The Fleet 50 Freighter was a Canadian twin-engine biplane general utility aircraft designed and built by

Fleet Aircraft Fleet Aircraft was a Canadian manufacturer of aircraft from 1928 to 1957. In 1928, the board of Consolidated Aircraft decided to drop their light trainer aircraft and sold the rights to Brewster Aircraft. Reuben H. Fleet founded Fleet Aircraft i ...

. This peculiar-looking aircraft had promise as a freighter and general use aircraft, but it was underpowered and only five were built.

Development

Design was started in 1936 to create a general purpose twin-engined utility aircraft for the Canadian market. It was designed as a short take-off freighter with features added to ease cargo handling. The Freighter was a biplane with the lower wing an inverted

gull wing The gull wing is an aircraft wing configuration, known also as ''Pulaski wings'', with a prominent bend in the wing inner section towards the wing root. Its name is derived from the seabirds which it resembles. Numerous aircraft have incorpora ...

with either a float or wheel landing gear. Two radial piston engines were mounted in

nacelle A nacelle ( ) is a "streamlined body, sized according to what it contains", such as an engine, fuel, or equipment on an aircraft. When attached by a pylon entirely outside the airframe, it is sometimes called a pod, in which case it is attached ...

s on the upper wing panels. The fuselage structure was welded steel tubing with duralumin formers, and a semi-

monocoque Monocoque ( ), also called structural skin, is a structural system in which loads are supported by an object's external skin, in a manner similar to an egg shell. The word ''monocoque'' is a French term for "single shell". First used for boats, ...

duralumin nose section. The wings were stressed-skin metal structure on the inboard panels and fabric-covered wood beams and duralumin ribs on the outboard panels. The fuselage had room for two crew and up to ten passengers. Large doors and a roof-mounted chain hoist were fitted for use in the cargo role. The prototype designated the 50J first flew on 22 February 1938, powered by two 285 hp (213 kW) Jacobs L-5MB 7-cylinder

radial engine The radial engine is a reciprocating type internal combustion engine configuration in which the cylinders "radiate" outward from a central crankcase like the spokes of a wheel. It resembles a stylized star when viewed from the front, and is ...

s. It was later re-engined with 330 hp Jacobs L-6MB engines and re-designated the 50K. A further four aircraft were built, all with L-6MB engines. None of the aircraft was operated for long, as the design was underpowered and could not maintain altitude on only one engine. The last aircraft went out of service in 1946. The remains of one airframe are held by the Canada Aviation and Space Museum.

Specifications (50K landplane)

References

Citations

Bibliography

* ''The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft (Part Work 1982-1985)''. London: Orbis Publishing, 1985, p. 1817. {{Aircraft manufactured in Canada 50 1930s Canadian civil utility aircraft Biplanes Inverted gull-wing aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1938 Twin piston-engined tractor aircraft