversions to D-16A specification, production ceased in the face of competition from more cost-effective new-build types such as the

Piper PA-23 Apache The Piper PA-23, named Apache and later Aztec, is an American four- to six-seat twin-engined light aircraft aimed at the general-aviation market. The United States Navy and military forces in other countries also used it in small numbers. Origin ...

. Many of the D-16 models were upgraded to D-16A standards. In 2012, about 52 Temco D-16 and D-16A models remain on the US civil aircraft register, and at least three are preserved in museum collections.Simpson 2001Simpson 1995Ogden 2007

Specifications (D-16)

References

;Notes ;Bibliography
FAA Specification 2A1 Rev 5
*Ogden, Bob. 2007. ''Aviation Museums and Collections of North America''. Air-Britain *Simpson, R. W. 1995. ''Airlife's General Aviation''. Airlife Publishing *Simpson, Rod. 2001. ''Airlife's World Aircraft''. Airlife Publishing

External links

{{Temco aircraft Temco aircraft 1950s United States civil utility aircraft Low-wing aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1952 Twin piston-engined tractor aircraft