The Consolidated Model 2 was a PT-1 biplane trainer diverted to the United States Navy for a trainer competition in 1925.
The PT-1 became the first training airplane purchased by the USAAS in substantial quantity following World War I.
Aviation cadets in Texas and California flew it extensively during the late 1920s and early 1930s.
It acquired the nickname ‘Trusty’ for their excellent ability to make a quick and effective recovery from a spin.
Easy to fly, the Trusty made some students overconfident, and they received a shock when they advanced to faster airplanes with more difficult handling characteristics.
The ‘Trusty’ was commonly flown without its cowlings in an effort to prevent overheating
Whereas the TW-3 had supplemented the JN-4D, the PT-1 supplanted this wholly obsolescent type and was responsible for a radical improvement in the safety record of US Army pilot training.
One of the aircraft was diverted to the US Navy for trials, and four other generally similar aircraft were delivered to Siam in 1928.
From 1928 the PT-1 was replaced in frontline service by the Consolidated PT-3, but then became a valuable implement in the National Guard flying program until retired in the early 1930s.
The NY-1 was essentially a PT-1 with provisions for the wheeled landing gear to be replaced by a single large float under the fuselage and two stabilising floats under the tips of the lower wing.
A larger vertical tail was added to counter the effect of the floats.
The NY-2 had a longer span wing fitted to overcome the high wing-loading issue of the seaplane version. Tested with complete success during October 1926, the Navy ordered 181 with the uprated R-790-8 Wright Whirlwind J-5 engine of 220 hp (160 kW).
The NY-3 aircraft were similar to the NY-2 but had 240 hp (180 kW) Wright R-760-94 engines.
Variants
TA-3
Dayton-Wright (Trainer, Air-cooled type 3), 13 built, 80 hp (60 kW) Le Rhone 9C rotary engine, wingspan 30 ft 11 in (9.4 m), Length 22 ft 7 in (6.9 m), gross weight 1,753 lb (795 kg)
TA-5
Single TA-3 with Lawrance J-1 engine used for tests of a single-wheel landing gear arrangement in 1923.
TW-3
Dayton-Wright (Trainer, Water-cooled type 3), two built, 150 hp (112-kW) Wright-Hispano I engine wingspan 34 ft 9 in (10.6 m), Length 25 ft 7 in (7.8 m), gross weight 2,447 lb (1019 kg)
TW-3
Consolidated (Trainer, Water-cooled type 3), 20 built, 180 hp (134 kW) Wright-Hispano E engine wingspan 34 ft 9 in (10.6 m), Length 26 ft 9 in (8.1 m), gross weight 2,407 lb (1,092 kg)
PT-1
Consolidated (Primary Trainer number 1), 221 built, 180 hp (134 kW) Wright-Hispano E (V-720) engine
XPT-2
PT-1 with 225 hp (168 kW) Wright R-790 (J-5) engine, wingspan 34 ft 7 in (10.5 m), Length 28 ft 4 in (8.6 m), gross weight 2,427 lb (1,100 kg)
NY-1
Wingspan 34 ft 6 in (10.52 m), 200 hp (150 kW) Wright J-4 Whirlwind.
NY-1A
A number of NY-1 aircraft modified for gunnery training with one .30 in (7.62 mm) trainable machine gun in the rear cockpit.
NY-1B
A number of retrofitted NY-1 aircraft with the long-span wings of the NY-2 and the 220 hp (160 kW) Wright J-5 Whirlwind.
NY-2
Wingspan increased to 40 ft (12.19 m), 220 hp J-5.
NY-2A
NY-2 aircraft armed for gunnery training.
NY-3
Similar to the NY-2 with a 240 hp (180 kW) Wright R-760-94 Whirlwind.
XN3Y-1
A single NY-2 tested with a Wright R-790-A Whirlwind.
