The Timm N2T Tutor is an American training monoplane built by the Timm Aircraft Corporation for the United States Navy as the N2T-1.[1]

Quick Facts N2T Tutor, Role ...
N2T Tutor
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Timm N2T-1 basic trainer of the US Navy at the National Museum of Naval Aviation at NAS Pensacola in 2007
Role Training monoplane
National origin United States
Manufacturer Timm Aircraft
First flight 1940
Primary user United States Navy
Number built 262 (N2T-1)
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Design and development

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Timm S-160 during U.S. Navy testing

The Timm S-160 (or Timm PT-160K) was a conventional tandem open-cockpit monoplane trainer first flown on the 22 May 1940 by test pilot Vance Breese. It was powered by a Kinner R-5 radial engine and was a low-wing cantilever monoplane with a tailwheel landing gear. It had an unusual feature in that the airframe structure was made from resin impregnated and molded plywood, creating a composite material stronger and lighter than plywood. This process was patented as the Nuyon process and marketed as the aeromold process.[2] The S-160 received the first approval for a plastic-wood construction, (ATC #747), on 28 August 1941.[3]

The PT-175-K variant was fitted with a Kinner R-53 engine. This was followed by the PT-220-C with a 220 hp (164 kW) Continental W-670-6 engine and larger tail.[citation needed]

Operational history

The PT-220C was evaluated by the United States Navy, which ordered 262 aircraft in 1943 as the N2T-1, incorporating only slight changes from the prototypes.[4] The N2T-1 was a U.S. Navy basic trainer which the Navy nicknamed "Tiny Timm." The entire initial order was delivered in 1943 with no follow-on contract due to the military placing too many orders for Army and Navy trainers.[citation needed]

Postwar

Although popular and relatively reliable, the N2T-1 was not built for long-term use, especially being made almost entirely of a wood based composite material that proved to be susceptible to decomposing.[citation needed] Postwar, the N2T was sold to private owners and 10 remained on the U.S. civil aircraft register in 2001.[citation needed]

Variants

PT-160-K
Version with a 160 hp (119 kW) Kinner R-5 engine.
PT-175-L
Version with a 175 hp (130 kW) Kinner R-53 engine.
PT-220-C
Version with a 220 hp (164 kW) Continental W-670-6 engine.
N2T-1
Production version of the PT-220C for the United States Navy, 262 built.

Operators

 United States

Accidents

An N2T-1, tail number N56308, crashed during the Rocky Mountain Airshow at the Flagler Airport, Flagler, Colorado, on 15 September 1951, killing the pilot and 19 spectators.[5] The Mississippi director of aviation banned airshows in the state that year as a result.[6]

Surviving aircraft

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N2T-1 on display at the Air Zoo

N2Ts are preserved in U.S. museums, including examples at the National Museum of Naval Aviation at NAS Pensacola, Florida, and at the Air Zoo at Kalamazoo Municipal Airport, Michigan.[7]

Specifications (N2T-1)

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3-view line drawing of the Timm N2T-1 Tutor

Data from The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft[8]

General characteristics

  • Crew: Two
  • Length: 24 ft 10 in (7.57 m) [9]
  • Wingspan: 36 ft 0 in (10.97 m)
  • Height: 10 ft 8 in (3.25 m) [9]
  • Wing area: 185 sq ft (17.19 m2) [9]
  • Empty weight: 1,940 lb (880 kg) [9]
  • Gross weight: 2,725 lb (1,236 kg)
  • Powerplant: 1 × Continental R-670-4 radial engine , 220 hp (164 kW)

Performance

  • Maximum speed: 144 mph (232 km/h, 125 kn)
  • Cruise speed: 124 mph (200 km/h, 108 kn) [9]
  • Range: 400 mi (640 km, 350 nmi) [9]
  • Service ceiling: 16,000 ft (4,877 m) [9]
  • Rate of climb: 900 ft/min (4.57 m/s) [10]

See also

Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era

Related lists

References

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