Fairchild Aircraft Ltd.

Fairchild Aircraft Ltd. was an

Until 1929, Fairchild Aircraft Ltd. acted solely 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.

First aircraft

A great deal of the work to open up the Canadian North, was carried out by 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 1930s, 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. An attempt to design a more capable large bush plane resulted in the Fairchild 45-80 Sekani, a twin-engined sesquiplane. Testing revealed a number of troubling faults leading to rejection by both the RCAF and Canadian Airways. After only two aircraft were built and tested, the project was abandoned.

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.

In the same year as production started on the Cornell project, Fairchild had joined with five other companies in setting up Canadian Associated Aircraft Ltd. The consortium was formed in 1938 to build the Handley Page Hampden for use in the Royal Air Force with Fairchild mainly contracted to build the Hampden's tail. When the Second World War broke out, Fairchild undertook a massive expansion of their factory to over 600,000 sq ft (55,000 sq m) by 1944. The workforce similarly increased from just over 1000 workers in 1939 to a maximum of 9,620 in 1944.

The wartime need for a patrol bomber led to a Canadian requirement for a bomber that Fairchild Aircraft Ltd. (Canada) of Quebec fulfilled through production of the

Fairchild additionally received a contract to build the

Postwar

• Fairchild FC-2
• Fairchild 34-42
• Fairchild 45-80
• Fairchild 51/71
• Fairchild F-11 Husky
• Fairchild Super 71

Licensed production

• Curtiss HS-2L
• Fairchild Cornell
• Bristol Fairchild Bolingbroke
• Handley Page Hampden
• Fairchild SBF Helldiver

References

Bibliography

• Media related to Fairchild Aircraft Ltd. at Wikimedia Commons
• Fairchild Aircraft Limited – Canadian Corporate Reports