Country of origin:

Canada

Description:

Two-seat light sport and training biplane

Power Plant:

(Fleet 7)

One 93 kw (125 hp) Kinner B5 five-cylinder air-cooled radial engine

Specifications:

History:

The Fleet trainer series, which received its name from Major Reuben Hollis Fleet, aviator, industrialist and army officer, evolved from the Consolidated Model 14 Husky Junior which was fitted with an 82 kw (110 hp) Warner Scarab engine.

During 1930 Fleet Aircraft of Canada Ltd was formed at Fort Erie in Ontario to produce light training aircraft. In 1936 the Company re-organised and changed its name to Fleet Aircraft Ltd, obtaining rights to sell Fleet trainers to all countries with the exception of the United States, China and Romania. Orders were received for aircraft for Argentina and the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF). Later further orders were received from all around the world and nearly 600 Fleet trainers were produced from 1929 to 1936.

By the middle of 1930 production of Fleet trainers was under way for military customers and aircraft were offered to civilian operators for flying schools, which also provided training in aerobatics, the series being known for being a good performer in this area.

The Fleet Model 7 was an open-cockpit biplane seating two in tandem and was available in a variety of models. It could be fitted with coupe-type cockpit canopy, floats, or an under-fuselage fuel tank to extend the range.

Models in the series prior to the Model 7 were the Fleet 2 with a Kinner K5 engine; the Fleet 3 with a Wright J6 engine; the Fleet 4 with a Curtiss Challenger engine; the Fleet 5 with a Brownback Tiger of 67 kw (90 hp) engine; and the Fleet 6 which was a special variant of the Fleet 2.

The Model 7 with the 93 kw (125 hp) Kinner B5 engine was the basis of the XPT-6 primary trainer for the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC), which were built at the Fleet Aircraft Inc facility at Buffalo, New York.

Successor to the Fleet 7 was the Fleet 10, introduced in 1932, which was basically similar but incorporated some minor changes, the cockpit cowling being raised for better protection for the crew, the turtle-back being raised, and there being some re-design of the tail.

In 1934 the United States division of Fleet Aircraft Inc was absorbed into the Consolidated Aircraft Corporation (founded  by Reuben Fleet) and the Model 10 was released. Initial orders came from China for 36 aircraft, being followed by components and materials to assemble a further 20 aircraft. A number of variants of the Model 10 were built, varying mainly in the type of engine installed, and examples were delivered to Argentina, Dominican Republic, Iraq, Mexico, Nicaragua, Portugal, Venezuela and Yugoslavia.

In September 1938 the Model 10D was evaluated by the RCAF and, after some changes, became the Model 16, being fitted with full military equipment. It was similar to the Fleet 10 but had structural strengthening for aerobatics, and large numbers were supplied to the RCAF between 1939 and 1941, being used for the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan under the designations Fleet Finch Mk I and Finch Mk II. Many of these later were declared surplus following the conclusion of the war and were obtained by civil operators and placed on the American and Canadian Civil Aircraft Registers.

The Fleet 16B, known as the Finch Mk II, was powered by a Kinner B5 radial engine providing 93 kw (125 hp); the 16D was similar with a Kinner R5 engine; the 16F had a 108 kw (145 hp) Warner Super Scarab engine; and the 16R, which was also the Finch Mk I, was specifically for RCAF use.

One example of the Fleet 7 was imported to this region. This aircraft ZK-AGC (c/n 126) was a Model 7B first registered in New Zealand on 27 January 1938, being imported by Clyde Engineering in Wellington for the Marlborough Aero Club, having arrived in New Zealand in December 1937. First flight was on 18 December and it was delivered to Marlborough on 27 January. However, it only survived to 30 April that year when, at Wigram, Christchurch, whilst engaged in night circuits, it crashed on landing.

The wreck of the aircraft was freighted to Omaka by road on 3 May pending a decision to carry out repairs. However, on 16 November that year the Certificate of Airworthiness was invalidated. The rebuild never occurred and the registration was cancelled on 20 January 1947. The airfield at Omaka was taken over by the RNZAF at the outbreak of World War II and it is assumed the wreck of the Fleet was scrapped.

In May 2004 a further Fleet, a Model 16B (c/n 668 – ex N128H), was imported from Phoenix, Arizona and took up residence at Omaka, where it was assembled and flown with its American registration for a period until 11 May 2007 when it also became ZK-AGC² to Classic Aircraft Sales of Blenheim.

A Fleet Model 2 was imported to Australia where it has become VH-FLF (c/n 158 – ex NC13926) registered to its owner at Kangaroo Point in Brisbane, QLD on 22 August 2008.