Fairchild Aircraft Ltd. (Canada)
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The Fairchild Aircraft Ltd. of Longuiel, Quebec, Canada was an aircraft manufacturer in the period 1920-1950. It served as a subsidiary of the Fairchild company of the United States.
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[edit] Sherman Mills Fairchild
The origin of the company stemmed from the work of Sherman Mills Fairchild, U.S. industrialist/entrepreneur. From an early age, Fairchild was an inveterate tinkerer and designer. In his lifetime, Fairchild never became a pilot and received little formal training, but he knew how to make things work. He said, “…never mind all the people who say you can’t do it; just go ahead and figure out a way.”
- In 1920, Fairchild formed the Fairchild Aerial Camera Corporation. The U.S. Army Air Service used his cameras to record the 1921 battleship bombing tests. Fairchild also used his cameras to produce giant aerial maps of cities.
- In 1925. the Fairchild Airplane Manufacturing Corporation was created to produce aerial photography aircraft.
- Fairchild inovations included a parasol monoplane, and advanced radio direction finders and compasses.
- In 1939, Fairchild organized Fairchild Engine and Airplane Corporation that produced PT-19 and AT-21 trainers, C-28 cargo planes and missiles during the Second World War.
- Fairchild cameras were later used to provide the first precise photography of the moon on the Apollo missions.
[edit] Company history
Fairchild Aircraft Ltd. came about a result of the aviation activities of the St. Maurice Valley Protective Association beginning in 1919. This association was the first to use aircraft for commercial purposes in Canada. From the St. Maurice Assoc., Fairchild Aerial Surveys of Canada Ltd. was formed in 1922.
Until 1929, Fairchild Aircraft Ltd. acted soley as a servicing organization dealing with forestry, mapping, surveying (aerial photography), fire detection and reforestation. "Forester extraordinaire," Ellwood Wilson, was the man responsible for creating this specialized Canadian company. The first planes used were 12 Curtiss HS-2Ls. Problems with this seaplane arose when water entered the rubber seals, froze and cracked. The need for utility aircraft appropriate for the Canadian climate, sparked the company to expand into the construction and adaptation of aircraft for the Canadian government.
[edit] First aircraft
Most of the work to open up the Canadian North, was carried out by Fairchild of the Fairchild Cabin (FC) types and a number were used in Alaska for the same purpose. The Fairchild FC-2W-2 is typical of a number of single radial engined cabin monoplanes manufactured during the second half of the 1920s and into the early '30s, that were built in the United States and to a lesser extent in Canada. Most of them were utility aircraft that could perform a number of roles and could be utilized on wheels floats, or skis. These aircraft played a major part in the rapid development of aviation during this period until they were succeeded by newer types later in the 1930s.
Fairchild aircraft were to be found from Northern Canada and Alaska down through the United States, Central America to South America where they operated in some of the countries there. They were purchased by civil operators, governments and the military. Their main functions involved carrying of passenger and/or freight, air mail but also performed admirably in the role of aerial surveying.
The first RCAF orders made with the new Canadian Fairchild Aircraft Ltd. were for Model 71Bs which had been designed to RCAF requirements in the United States with the parent company, Fairchild Airplane Manufacturing Corp. The 71Bs were put to use largely for photographic and transport duties. Twelve Fairchild 71Bs were on strength with the RCAF from 20 May 1930 to 2 October 1941 although one (G-CYVE/630) was later converted to a 71C. On 6 July, 1930, Fairchild 71B, "G-CYVX" began a long inspection trip of the Canadian Arctic.
The Fairchild 82A was a Canadian-designed successor to the FC-2W-2 and 71 models. It won immediate acceptance by Canadian bush operators who appreciated its good load-lifting capabilities for freight. The 82A proved to be one of the north’s most reliable bush aircraft. The type was made in Canada and seven were exported to Mexico and South America. Only 24 were built once construction was phased out to make room to produce the Bristol Bolingbroke.
For bush use, some operators preferred the Fairchild 82A to the more famous Noorduyn Norseman. The last 82A in service disappeared on a flight in the Northwest Territories on June 9, 1964.
[edit] The Second World War
The Fairchild Aircraft Company of Hagerstown, Maryland, was awarded a US Army Air Force contract in 1938 for a tandem cockpit, primary trainer. The aeroplane was called "Cornell" after the famous university. An overall total of 7260 were eventually constructed by mid-1944.
The RCAF selected the Cornell as a successor to the Tiger Moth and Fleet Finch, which the Air Force realized in 1941 were already obsolete because they lacked the full instrumentation of the Cornell.In Canada, the Fleet Aircraft Company (Canada) built 1642 Cornells under license, designated either as PT-23s or PT-26s. The latter were distinguished by their cold-weather, enclosed canopy. The RCAF first flew Cornells in 1940 and retired the last one in 1947.
