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Aviation History
1954
1954 - 2353.PDF
274 FLIGHT THE CANADIAN INDUSTRY . . . bush transport, and its choice for production was largely influenced by the availability of many war time components which it had in common with Tiger Moths. May 1946 was an extremely important month for D.H.C., for it was then that the prototype of the attractive and successful Chipmunk, successor to the Tiger Moth, made its first flight. Though not yet so widely used as the Tiger itself, Chipmunks are now to be found in many parts of the world and in many Air Forces. Large numbers have, of course, been built by agreement in England. Canadian Chipmunk production was stopped in December 1951 after 158 had been built. Almost concurrently with the design, development and produc tion of the Chipmunk, similar work was proceeding on the even more important Beaver. The decision to proceed with its design was made early in 1947 and the prototype took to the air in August 1947. Later in that same year—and one recalls the Cirrus Moth order of twenty years earlier—the Ontario Provincial Govern ment placed an initial order for four Beavers (the Department of Lands and Forests has now taken delivery of forty). In addition to the outstanding service which the Beaver has given in its initial role of bush aircraft in the widest sense, the design also achieved another outstanding success when in competi tion with six other aircraft it was selected by the United States Air Force as a standard liaison aircraft. As a result a large contract for L-20 Beavers for the U.S.A.F. was placed with D.H. Canada. Details of the Beaver 1 with Pratt and Whitney engines appear on page 283. (The Beaver 2 is Alvis powered.) Beaver production continues in full swing at Downsview Air port and one of the latest variants of the basic design has been specially adapted for agricultural uses—fertilizing, seeding and spraying. Side-by-side with Beaver production is developing the Otter line, and an important order towards which deliveries have al ready been made has been placed by the Royal Canadian Air Force. Like the Beaver, the Otter is also operating off floats and skis. With the exception of range, which at 1,145 miles for the Otter is nearly twice as mueh-«s that of the Beaver, the perform ance figures for the two aircraft are very similar. The all-up The drawing office in the engineering section of D.H.C.'s new factory. weights are 7,600 lb (3,242 lb disposable) and 5,100 lb (2,140 lb disposable) respectively. The Otter's geared Pratt and Whitney R-1340 radial gives 600 b.h.p. as compared with the 450 b.h.p. of the R-985 Wasp Junior in the Beaver. Today, after 26 years, the direction of D.H. Canada is (in this country) still under the president, Sir Geoffrey de Havilland, F. E. N. St. Barbe and W. E. Nixon, and in Canada under the vice-president and managing director Philip C. Garratt. The other directors in Canada are C. H. "Punch" Dickins, a famous bush pilot and formerly vice-president of Canadian Pacific Air lines (sales); G. J. Mickleborough (secretary-treasurer), in 1928 the second Canadian to join the company (back in 1930 he ac companied the then sales manager Geoff O'Brian on his Toronto-Vancouver return flight in a Puss Moth—6,050 miles in 57 hours); W. D. Hunter, who went to Canada in 1941 to organize the production of Mosquitos (engineering); W/C. R. Bannock, first post-war chief test pilot and military sales manager (opera tions); D. G. Simpson (financial); and W. W. Parry, Q.C. Today in the fine new factory here illustrated, 2,200 people are working to produce the Beavers and Otters, to service other D.H. types, including Vampire and Comet, and preparing for the assembly of American Grumman S2Fs (two Wright R-1820 engines) ordered for the Canadian Navy for anti-submarine duties. FLEET MANUFACTURING, LTD. MANY if not the majority, of names in the Canadian aircraft industry in pre-war days were those of parent companies in England and America: de Havilland, Canadian Vickers, Fairchild are examples. Fleet Aircraft of Canada, Ltd., was one of th^s early band but rather than take the name of the American parejdt company, it took that of its president. Major R. H. Fleet vk? president of Consolidated Aircraft Corp. in 1929 when the com pany was formed. (Fleet Aircraft, Inc., was also registered fin America.) The aircraft first built was a well-proportioned biplane trailer with 125 h.p. Khmer radial. The R.C.A.F. bought twenty. It was tested for floats, skis or wheels, and a neat coupe top coulq be fitted—a refinement ahead of its time. A pleasant factory was built in 1930 at Fort Erie for the com pany's products, and it grew steadily and impressively for!the times until war came. Large numbers of the current Fleet pririary trainer—the Finch—were at once put in hand and some 600 built by 1941. Concurrendy 100 Fleet Forts for more advanced traiping were turned out. Fleet achieved the distinction during the war of producing more aircraft in terms of manhours per lb of airframe weight than any other manufacturer. The work following at once on the early trainer programmes mentioned in the previous paragraph in cluded 3,000 Cornells (Fairchild PT-26A), trainers of Chipmunk size and layout, and also major components for the Hampden and later the Lancaster. The company describe the middle 1940s and the years to date as H. L Eberts, president and general manager of Fleet Manu facturing, Ltd. follows: "Fleet's fortunes, which reached a peak during the War years, came very near to founder ing on the rocky shoals of post war recession but, following its complete reorganization early in 1953, the company is once again on a sound operational and financial footing, as reflected in its annual statement for the year ending September 30,1953, when a net profit of over $400,000.00 was reported." The most important aircraft work undertaken by Fleet recently has been under sub-contract to Canadair. Rear fuselages, wing centre sections, spars, leading and trailing edges and some additional small sub-assemblies for Sabres were involved. When this contract was signed certain key men from Canadair went over to strengthen the Fleet top-level staff. Other Canadian sub-contract work includes flaps and ailerons for Avro's CF-lOOs and large numbers of fuselages, wings, sub assemblies and spares for D.H. Canada Beavers. For America, Fleet has made Thunder jet and Thunderstreak undercarriage units on behalf of Republic Aviation Corporation. Aircraft skills and technique have also been applied to an important sub-contract for the building of large radar scanners. Reference must be made to the plastic depart ment in which a variety of canopy and othe moulding work is handled and non-aviation Fiberglas products are manufactured. Today the Fleet payroll is approaching 1,000 The factory, beside which is a private airfield with an 800 yd paved runway, occupies a 162-acre plo on the American-Canadian border at Fort Erie. Fleet's factory at Fort Erie, Ontario. The end of thr runway is seen in the background.
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