Specifications

Manufacturer:	Stinson
Year/Model:	1944 V-77 Reliant Mk. I (ATC# 774)
C/N:	77-368
Tail Number:	N69990
Power Plant:	1 × Lycoming R-680-E3B, 300 hp
Wingspan:	41 feet 11 inches
Length:	28 feet 3 inch
Max T/O Weight:	4000 pounds
Empty Weight:	2634 pounds
Payload with Fuel Weight:	695 pounds
Payload Useful Weight:	1366 pounds
Maximum Speed:	163 mph
Maximum Range:	560 nautical miles
Service Ceiling:	14,000 feet
Crew:	Pilot and 2 passengers
Status:	Static Display - Under Restoration
Owner:	Estrella Warbirds Museum

In Flight

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History

The Stinson V-77 Reliant was used by the United States Air Forces in WW II as a utility aircraft, designated UC-81, and as a trainer designated AT-19. After the war, they were sold on the civilian market as the Vultee V-77. The V-77 was a spartan version of the SR-10 with the 300 hp Lycoming R680-E3B, a single door on the left side and the traditional "bump" cowl was replaced with a simpler smooth cowl. Internal structure was beefed up significantly over the commercial models and a distinctive triangle-shaped counterbalance was added to the rudder.

Per Ed Coates, "Just as the L-5 received a civil ATC allocation, so did the Stinson AT-19 Reliant (ATC # 774) although in this case the civilianized machine also received a new model number, to wit V-77. This aircraft was a development of the Stinson SR-10J and was originally ordered by the USAAF as a navigational trainer, s/n 43-44081. Most of the 500 built went to the UK as Lend-Lease assets.

Designated Reliant Mk. I, this one served with the Fleet Air Arm of the Royal Navy with the s/n FB640. At war's end no fewer than 350 were shipped back to the U.S., testament indeed to their ruggedness. Most of the craft seen today are dolled up as 'warbirds', although this attractive example is an exception." The Reliant was a high-wing, fixed-tail-wheel land  monoplane powered with a variety of radial engines.

1,327 Reliants of all types were made from 1933 to 1941, in different models, from SR-1 to SR-10. The final commercial model, the Stinson Reliant SR-10, was introduced in 1938. A militarized version was first flown in February 1942 and remained in production through several additional versions (all externally identical) until late 1943 for the US and British armed forces.

Reliant production can be broken into two distinct types – the straight-wing Reliants (all models up to SR-6) and the gull-wing Reliants (all models from SR-7 and after, including the militarized V-77/AT-19), with there being little in common between the two groups of types. The straight-wing Reliant had a wing of constant chord and thickness which was supported by two struts each side with additional bracing struts. In contrast the taper-wing Reliant had the broadest chord and thickness of the wing at mid-span, with the outer wing trailing edge heavily angled forward and a rounded cutout on the leading edge root, all supported by a single strut. The taper wing had a significant step up between the fuselage and the wing, and the changes in wing thickness gave it a distinct gull appearance from the front.