Fleetwings Sea Bird

Fleetwings Sea Bird
F-401 prototype, Golden Wings Museum, Blaine, Minnesota
Role	Amphibious utility aircraft
Manufacturer	Fleetwings
Designer	James C. Reddig
First flight	1936
Number built	1 prototype; 5 production

The Fleetwings Sea Bird (or Seabird) was an American-built amphibious aircraft of the 1930s.

Design and production

The Sea Bird was an amphibious utility aircraft designed in 1934-5 by James C. Reddig for Fleetwings, Inc., of Bristol, PA. While the aircraft's basic configuration had a precedent in the design of the Loening "Monoduck" developed by the Grover Loening Aircraft Company as a personal aircraft for Mr. Loening (for whom Reddig worked from 1929-1933), the Sea Bird was unusual because of its construction from spot-welded stainless steel. It was a high-wing, wire-braced monoplane with its engine housed in a nacelle mounted above the wings on struts. The pilot and passengers sat in a fully enclosed cabin. Fleetwings initially planned to manufacture 50 production units, but at a price approaching $25,000 during the Depression, there proved to be no sustainable market.

Operational history

The Sea Bird found use with private pilot owners and saw service with the oil support industry in Louisiana including operation by J. Ray McDermott.

Variants

• F-4 Sea Bird - 4-seat prototype (1 built)
• F-5 Sea Bird - 5-seat production aircraft (5 built)

Specifications

General characteristics

• Crew: One pilot
• Capacity: 3 passengers (F-4 prototype); 4 passengers (F-5 production model)
• Length: 32 ft 0 in (9.74 m)
• Wingspan: 40 ft 6 in (12.33 m)
• Height: 12 ft 6 in (3.80 m)
• Wing area: 235 ft² (21.8 m²)
• Empty weight: 2,450 lb (1,112 kg)
• Gross weight: 3,750 lb (1,702 kg)
• Powerplant: 1 × Jacobs L-5, 285 hp (212 kW)

Performance

• Cruise speed: 135 mph (216 km/h)
• Range: 540 miles (870 km)

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Fleetwings Sea Bird.

• Taylor, Michael J. H. (1989). Jane's Encyclopedia of Aviation. London: Studio Editions. p. 392. ISBN 0-7106-0710-5. 
• "A Shot-Welded Stainless Steel Amphibian". Flight: 424. 22 October 1936. Retrieved 2008-03-19. 
• aerofiles.com