Fleet Model 1

Model 1
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US Navy N2Y-1
Type	Recreational and training aircraft
Manufacturer	Consolidated, Fleet
Designed by	Reuben Fleet
Maiden flight	9 November 1928

The Fleet Model 1 (originally the Consolidated Model 14 Husky Junior) and its derivatives were a family of two-seat trainer and sports plane produced in the United States and Canada in the 1920s and 30s. They all shared the same basic design and varied mainly in their powerplants. They were all orthodox biplanes with staggered, single-bay wings of equal span and fixed tailskid undercarriage. Accommodation was provided for two in tandem, originally sharing a single open cockpit, but in most examples in separate open cockpits. The fuselage was made of welded steel tube and the wings had a wooden spar with duralumin ribs, the entire aircraft being fabric-covered. Despite a superficial resemblance to Consolidated's highly successful Trusty and Husky designs (hence the "Husky Junior" nickname), the Model 14 was an all-new design.

Originally created as a means for Consolidated to enter the civil market, the company abandoned this ambition shortly before the completion of the first prototype. The manufacturing rights were purchased by designer and Consolidated company president Reuben Fleet to put into production himself under a new enterprise, Fleet Aircraft. It was an immediate success, and in the first year of production alone, over 300 machines were sold. Consolidated quickly responded by buying Fleet Aircraft and retaining it as a subsidiary while opening a second production line at Fort Erie, Ontario, Canada. Canadian manufacturing was a great success, with some 600 examples built for the Royal Canadian Air Force as the Fleet Fawn (Model 7) and Fleet Finch (Model 16).

A small number of US-built machines were purchased by the US military, including a batch evaluated by the United States Army Air Corps as the PT-16 but not bought in quantity, and six specialised N2Y trainers for the United States Navy equipped with hooks to catch the trapeze on aircraft-carrying airships and train F9C Sparrowhawk pilots.

US manufacturing rights were eventually sold to Brewster, which intended to produce the Brewster B-1 based on the Canadian Model 16F.

Variants

• Consolidated Model 14 Husky Junior - prototypes (ca. 5 built)
• Fleet Model 1 - initial production version with Warner Scarab engine (ca. 90 built)
• Fleet Model 2 - initial production version with Kinner K-5 engine (203 built)
  • PT-6 - USAAC designation for Model 2 (16 built)
  • N2Y-1 - USN version with trapeze hook for airship docking training (5 built)
• Fleet Model 3 - version with Wright J-6 engine (1 converted from Model 2)
• Fleet Model 4 - version with Curtiss Challenger engine (1 built)
• Fleet Model 5 - version with Brownback C-400 engine (1 built)
• Fleet Model 6 - improved version for USN as XN2Y-2, later further modified by Pennsylvania Aircraft and redesignated XOZ-1 (1 built)
• Fleet Model 7 - version with Kinner B-5 engine (48 built, plus several converted from Model 2 by Fleet in Canada)
  • Fleet Model 7A
  • Fleet Model 7B - Canadian production version
  • Fleet Model 7C - Canadian production version with Armstrong Siddeley Civet engine
  • Fleet Model 7G - Candaian production version with de Havilland Gipsy III engine
• Fleet Model 8 - three-seat version similar to Model 7 (7 built)
• Fleet Model 9 - refined version of Model 8 (12 built)
• Fleet Model 10 - refined version of Model 7 for export to Europe
  • Fleet Model 10A - version with 100 hp Kinner engine
  • Fleet Model 10B - version with 125 hp Kinner engine
  • Fleet Model 10D - version with 160 hp Kinner engine
  • Fleet Model 10E - version with 125 hp Warner engine
  • Fleet Model 10F - version with 145 hp Warnerengine
  • Fleet Model 10G - version with de Havilland Gypsy Major engine for governments of Portugal and Romania (ca. 70 built)
  • Fleet Model 10H - version with Menasco C-4S engine
• Fleet Model 11 - version with Kinner R-5 engine; some exported to China and Mexico
• Fleet Model 14 - Model 2 modified for participation in Guggenheim Safe Aircraft Competition but disqualified. ca. 300 licence-built in Romania.
• Fleet Model 16 - Fleet Finch - strengthened Canadian production version with sliding canopy (ca. 600 built)
  • Fleet Model 16B
  • Fleet Model 16D
  • Fleet Model 16F - prototype for Brewster B-1
• Fleet Model 21 - armed version built in Canada for Mexican Air Force (11 built)

References

• Taylor, Michael J. H. (1989). Jane's Encyclopedia of Aviation. London: Studio Editions, 263. 
• World Aircraft Information Files. London: Bright Star Publishing, File 894 Sheets 24-25. 
• aerofiles.com
• Howard, Frederic (June 1967). "The History Of The 1930 Fleet". American Aviation Society Journal. 
• Shattuck, Lemuel C. (December-January 2008). "Restoration: Fleet Model 8". Air & Space. 

See also

See also
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This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Fleet Model 1".