The Ryan Model ST-3KR, U.S. Army Air Corps PT-22 Recruit, evolved out of the design of the popular Ryan ST or “Sport Trainer.” It incorporated refinements that resulted in a rugged and easy to maintain military trainer. The Recruit was a wire-braced, low-winged monoplane, with open cockpit seating for two in tandem. This handsome two-seater was used in training schools throughout the country. Ryan training schools alone trained more than 14,000 pilots for the Army Air Corps. At the peak of activity in the fall of 1943, more than 1,200 cadets were training at Ryan schools in Hemet, California and Tucson, Arizona. Many of these students were trained in the Recruit. The Navy version of the trainer was designated as the NR-1.

The Recruit meant different things to different people. Some said it was designed to “scare the hell out of student-pilots,” and some thoroughly enjoyed the challenge it offered. Its all-around performance was quite ample for a training airplane. The controls were light and responsive, yet it was stable for periods of hands-off flying. The aircraft would spin fast and furiously, a maneuver which unnerved many a student, but it always recovered predictably and quickly. The aircraft was capable of just about anything a pilot was willing to try, but it demanded certain rituals. The most important factor in the flight-regime was “keep up the flying speed,” otherwise it came down like a ton of bricks. Despite all the hair-raising stories about this airplane, and other military-type trainers for that matter, it was a nice airplane that trained pilots well if they paid attention to the rules and procedures.

The Ryan Company shipped trainers to China, India, Dutch East Indies and Ecuador. The Japanese flew a few captured PT-22s before the war ended. From 1941 to 1942, Ryan Aeronautical produced 1,023 PT-22s. Once the war ended, remaining aircraft were sold as surplus; a number are still flying in private use today.

The Museum’s PT-22 was built in 1941 by Ryan Aeronautical of San Diego, California, and was based at Sequoia Field in Visalia, California throughout the war. Following the war, the aircraft was owned by a number of private individuals, and remained in continuous FAA license from 1945 to 1982. Later, it was restored to its original condition by Fred C. Ellsworth of Kent, Washington, who donated it to the Museum in 1982.