Fleet 80 Canuck

Last updated
Model 80 Canuck
Fleet80CanuckCF-EPBonSkis.jpg
Fleet Canuck on straight skis
General information
Type Trainer
Manufacturer Fleet Aircraft of Canada
Designer
J. Omer (Bob) Noury
StatusProduction completed in 1958
Number built225 (including one prototype)
History
Introduction date1946
First flight26 September 1945, Noury N-75 prototype flew in 1944

The Fleet Model 80 Canuck is a Canadian light aircraft featuring two seats in side-by-side configuration. The Canuck was designed for the flight training, personal use and light commercial roles. A total of 225 Canucks were built by two manufacturers during its thirteen-year production run, with the majority being built by Fleet Aircraft between 1945 and 1947.

Contents

Design and development

The Canuck originated with the Noury N-75, designed by Bob Noury which first flew in 1944 at Mount Hope, Ontario. The "home-built" N-75 was a conventional high-wing monoplane design with a welded-steel fuselage and tail surfaces with fabric covering, looking not unlike a Piper Cub. However, the side-by-side seating in the original design was unusual for aircraft of its time even though it was a far better arrangement for instruction. Noury also experimented with a tandem-seat arrangement on a following prototype but had only built three aircraft when he sold the Noury N-75 rights to the Fleet Aircraft Company in 1945. [1]

Fleet undertook some minor design changes, principally relocating the fuel tank, adding a skylight above the cabin, lowering the front fuselage profile and replacing the original Continental C-75 with a slightly more powerful C-85 engine. The Noury N-75 was tested in its new configuration; it first flew on 26 September 1945 with Fleet Test Pilot Tommy Williams at the controls. Following modifications to the fin to increase its size, the prototype, newly renamed, emerged as the Fleet Model 80 Canuck, and entered production.

Fleet Canuck on wheels with wheel pants fitted FleetModel80CanuckCF-DPZ.jpg
Fleet Canuck on wheels with wheel pants fitted

Operational history

Although the aircraft were well built, strong performers [2] and versatile; able to be flown with floats or skis to increase its utility, after a spurt in sales, they did not sell well. In trying to market the Fleet Canuck in the immediate postwar period, as either a private aircraft or a trainer, there were several obstacles:

After initial sales to flying clubs, charter companies and private owners began to falter, Fleet ran into financial problems. In 1947, Canuck production by Fleet was terminated. Over the next ten years a number of aircraft were built up from components by Leavens Brothers in Toronto with total series production finishing at 224 in 1958. [4] Several have been re-engined with the 100 hp (75 kW) Continental O-200.

In September 2010, there were 77 Canucks registered in Canada with Transport Canada. [5] By April 2023, there were 70 Canucks left on the Canadian registry. [6]

Variants

Aircraft on display

Fleet Canuck CF-EBE on straight floats. This aircraft, serial number 149, is in the storage facility of the Canada Aviation and Space Museum at Rockcliffe Airport. FleetModel80CanuckSerial149CF-EBE.jpg
Fleet Canuck CF-EBE on straight floats. This aircraft, serial number 149, is in the storage facility of the Canada Aviation and Space Museum at Rockcliffe Airport.

In 1995, the Royal Canadian Mint issued Coin #11, a $20 silver commemorative coin in its aviation series, recognizing the Fleet 80 Canuck and its original designer, J. Omer Noury, featured in a gold-inlay cameo insert.

Specifications

Fleet Canuck 3-view drawing.jpg

Data from Canada Aviation and Space Museum [1] & Canadian Air & Space Museum [7]

General characteristics

Performance

See also

Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Avro Canada CF-105 Arrow</span> Canadian interceptor aircraft family

The Avro Canada CF-105 Arrow was a delta-winged interceptor aircraft designed and built by Avro Canada. The CF-105 held the promise of Mach 2 speeds at altitudes exceeding 50,000 feet (15,000 m) and was intended to serve as the Royal Canadian Air Force's (RCAF) primary interceptor into the 1960s and beyond.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Avro Canada C102 Jetliner</span> Canadian prototype jet airliner built by Avro Canada

The Avro Canada C102 Jetliner was a Canadian prototype medium-range turbojet-powered jet airliner built by Avro Canada in 1949. It was beaten to the air by only 13 days by the de Havilland Comet, thereby becoming the second purpose-built jet airliner in the world, while both were preceded by the Nene Lancastrian, and the Nene Viking, both of which were conversions of piston engine airliners. The name "Jetliner" was chosen as a shortening of the term "jet airliner", a term which is still in popular usage. The aircraft was considered suitable for busy routes along the US eastern seaboard and garnered intense interest, notably from Howard Hughes who even offered to start production under license. However, continued delays in Avro Canada's all-weather interceptor project, the CF-100 Canuck, led to an order to stop working on the project in 1951, with the prototype Jetliner later cut up for scrap.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vickers Viscount</span> British four-engined medium-range turboprop airliner, 1948

The Vickers Viscount is a British medium-range turboprop airliner first flown in 1948 by Vickers-Armstrongs. A design requirement from the Brabazon Committee, it entered service in 1953 and was the first turboprop-powered airliner.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">ERCO Ercoupe</span> American light aircraft

The ERCO Ercoupe is an American low-wing monoplane aircraft that was first flown in 1937. It was originally manufactured by the Engineering and Research Corporation (ERCO) shortly before World War II; several other manufacturers continued its production after the war. The final model, the Mooney M-10, first flew in 1968 and the last model year was 1970. It was designed to be the safest fixed-wing aircraft that aerospace engineering could provide at the time, and the type continues to enjoy a faithful following.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Canadair CT-114 Tutor</span> Military training aircraft

The Canadair CT-114 Tutor is a jet trainer that was designed and produced by Canadian aircraft manufacturer Canadair. It served as the standard jet trainer of the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF), and later Canadian Armed Forces, between the early 1960s and 2000.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Avro Canada CF-100 Canuck</span> Interceptor aircraft in service 1952-1981

The Avro Canada CF-100 Canuck is a Canadian twinjet interceptor/fighter designed and produced by aircraft manufacturer Avro Canada. It has the distinction of being the only Canadian-designed fighter to enter mass production.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Beechcraft Model 18</span> American twin-engine, light aircraft produced 1937–1970

The Beechcraft Model 18 is a 6- to 11-seat, twin-engined, low-wing, tailwheel light aircraft manufactured by the Beech Aircraft Corporation of Wichita, Kansas. Continuously produced from 1937 to November 1969, over 9,000 were built, making it one of the world's most widely used light aircraft. Sold worldwide as a civilian executive, utility, cargo aircraft, and passenger airliner on tailwheels, nosewheels, skis, or floats, it was also used as a military aircraft.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Canadair CF-104 Starfighter</span> Licensed built variant of the F-104 Starfighter

The Canadair CF-104 Starfighter is a modified version of the Lockheed F-104 Starfighter supersonic fighter aircraft built in Canada by Canadair under licence. It was primarily used as a ground attack aircraft, despite being designed as an interceptor. It served with the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) and later the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) until it was replaced by the McDonnell Douglas CF-18 Hornet in 1987.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fleet Finch</span> Canadian training biplane

The Fleet Finch is a two-seat, tandem training biplane produced by Fleet Aircraft of Fort Erie, Ontario. There were a number of variants mainly based on engine variations. Over several years beginning in 1939, a total of 447 Finches were built, nearly all (431) of them for use as elementary trainers in the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan (BCATP) during the Second World War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Canadair CF-5</span> Fighter bomber aircraft by Canadair

The Canadair CF-5 is a Canadian licensed-built Northrop F-5 Freedom Fighter. It is a light, supersonic, twin engine, daylight air superiority fighter primarily for the Canadian Forces and the Royal Netherlands Air Force. The CF-5 was upgraded periodically throughout its service life in Canada. While Canadian Forces retired the aircraft in 1995, it continues to be used by other countries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fleet Fawn</span>

In the 1930s, Fleet Aircraft manufactured a series of single-engined, two-seat training aircraft, based on US designs. The Fleet Model 7B and Model 7C, known respectively as Fawn I and Fawn II were purchased by the RCAF as primary trainers. After years of reliable service, many were available for use in the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan during the Second World War while others remained as station "hacks."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Avro Avian</span> British biplane aircraft type

The Avro Avian is a series of British light aircraft designed and built by Avro in the 1920s and 1930s. While the various versions of the Avian were sound aircraft, they were comprehensively outsold by the de Havilland Moth and its descendants.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fleet Model 1</span> Type of aircraft

The Fleet Model 1 and its derivatives are a family of two-seat trainer and sports biplanes produced in the United States and Canada in the 1920s and 1930s. They all shared the same basic design and varied mainly in their powerplants.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fairchild 45-80 Sekani</span> Type of aircraft

The Fairchild 45-80 Sekani was a Canadian twin-engined transport aircraft developed in Canada in the late 1930s. Although the 45-80 was the largest bush plane developed by Fairchild, its poor performance doomed the project, and nearly the company.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blue Yonder EZ Flyer</span> Canadian ultralight aircraft

The Blue Yonder EZ Flyer is a Canadian-designed-and-built, tandem two-seat, open cockpit, pusher configuration, recreational and training aircraft provided as a completed aircraft or in kit form by Blue Yonder Aviation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blue Yonder Twin Engine EZ Flyer</span> Canadian ultralight aircraft

The Blue Yonder Twin Engine EZ Flyer is a Canadian designed and built, pusher configuration twin-engined, tandem two-seat, open cockpit aircraft provided as a completed aircraft or in kit form by Blue Yonder Aviation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blue Yonder EZ Harvard</span> Canadian homebuilt light aircraft

The Blue Yonder EZ Harvard is a Canadian designed and built, single-engined, single-seat aircraft provided as a completed aircraft or in kit form by Blue Yonder Aviation. The aircraft is a 75% scale replica of the North American Harvard trainer of the Second World War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fisher Dakota Hawk</span> Canadian homebuilt light aircraft

The Fisher Dakota Hawk is a Canadian side-by-side two-seat, conventional landing gear, single-engined, high-wing monoplane kit aircraft designed for construction by amateur builders.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Avro Canada CF-103</span> Cancelled military aircraft

The Avro Canada CF-103 was a proposed Canadian interceptor, designed by Avro Canada in the early 1950s as a development, and possible replacement of the company's CF-100 Canuck, that was entering service at the time with the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF). Although intended to be capable of flying at transonic speeds, the CF-103 only offered a moderate increase in performance and capability over the CF-100; subsequently, the aircraft never progressed beyond the mock-up stage.

The Norman Aviation Nordic 8 Mini Explorer is a Canadian ultralight aircraft, designed and produced by Norman Aviation of Saint-Anselme, Quebec. The aircraft is supplied as a kit for amateur construction.

References

Citations

  1. 1 2 3 "Fleet 80 Canuck." Canada Aviation and Space Museum. Retrieved: 29 June 2017.
  2. Page and Cumming 1990, p. 118. Note: The Fleet Canuck was capable of aerobatics due to an airframe designed to withstand 7G maneuvers.
  3. 1 2 3 "Fleet Canuck." Collingwood Classic Aircraft Foundation, May 2002. Retrieved: 27 September 2007.
  4. Page and Cumming 1990, p. 118.
  5. Civil Aircraft Register Archived July 18, 2011, at the Wayback Machine Transport Canada , September 2010. Retrieved: 10 September 2010.
  6. Civil Aircraft Register Transport Canada , April 2023. Retrieved: 24 April 2023.
  7. 1 2 "Fleet 80 Canuck." Canadian Air & Space Museum, 2008. Retrieved: 10 September 2010.
  8. "Fleet Canuck (1947)." [usurped] "Canadian Aviation Heritage Centre"
  9. "Aviation". Reynolds Museum. Government of Alberta. Retrieved 1 December 2019.

Bibliography