Fleet Fawn
Encyclopedia
In the 1930s, Fleet Aircraft
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...
manufactured a series of single-engined, two-seat training aircraft, based on US designs. The Fleet Model 7B and Model 7C, known respectively as Fawn I and Fawn II were purchased by the RCAF as primary trainers. After years of reliable service, many were available for use in the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan
British Commonwealth Air Training Plan
The British Commonwealth Air Training Plan , known in some countries as the Empire Air Training Scheme , was a massive, joint military aircrew training program created by the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, during the Second World War...
during the Second World War
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
while others remained as station "hacks."
Design and development
As a subsidiary of Consolidated AircraftConsolidated Aircraft
The Consolidated Aircraft Corporation was founded in 1923 by Reuben H. Fleet, the result of the Gallaudet Aircraft Company's liquidation and Fleet's purchase of designs from the Dayton-Wright Company as the subsidiary was being closed by its parent corporation, General Motors. Consolidated became...
set up in 1928, Fleet Aircraft had factories at Buffalo, NY, and across the border at Fort Erie, Ontario
Fort Erie, Ontario
Fort Erie is a town on the Niagara River in the Niagara Region, Ontario, Canada. It is located directly across the river from Buffalo, New York....
. The Canadian company produced a series of single-engined, two-seat training aircraft, based on US designs but including variants adapted specifically to Royal Canadian Air Force
Royal Canadian Air Force
The history of the Royal Canadian Air Force begins in 1920, when the air force was created as the Canadian Air Force . In 1924 the CAF was renamed the Royal Canadian Air Force and granted royal sanction by King George V. The RCAF existed as an independent service until 1968...
(RCAF) needs.
The Fleet Model 7 began as an American design, the Model 2, originally designed by Consolidated. Besides two prototypes imported from the US, a total of seven Fleet Model 2 trainers were built in Canada for civilian operators.
Derived from earlier Fleet Model 2, the Model 7 featured an aircraft structure consisting of a fabric-covered, welded-steel fuselage with metal panels forward of the wooden cockpits. It had steel-tube faring formers and wooden stringers. The wings were single bay of equal spans and wire braced. The upper wing was made in one piece and constructed with two solid Spruce spars. Ailerons were found only on the bottom wings. Stamped aluminium alloy ribs were used to construct the wings and steel-tube compression struts were at the interplane and centre section of the wings. Interlaced between the wings were streamlined landing and flying wires
Flying wires
The flying wires of an aircraft work in conjunction with other wing components such as spars and interplane struts to transmit flight loads. Most commonly used on biplane aircraft they are also used on monoplanes and triplanes.-Purpose:...
. Except for an broader chord tail-fin introduced after the first production series, while retaining the original rudder of the Model 2, the Model 7 was superficially identical to its earlier predecessor.
A variety of equipment could be fitted to the Canadian variant including optional wheel brakes, a tail skid or tail wheel arrangement, a fuselage belly tank and a fixed cockpit enclosure or "coupe top" with hinged sides. During the late 1930s, a sliding cockpit enclosure became standard equipment of all RCAF Fawns. The aircraft could also be configured to use skis, floats or wheels. The main landing gear's radius rods (the members joining the inner ends of the wheel axles to the fuselage) on the Models 2 and 7 were notable for having the one coming from the left wheel "looped", with an open oval piece near its middle, so the one from the right mainwheel could pass right through it.
Engine choices further dictated the different variants of the Fawn design: the Mk I (Fleet Model 7B) with a 125 hp Kinner B-5 engine was superseded by the Mk II (Fleet Model 7C) powered by a 140 hp Armstrong Siddeley Civet seven-cylinder radial engine. Although the RCAF ordered the bulk of the production runs, 12 civil-registered Model 7Bs were completed for the Department of National Defence to be issued to flying clubs.
Operational history
The Fleet Model7 first saw service with the Royal Canadian Air Force in 1931 when 20 Mk Is were delivered. As a two-seater primary trainer they were felt to have excellent flying characteristics together with a rugged strength which inspired confidence in novice pilots. The RCAF was very impressed with the Fleet Fawn and claimed that the aircraft was one of the factors which improved its flying standards during the 1930s.A total of 31 Model 7Cs were built between 1931 and 1938 at the Fleet Aircraft of Canada's plant at Fort Erie, Ontario, with the first deliveries made in 1936. Due to the smoother, quieter and more powerful engine, the Model 7C was considered the definitive variant.
Forty three Fleet Model 7B and C trainers were operational with the Royal Canadian Air Force when war was declared in 1939. In service during the Second World War
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, the RCAF adopted the name "Fawn" for both variants. Along with the more modern follow-up design, the Fleet Finch
Fleet Finch
-See also:* List of British Commonwealth Air Training Plan facilities in Canada -Bibliography:* Molson, Ken M. and Taylor, Harold A. Canadian Aircraft Since 1909. Stittsville, Ontario: Canada's Wings, Inc., 1982. ISBN 0-920002-11-0.* Page, Ron D. and Cumming, William. Fleet: The Flying Years. Erin,...
, Fleet Fawns helped train thousands of pilots under the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan during the war. The Fawn remained in service with the RCAF until 1947.
Variants
- Model 7A: One example completed with a 100 hp Kinner K-5Kinner K-5|-References:* http://www.oldengine.org/members/diesel/Duxford/usaero4.htm...
radial engine - Fleet Model 7B (Fawn Mk I): 32 examples with a 125 hp Kinner B-5Kinner B-5|-See also:-References:* http://www.oldengine.org/members/diesel/Duxford/usaero4.htm-External links:...
engine five-cylinder, radial engine (earliest series also had a 80 hp five cylinder Armstrong Siddeley GenetArmstrong Siddeley Genet-Bibliography:* Lumsden, Alec. British Piston Engines and their Aircraft. Marlborough, Wiltshire: Airlife Publishing, 2003. ISBN 1-85310-294-6.-External links:*...
radial engine and a "left-hand" prop) - Fleet Model 7C (Fawn Mk II): 31 examples with a 140 hp Armstrong Siddeley Civet seven-cylinder, radial engine
- Model 7G: A "one-off" conversion of a Model B with a 120 hp de Havilland GipsyDe Havilland GipsyThe de Havilland Gipsy is a British air-cooled 4-cylinder in-line aircraft engine designed by Frank Halford in 1927 to replace the ADC Cirrus in the de Havilland D.H.60 Moth light biplane....
III, four-cylinder, inline engine (converted back to Model 7B standard)
Survivors
A number of airframes are still in existence including a Fleet Fawn Mk II CF-CHF (c/n 58 RCAF 220) on display at the Reynolds-Alberta MuseumReynolds-Alberta Museum
The Reynolds-Alberta Museum, in Wetaskiwin, Alberta, Canada, one of 18 provincially owned and operated historic sites and museums, honours the "spirit of the machine"...
in Wetaskiwin, Alberta
Wetaskiwin, Alberta
Wetaskiwin is a small city in the province of Alberta, Canada. The city is located south of the provincial capital of Edmonton. The city name comes from the Cree word wītaskīwin-ispatinaw , meaning "the hills where peace was made"....
.
Specifications (Fleet Fawn Mk II)
Information based on Fleet: The Flying Years- Manufacturer: Fleet Aircraft of Canada
- Crew/Passengers: two pilots in tandem
- Powerplant: one 125 hp Kinner B-5Kinner B-5|-See also:-References:* http://www.oldengine.org/members/diesel/Duxford/usaero4.htm-External links:...
five-cylinder radial piston engine - Dimensions
- Length: 21 ft 8 in (6.5 m)
- Height: 7 ft 10 in (2.4 m)
- Span: 28 ft 0 in (8.5 m)
- Wing area: 194 sq ft (18.06 sq m)
- Weights
- Empty: 1,130 lb (513 kg)
- Gross: 1,860 lb (844 kg)
- Performance
- Maximum speed: 112 mph (180 km/h)
- Cruising speed: 87 mph (140 km/h)
- Service ceiling: 15,500 ft (4,724 m)
- Range: 320 mi (515 km)
- Armament: None