As the
Army trained pilots to enter combat flying airplanes, they found that
trainers of the time, like the Stearman, were forgiving aircraft. The
Army wanted a trainer than was more demanding of the pilot, as a
fighter would be. The Cornell gave them higher wing loading and higher
stall speeds, which gave trainees a bit more of a challenge. This is
what the Army wanted, a trainer that would behave similarly to a
fighter at slower speeds. The PT-26 was the last line of the Cornells,
which included the PT-19 and PT-23. The PT-26 was the only one with an
enclosed cockpit.
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