Aircraft model
FAIRCHILD M-62A
Everything here is true of every aircraft of the type, not of any one aircraft.
The Fairchild M-62A is the PT-19 Cornell, a wartime primary trainer with a low wing, tandem open cockpits and an unusual inverted inline six-cylinder Ranger engine instead of the radial everything else used. Thousands were built and it trained a large share of American wartime pilots.
The Ranger L-440 is the central ownership issue and it is a serious one: the engine is long out of production, parts are scarce, few shops will touch it, and it has a reputation for being difficult to keep running well. A PT-19 with a tired Ranger can be economically unrepairable. Many have been converted to Lycoming or Continental power, which transforms supportability. The airframe is wood-and-fabric wings on a steel tube fuselage, so hangarage and specialist inspection are required. At 175 hp no high-performance endorsement applies.
Compare with…
Put FAIRCHILD M-62A side by side with up to two other models.
- FAIRCHILD M-62A
What it is
| Seats | 2 |
|---|---|
| Landing gear | taildragger |
| Engines | 1 |
| Engine | Ranger L-440-3 (inline) |
| Horsepower | 175 hp |
| Fuel | 100LL |
| Certification basis | military-surplus |
| Production start | 1941 |
| Production end | 1944 |
| Endorsements required | tailwheel |
Performance
| Cruise speed | 105 KTAS |
|---|---|
| Range | 350 nm |
| Service ceiling | 15,300 ft |
| Climb rate | 800 ft/min |
| Stall speed (Vso) | 45 KCAS |
| Takeoff over 50 ft | — |
| Landing over 50 ft | — |
Load and fuel
| Seats | 2 |
|---|---|
| Useful load | 700 lb |
| Full-fuel payload | 418 lb |
| Max takeoff weight | 2,545 lb |
| Empty weight | 1,845 lb |
| Usable fuel | 47 gal |
| Fuel burn at cruise | 9.8 gal/h |
Cost of ownership
| Price, low | $50,000 |
|---|---|
| Price, high | $110,000 |
| Prices as of | 2026 |
| Engine TBO | 1,000 h |
| Overhaul cost, low | $40,000 |
| Overhaul cost, high | $72,000 |
The fleet and its record
| Registered, all time | 2,036 |
|---|---|
| Active fleet | 116 |
| Median year built | 1943.0 |
| NTSB events, last 10 years | 1 |
| Fatal events, last 10 years | 0 |
| Events per 1,000 active, last 10 years | 8.621 |
| Personal-flying events per 1,000 active | 8.622 |
| Ownership transfers, last 24 months | 10 |
| Transfers per 100 active | 8.623 |
| Airworthiness directives | 0 |
| Directives, last 5 years | 0 |
| Rate confidence | ok |
- Events per 1,000 active, last 10 years: per 1,000 active aircraft · base 116 active.
- Personal-flying events per 1,000 active: per 1,000 active aircraft · base 116 active.
- Transfers per 100 active: per 100 active aircraft · base 116 active.
Peer scores6
| Peer class | Fixed wing single-engine, piston, 1 engine, 1-2 seats |
|---|---|
| Accident record | —1 |
| Severity | —2 |
| Access | —3 |
| Support | 6.5 of 104 |
| Liquidity | 0.5 of 105 |
- 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.