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 1934–1935 by James C. Reddig for

Fleetwings Fleetwings, later Kaiser-Fleetwings, was an American aircraft company of the 1930s and 1940s. History Fleetwings started in 1926 (under a different name) as a business based on a patented mechanical timing device, which proved particularly suit ...

, Inc., of Bristol, Pennsylvania. 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 to 1933), the Sea Bird was unusual because of its construction from spot-welded

stainless steel Stainless steel is an alloy of iron that is resistant to rusting and corrosion. It contains at least 11% chromium and may contain elements such as carbon, other nonmetals and metals to obtain other desired properties. Stainless steel's corros ...

. 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

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, including operation by J. Ray McDermott & Co.

Variants

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

Specifications

References

* * *
aerofiles.com

External links

Vintage film of the Fleetwings Sea Bird
{{Kaiser-Fleetwings aircraft 1930s United States civil utility aircraft

Sea Bird Seabirds (also known as marine birds) are birds that are adapted to life within the marine environment. While seabirds vary greatly in lifestyle, behaviour and physiology, they often exhibit striking convergent evolution, as the same enviro ...

Amphibious aircraft Single-engined tractor aircraft High-wing aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1936