03/31/2010. The Stinson Aircraft Corporation has one of the longest pedigrees in the aviation business, going back to 1926 when the company was formed by Eddie Stinson in Detroit for the purpose of building the SB-1 Detroiter four-seat cabin biplane. The Stinson line progressed with the SM-2 Junior, and a succession of four-seat high wing monoplanes culminating with the SR series that started in 1933 with the appearance of the SR Reliant and ended with the SR-10J upon America's entry into WW II.

Stinson had become a division of Vultee, when the same basic type was put back into production as the V-77 AT-19 Reliant, fitted with a 290 hp Lycoming R-680 engine. Under an USAAF contract 500 aircraft were produced, s/n
42-46640 to 42-46889 and 43-43964 to 43-44213 c/n 77-1 to 77-500, for Lend-Lease delivery to the Royal Navy as Reliant Mk.I to Mk.IV navigation instrument trainers, communications and transport planes. S/n were FK814 to FK999, FL100 to FL163 and FB523 to FB772 respectively.

Produced under USAAF s/n 42-46805, the pictured aircraft served with the Fleet Air Arm under RN s/n FK979. It was one of a large number (reportedly 353) that were returned to the USA, and entered the civil registry as NC42357. In 2001 the aircraft was exported to Canada and was registered as CF-CAJ. Owned by Barry Picov of Ajax, Ontario, the aircraft is part of the aircraft collection at the Canadian Air & Space Museum (formerly the Toronto Aerospace Museum).