Aircraft model
CONSOLIDATED VULTEE BT-13
Everything here is true of every aircraft of the type, not of any one aircraft.
The Vultee BT-13 Valiant is the basic trainer that sat between the primary biplanes and the advanced T-6 in the wartime American training pipeline. It has a 450 hp radial, fixed landing gear, a two-piece canopy and a distinctive vibration at certain power settings that earned it the name Vibrator.
It is cheaper than a T-6 and easier to fly, with fixed gear and lower approach speeds, which makes it the accessible end of the radial warbird market. The R-985 is the same engine as a Beaver or a Twin Beech and is comparatively well supported. The airframe is all-metal and ages reasonably. Many BT-13s were scrapped or cannibalised for their engines after the war, so the fleet is smaller than the production numbers suggest and some airframe parts are scarce.
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Put CONSOLIDATED VULTEE BT-13 side by side with up to two other models.
- CONSOLIDATED VULTEE BT-13
What it is
| Seats | 2 |
|---|---|
| Landing gear | taildragger |
| Engines | 1 |
| Engine | Pratt & Whitney R-985 (radial) |
| Horsepower | 450 hp |
| Fuel | 100LL |
| Certification basis | military-surplus |
| Production start | 1941 |
| Production end | 1944 |
| Endorsements required | high-performance;tailwheel |
Performance
| Cruise speed | 140 KTAS |
|---|---|
| Range | 600 nm |
| Service ceiling | 21,650 ft |
| Climb rate | 1,200 ft/min |
| Stall speed (Vso) | 55 KCAS |
| Takeoff over 50 ft | — |
| Landing over 50 ft | — |
Load and fuel
| Seats | 2 |
|---|---|
| Useful load | 1,121 lb |
| Full-fuel payload | 401 lb |
| Max takeoff weight | 4,496 lb |
| Empty weight | 3,375 lb |
| Usable fuel | 120 gal |
| Fuel burn at cruise | 25.2 gal/h |
Cost of ownership
| Price, low | $60,000 |
|---|---|
| Price, high | $175,000 |
| Prices as of | 2026 |
| Engine TBO | 1,200 h |
| Overhaul cost, low | $70,000 |
| Overhaul cost, high | $120,000 |
The fleet and its record
| Registered, all time | 239 |
|---|---|
| Active fleet | 7 |
| Median year built | 1942.0 |
| NTSB events, last 10 years | 1 |
| Fatal events, last 10 years | 0 |
| Events per 1,000 active, last 10 years | — |
| Personal-flying events per 1,000 active | — |
| Ownership transfers, last 24 months | 0 |
| Transfers per 100 active | — |
| Airworthiness directives | 0 |
| Directives, last 5 years | 0 |
| Rate confidence | none |
Peer scores6
| Peer class | Fixed wing single-engine, piston, 1 engine, 1-2 seats |
|---|---|
| Accident record | —1 |
| Severity | —2 |
| Access | 2.2 of 103 |
| Support | 2.7 of 104 |
| Liquidity | —5 |
- Accident record: class median 25 · 181 models in class.
- Severity: class median 5.
- Access: class median 987.
- Support: class median 72.
- Liquidity: class median 20.59.
- Each of the five categories places the model within its peer class, from 0 (the worst of the class) to 10 (the best): a position among comparable models, not a grade. The overall score is the sum of the categories shown that are scored, out of 10 for each (50 when all five are); it is given only when at least 4 of the five are scored, and it can be set against another model's only when both are in the same peer class and scored on the same categories.