Why Only One WACO RPT Was Made

The aircraft was not selected for a military contract, and we found out why.

Tuesday, July 19, 2022 at 08:40 AM ET

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Resembling a Fairchild PT-23, the sole WACO RPT was fitted with a canopy and a more powerful engine after it was purchased by a private individual. [Photo: Jason McDowell]

Key Takeaways:

The WACO RPT was a rare 1940 prototype, one of only three monoplanes built by the biplane-focused WACO company, initially developed for a U.S. Army Air Force training contract.
Despite good handling and an efficient landing gear, its original lack of power led to its rejection for the military contract, though a private owner later enhanced it with a stronger engine and a canopy.
The RPT accumulated very few flight hours, spending most of its life in storage before being acquired by the WACO Air Museum in 2018 for preservation and display.

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Mention the name WACO, and most naturally envision the sturdy biplanes that were built from 1920 to 1947 and put back into production in 1983. Equipped with open cockpits and radial engines, the majority of Wacos exemplify the classic biplane. Of the thousands built, every example except three were biplanes.

The three monoplanes that were produced were each significant departures from WACO’s winning biplane formula. In 1920, the WACO “Cootie” parasol monoplane was built, flown, and crashed. In 1947, the WACO Aristocraft was built, a bizarre-looking, high-wing monoplane with a front engine that drove a tail-mounted pusher prop via a series of drive shafts.