Fleet Finch 3058622 223676875 2008-07-05T05:57:33Z Sardanaphalus 427947 updating link using [[Project:AutoWikiBrowser|AWB]] {{infobox Aircraft |name =Fleet Finch |type = [[trainer (aircraft)|Trainer]] |manufacturer = [[Fleet Aircraft]] |image =Image:Fleet Finch.jpg |caption =Fleet Finch II at the [[Canadian Museum of Flight]] British Columbia |designer= |first flight =[[8 February]] [[1939 in aviation|1939]] |introduced = [[1939 in aviation|1939]] |retired = [[1947 in aviation|1947]] |status = Retired |primary user =[[Royal Canadian Air Force]] |more users = [[Portugal]] |produced = [[1939]]- [[1940]] |number built =447 |unit cost = |variants with their own articles = }} [[Image:Fleet16BFinch.jpg|thumb|right|'''Fleet 16B Finch''' in the [[Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum]] Hamilton, Ontario]] [[Image:FleetFinch07A.JPG|thumb|right|'''Fleet 16B Finch''' at the [[Canadian Museum of Flight]] in South Surrey BC, July 1988]] The '''Fleet Finch''' (Fleet Model 16) 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 [[World War II|Second World War]]. ==Design and development== The Fleet 16B Finch II was a progressive development of the original Consolidated Fleet primary trainer (Fleet 10), manufacture of which commenced in [[Canada]] by Fleet Aircraft in 1930. A total of 431 Finch trainers were built for the [[Royal Canadian Air Force]] (RCAF) between 1939 and 1941. The aircraft had conventional construction for the period with a welded steel-tube [[fuselage]] and composite metal, wood and fabric design features. The RCAF acquired the aircraft type as an elementary [[Trainer (aircraft)|trainer]]. The Fleet 16 first entered RCAF service with tandem open [[cockpit]]s, but the severity of the Canadian winter necessitated the introduction of a sliding [[Aircraft canopy|canopy]] at an early stage in the trainer's service career. ==Operational history== The Finch was a mainstay of the RCAF prior to and during the early part of the Second World War, flying at the Elementary Flying Training Schools (EFTS) in parallel with the better known [[de Havilland Tiger Moth]]. The earlier Fleet Model 7 ([[Fleet Fawn]]) was also in use for primary training. During 1940, initial production problems were solved and timely deliveries were made to the RCAF, allowing the first training programs to start up. In the following year, the [[Portugal|Portuguese]] Navy purchased ten Model 16Ds (ordered as 10Bs but changed to the higher powered variant) and later a further five 16Ds were delivered in 1942. <ref> Page and Cumming 1990, p. 72. </ref> A total of 447 Fleet Finches were produced as Model 16s, the majority for the RCAF. They were used as initial trainers in the BCATP at no fewer than 12 Elementary Flight Training Schools across Canada. Both the Fleet Finch and Tiger Moth were later replaced by the [[Fairchild Cornell|Fairchild PT-26 Cornell]]. The Finch was progressively phased out of service from October 1944 with the last of the Model 16s struck off strength from the RCAF inventory in 1947. ==Variants== * '''Model 16F''': One prototype based on the Fleet '''Model 10'''; powered by a 175 hp Warner Super Scarab seven cylinder [[radial engine]] * '''Model 16R (Finch I)''': 27 built for RCAF; powered by 160 hp Kinner R5-2, five cylinder radial engine * '''Model 16B (Finch II)''': 404 built for the RCAF; powered by 130 hp (variously noted as 125 hp) Kinner B5-R, five cylinder radial engine * '''Model 16D ''': 15 built for the Portuguese Navy; powered by 160 hp Kinner B5-2, five cylinder radial engine ==Specifications (Finch II)== Information based on ''Fleet: The Flying Years'' <ref> Page and Cumming 1990, p. 72.</ref> *'''Manufacturer''': Fleet Aircraft of Canada *'''Crew/Passengers''': two pilots in tandem *'''Powerplant''': one 125 hp Kinner B-5 five-cylinder radial [[piston engine]] * '''Dimensions''' ** Length: 21 ft. 8 in (6.64 m) ** Height: 7 ft. 9"in. (2.4 m) ** Wing span: 28 ft (8.53 m) ** Wing area: 194.4 sq. ft. (59.25 sq. m) * '''Weights''' ** '''Empty weight''': 1,222 lb (509 kg) ** '''Maximum gross weight''': 2,000 lb (908 kg) *'''Performance''' ** '''Maximum speed''': 104 mph (192.61 km/H) ** '''Cruise speed''': 85 statute mph (76 knots, 137 km/H) ** '''Rate of climb''': 435 ft/minute (132 m/minute) ** '''Service ceiling''': 10,500 ft (3,200 m) ** '''Range''': 300 statute miles (261 nautical miles, 483 km) * '''Armament''': none ==Operators== *{{CAN}} ** [[Royal Canadian Air Force]] *{{POR}} **Portuguese Navy ==References== {{reflist}} * Molson, Ken M. and Taylor, Harold A. ''Canadian Aircraft Since 1909''. Stittsville, Ontario: Canada's Wings, Inc., 1982. ISBN 0-920002-11-0. * Page, Ron D. and Cumming, William. ''Fleet: The Flying Years''. Erin, Ontario: Boston Mills Press, 1990. ISBN 1-55046-019-6. ==External links== * [http://www.tigerboys.com/finch.html Web page for CF-GER, a restored Fleet Finch II, with performance figures] * [http://www.canadianflight.org/collect/col_10.htm Fleet 16B Finch MkII] ==See also== * [[List of British Commonwealth Air Training Plan facilities in Canada]] (specifies which BCATP schools used the Finch) {{Aviation lists}} [[Category:Canadian military trainer aircraft 1930-1939]] [[Category:Biplane aircraft]] [[Category:Single engine aircraft]] [[Category:Propeller aircraft]]