舰队飞机
A small factory on the Niagara River taught a generation of Commonwealth pilots to fly: Fleet built some 4,000 trainers in the Second World War, with a workforce made up largely of women.
Fleet Aircraft: the company and the aircraft that made its name
Reuben Fleet’s Canadian door
In 1928 the board of Consolidated Aircraft decided to drop its light trainers. Its founder, Reuben H. Fleet, saw a use for them anyway and set up Fleet Aircraft at Fort Erie, Ontario, just across the Niagara River from Buffalo, to hold the foreign rights. Consolidated bought the business back as a division in 1929, and in 1930 Fleet Aircraft of Canada was formed. The little Fleet biplanes went on to be licence-built as far away as Romania.
Finches for the Empire
The Second World War made Fort Erie a training-aircraft factory for the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan. The Finch, a tandem biplane with a sliding canopy added for the Canadian winter, was built for the RCAF from 1939; 431 went to its elementary flying schools. Then came the Fort intermediate trainer and the Fairchild Cornell under licence. At its peak Fleet turned out about 160 aircraft a month, with roughly 4,000 employees, largely women, and some 4,000 aircraft in all.
Canucks and after
Peace was harder. Fleet bought the rights to Bob Noury’s side-by-side N-75 and built it as the Canuck from 1945, but war-surplus aircraft and unemployed pilots flooded the market and production stopped in 1947. A light helicopter flew but was never built. Fleet ended aircraft manufacture in 1957 and became Fleet Aerospace, a parts maker under Magellan Aerospace. After a 2006 employee buyout it lives on as Fleet Canada, building parts for Twin Otters and cockpit enclosures for the Chinook.
Fleet Aircraft in numbers
公司
- 简而言之
- 成立于1928年
- Set up by Reuben H. Fleet at Fort Erie, Ontario
- Fleet Aircraft of Canada formed under Consolidated, 1930
- About 4,000 wartime employees, largely women
- Aircraft manufacture ended 1957
生产
- 最出名的是
- 舰队雀
- About 4,000 aircraft built in WWII
- Fleet Finch, Fort, Fawn and Canuck
- Fairchild Cornell under licence
- Up to 160 complete aircraft a month
今天
- 现在
- Fleet Canada
- Became Fleet Aerospace, part of Magellan Aerospace
- Employee buyout in 2006 created Fleet Canada
- Twin Otter components and CH-47 Chinook cockpit enclosures
这些数字
- 二战期间制造的飞机
- 约4000
- Peak output
- about 160 aircraft a month
- Wartime workforce
- 约4000
- Fleet Canada revenue
- about $20 million2016
Every notable Fleet Aircraft aircraft
| 飞机 | 角色 | 首航 | 建造 | 地位 | 笔记 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fleet Model 16 Finch | Elementary trainer biplane | 447 | 已退休 | 431 for the RCAF under the BCATP; 15 for the Portuguese Navy | |
| Fleet 50 Freighter | Twin-engine utility biplane | 1938 | 5 | 已退休 | Underpowered; could not hold height on one engine |
| Fleet 60 Fort | Intermediate trainer | 1940 | 101 | 已退休 | Too easy to fly; converted to wireless trainers |
| Fairchild PT-26 Cornell (licence) | 主教练 | 已退休 | Built for Fairchild; Fleet’s PT-23/PT-26 output given as about 1,150 | ||
| Fleet 80 Canuck | 双座轻型飞机 | 1945 | 225 (incl. Leavens) | 已退休 | Developed from the Noury N-75; production later finished by Leavens Brothers |
Where Fleet Aircraft built, who led it, what it achieved
工厂
- Fort Erie works · Gilmore Road, Fort Erie, Ontario — Original factory, still used by Fleet Canada
人们
- Reuben H. Fleet · founder — Founder of Consolidated Aircraft
- J. Omer (Bob) Noury · designer — Designed the N-75 that became the Canuck
Fleet Aircraft, year by year
Reuben Fleet founds Fleet Aircraft at Fort Erie
Consolidated buys the business back as a division
Fleet Aircraft of Canada formed
Fleet 50 Freighter first flight
Finch production for the RCAF begins
Fleet 60 Fort first flight
First Fleet-built Canuck flies
Canuck production ends
Aircraft manufacture ends; becomes Fleet Aerospace
Employee buyout creates Fleet Canada
Before and after Fleet Aircraft
Everything people ask about Fleet Aircraft
What was the Fleet Finch?
Who founded Fleet Aircraft?
How many aircraft did Fleet build in the Second World War?
Does Fleet still exist?