Fleet Aircraft
Fleet Aircraft was a Canadian manufacturer of aircraft from 1928 to 1957.
In 1928, the board of Consolidated Aircraft decided to drop their light, trainer aircraft and sold the rights to Brewster Aircraft. Reuben H. Fleet founded Fleet Aircraft in Fort Erie, Ontario, to acquire the foreign rights to these aircraft. Consolidated bought back Fleet Aircraft as a separate division in 1929 and formed Fleet Aircraft of Canada in 1930. The Fleet name was dropped for the Consolidated business name in 1939. Fleet Aircraft of Canada produced the Fleet Finch for the RCAF, and later the Fleet Canuck. Fleet developed a prototype light helicopter which flew successfully, but was not put into production.[1] Fleet ended aircraft manufacturing operations in 1957. The company was renamed Fleet Aerospace, and operated as a division of Magellan Aerospace.
The Fleet Aerospace division was closed in 2003, and later re-opened as Fleet Canada. The new company was not affiliated with Magellan Aerospace, and it has operated independently since.
Aircraft
- Fleet Models 1,2 & 5 Open cockpit two-seat primary trainers
- Fleet Model 7 Fawn Open cockpit two-seat primary trainer
- Fleet Models 10-16 Finch Open cockpit two-seat primary trainers
- Fleet Model 21 Basic export combat aircraft
- Fleet model 50 Freighter Cargo biplane for bush operations
- Fleet model 60 Fort Intermediate trainer used as radio trainer
- Fleet models 80, 81 Canuck Light utility aircraft (Similar to Cub)
- Fleet helicopter
- Fairchild M-62/PT-23/PT-26 Cornell (licence)
References
Notes
- ^ Page and Cumming 1990
Bibliography
- Page, Ron D. and Cumming, William. Fleet: The Flying Years. Erin, Ontario: Boston Mills Press, 1990. ISBN 1-55046-019-6.