Fairchild FC-2
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The Fairchild FC-1 and its derivatives are a family of light, single-engine, high-wing utility monoplanes produced in the United States in the 1920s and 1930s. The aircraft was originally designed to provide a camera platform for Sherman Fairchild's aerial photography and survey business,
Fairchild Aerial Surveys Sherman Mills Fairchild (April 7, 1896 – March 28, 1971) was an American businessman and investor who founded over List of Sherman Fairchild companies, 70 companies, including Fairchild Aircraft, Fairchild Aviation, Fairchild Industries, and Fa ...
.


Design and development

Fairchild had approached a number of aircraft builders with specifications for what he considered to be an ideal aircraft for this type of work, with which he hoped to replace the variety of types that his firm then operated. Believing the quotes he received to be excessive, Fairchild opted to produce the aircraft in-house, purchasing facilities at
Farmingdale, New York Farmingdale is an incorporated village on Long Island within the Town of Oyster Bay in Nassau County, New York, United States. The population was 8,466 at the time of the 2020 Census. The Lenox Hills neighborhood is adjacent to Bethpage State ...
for the purpose. The design was for a conventional high-wing, strut-braced
monoplane A monoplane is a fixed-wing aircraft configuration with a single mainplane, in contrast to a biplane or other types of multiplanes, which have multiple wings. A monoplane has inherently the highest efficiency and lowest drag of any wing con ...
with a fully enclosed cabin and tailwheel undercarriage. The wooden wings were able to be folded back against the tail for storage. To facilitate its intended role, the cabin was extensively glazed, offering plenty of vantage points for photographers. The FC-1 was designed by Norman McQueen and Alex Klemin, featuring oleo and spring landing gear with foot activated brakes. Besides photography, the aircraft specifications include usage for carrying passengers, mail and advertising. The prototype FC-1 flew in June 1926, and initial testing found its original Curtiss OX-5 engine to be inadequate. A Wright J-4 with double the horsepower was soon substituted and the aircraft was redesignated FC-1A. This was felt to have commercial potential, and in a slightly revised form, was put into production as the FC-2.


Operational history

The production aircraft differed from the prototype by having increased cabin volume, and was offered with a choice of powerplants. Other options included a choice of wheeled, ski, or float undercarriage.Taylor 1989, p. 353. Early production aircraft fitted with only three longerons in the rear fuselage gave this batch of aircraft a "Razorback" appearance leading to its nickname. Later production series eliminated this distinctive feature. Designed with aerial photography in mind, the FC-2L featured an enclosed and heated cabin with extra windows to allow for an improved downward view. The
Royal Canadian Air Force The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF; ) is the air and space force of Canada. Its role is to "provide the Canadian Forces with relevant, responsive and effective airpower". The RCAF is one of three environmental commands within the unified Can ...
initially procured the type for this role, before utilizing the aircraft primarily as a light transport. ''canadianwings.com.'' Retrieved: 5 November 2011. A version optimized for cargo carrying was produced as the FC-2W with a
Pratt & Whitney Wasp The Pratt & Whitney Wasp was the civilian name of a family of air-cooled, radial piston engines developed in the 1920s, 1930s, and 1940s. The Pratt & Whitney Aircraft Company (P&W) was founded in 1925 by Frederick B. Rentschler, who had previ ...
radial engine The radial engine is a reciprocating engine, reciprocating type internal combustion engine, internal combustion engine configuration in which the cylinder (engine), cylinders "radiate" outward from a central crankcase like the spokes of a wheel. ...
and increased wingspan. Two of this latter version were destined for fame: ''City of New York'', flown by Charles Collyer and John Mears for the overland portions of their record-breaking around-the-world trip in June–July 1928, and ''Stars and Stripes'' (Serial No. 140), an FC-2W2 taken by
Richard Evelyn Byrd Richard Evelyn Byrd Jr. (October 25, 1888 – March 11, 1957) was an American naval officer, and pioneering aviator, polar explorer, and organizer of polar logistics. Aircraft flights in which he served as a navigator and expedition leader cr ...
on his
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expedition of the same year. Byrd's aircraft was preserved at the Virginia Aviation Museum, on loan from the
National Air and Space Museum The National Air and Space Museum (NASM) of the Smithsonian Institution is a museum in Washington, D.C., in the United States, dedicated to history of aviation, human flight and space exploration. Established in 1946 as the National Air Museum, ...
. When the Virginia Aviation Museum was closed in 2016, ''Stars and Stripes'' was moved to the
National Air and Space Museum The National Air and Space Museum (NASM) of the Smithsonian Institution is a museum in Washington, D.C., in the United States, dedicated to history of aviation, human flight and space exploration. Established in 1946 as the National Air Museum, ...
's Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in
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, where it is now on display. FC-2Ws flown by Canadian bush pilots Duke Schiller and Romeo Vachon, the Canadian Transcontinental Airways Company's Chief Pilot, were also prominently used in the 1928 rescue of the crew of the aircraft ''
Bremen Bremen (Low German also: ''Breem'' or ''Bräm''), officially the City Municipality of Bremen (, ), is the capital of the States of Germany, German state of the Bremen (state), Free Hanseatic City of Bremen (), a two-city-state consisting of the c ...
'' in Canada. On 19 October 1927, an FC-2 configured as a floatplane made the first contract Air Mail flight operated by
Pan American Airways Pan American World Airways, originally founded as Pan American Airways and more commonly known as Pan Am, was an airline that was the principal and largest international air carrier and unofficial overseas flag carrier of the United States for ...
. When unable to begin its service over Foreign Air Mail Route #4 (FAM-4) between
Key West Key West is an island in the Straits of Florida, at the southern end of the U.S. state of Florida. Together with all or parts of the separate islands of Dredgers Key, Fleming Key, Sunset Key, and the northern part of Stock Island, it con ...
, Florida, and
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, on that date (as required under its contract) because heavy rains had delayed completion of the new runway at Key West needed to accommodate the company's Fokker F.VIIa/3m type tri-motor transports, PAA chartered (cost: $145.45) the FC-2 ''La Niña'' (NC-1654, c/n 15) piloted by Cy Caldwell and belonging to West Indian Aerial Express, a company which would be acquired by Pan Am a year later. Due to a Royal Canadian Air Force requirement to standardize engines, the basic FC-2 design was re-engineered with a 215 hp Armstrong Siddeley Lynx radial engine and redesignated as the FC-2L. In this form, the type flew with RCAF units, primarily in northern operations. A further version for the RCAF, known as the FC-2V, was also developed. The basic FC-2 design was further evolved into the model 51 and 71. The Model 51 was a modernized version of the FC-2 produced in 1930 to compete with new transports in the marketplace, the most significant single change being the fitting of a more powerful Wright J-6 engine again. A few examples were converted from FC-2s. The RCAF Model 51 aircraft had light bomb racks under the fuselage and were used for practice bombing at Camp Borden. The Model 61 also had the J-6 engine, but included a redesigned cabin to add another two passenger seats. Only three of these were built, modified from FC-2W2s, but the cabin modification was retained in the Model 71. The RCAF used the Model 71 as both a rugged, reliable and highly useful light transport and due to its camera bay for vertical photography and low rear-door windows to permit oblique photography, useful in the aerial survey role.


Variants

* FC-1 - prototype with Curtiss OX-5 engine (one built) ** FC-1A - prototype modified with Wright J-4 engine (one converted) * FC-2 - production version with Wright J-5 engine (118 built, plus 12 built by Canadian Vickers under license) ** FC-2C (for "Challenger") - version with Curtiss Challenger engine for Curtiss Flying Service (six built) ** FC-2L (for "Lynx") - version with Armstrong Siddeley Lynx engine for Royal Canadian Air Force (three converted) ** FC-2W (for "Wasp") - version with Pratt & Whitney Wasp engine (14 built) *** FC-2W2 - definitive production version of FC-2W **** UC-96 - designation given to three FC-2Ws impressed into USAAF service **** Model 61 - FC-2W2s with enlarged cabin (three converted) ** Model 51 - FC-2s refitted with Wright J-6 engine (31 built) ** XJQ-1 (later RQ-2) - single FC-2 purchased by
United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...
for evaluation. Redesignated XJQ-2, later redesignated again as the XRQ-2.


Operators

; *
Royal Canadian Air Force The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF; ) is the air and space force of Canada. Its role is to "provide the Canadian Forces with relevant, responsive and effective airpower". The RCAF is one of three environmental commands within the unified Can ...
* Canadian Colonial Airways ; *Línea Aeropostal Santiago-Arica(LAN Chile) ; *
American Airlines American Airlines, Inc. is a major airlines of the United States, major airline in the United States headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, within the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, and is the Largest airlines in the world, largest airline in the ...
* Clifford Ball Inc.The Tube City Almanar, Flying the Nostalgic Skies
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Pan American Airways Pan American World Airways, originally founded as Pan American Airways and more commonly known as Pan Am, was an airline that was the principal and largest international air carrier and unofficial overseas flag carrier of the United States for ...
*
NACA The National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) was a United States federal agency that was founded on March 3, 1915, to undertake, promote, and institutionalize aeronautical research. On October 1, 1958, the agency was dissolved and its ...


Specifications (FC-2)


References

;Notes ;Citations ;Bibliography * Hotson, Fred W. ''The Bremen.'' Toronto, Ontario: Canav Books, 1998. . * Milberry, Larry. ''Aviation In Canada''. Toronto: McGraw-Hill Ryerson Ltd., 1979. . * Molson, Ken M. and Harold A. Taylor. ''Canadian Aircraft Since 1909''. Stittsville, Ontario: Canada's Wings, Inc., 1982. . * Taylor, Michael J.H. ''Jane's Encyclopedia of Aviation''. London: Studio Editions, 1989. . * ''World Aircraft Information Files''. London: Bright Star Publishing, File 894, Sheet 03.


External links


Film of an RCAF Fairchild FC-2 floatplane in Vancouver 1928 and 1936

Fairchild FC-2L Razorback


{{Aircraft manufactured in Canada FC-2 1920s United States civil utility aircraft Single-engined tractor aircraft High-wing aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1926 Aircraft with fixed conventional landing gear