| GA-43 | |
|---|---|
 General Aviation GA-43 HB-ITU in service with Swissair | |
| General information | |
| Type | Airliner |
| National origin | United States of America |
| Manufacturer | General Aviation |
| Designer | |
| Primary user | Swissair |
| Number built | 5 |
| History | |
| First flight | 22 May 1932 |
The General Aviation GA-43 was a single engine low-wing monoplane airliner produced in small numbers in the United States in the mid-1930s, also known as the Pilgrim 150, Fairchild 150, and sometimes but erroneously as the Clark GA-43 for the designer, Virginius E. Clark who was also responsible for the Clark Y airfoil section used. [1]
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The prototype was developed and built by Fairchild's American Pilgrim division, but the program was taken over by General Aviation when the firm purchased American Pilgrim shortly before the prototype had flown. Although this first flight took place in 1932, manufacture did not commence until 1934, by which time General Motors had, in turn, gained a controlling interest in North American Aviation and merged it with General Aviation, which they already owned. The result of this was that the GA-43 became the first aircraft produced by North American.
