North American began building Navions in 1946 for the civilian market. In the military, these were referred to as the L-17, then later the U-18. 2,469 total were built with about 246 for the military. North American built the first 1,100 or so before the rights to build the aircraft were sold to Ryan. Ryan built another 1,240. Later, TUSCO manufactured another 120. Unlike other warbirds, the Navion is pretty roomy inside, a testament to the fact that they were built for the civilian market first.
Four of the Navions that showed up for the 2005 Camarillo Air Show. There were at least 5 Navions there for the show.
