- Design and production
- Operational history
- Variants
- Specifications
- References
- External links
| name=Fleetwings Sea Bird | image=Fleetwings Sea Bird.jpg | caption= F-401 prototype, Golden Wings Museum, Blaine, Minnesota }}{{Infobox Aircraft Type | type=Amphibious utility aircraft | manufacturer= Fleetwings | designer= James C. Reddig | 1936}} | introduced= | retired= | status= | primary user= | more users= | produced= | number built=1 prototype; 5 production | variants with their own articles=
}} |
The Fleetwings Sea Bird (or Seabird) was an American-built amphibious aircraft of the 1930s. Design and productionThe Sea Bird was an amphibious utility aircraft designed in 1934–1935 by James C. Reddig for Fleetwings, Inc., of Bristol, Pennsylvania. While the aircraft's basic configuration had a precedent in the design of the Loening "Monoduck" developed by the Grover Loening Aircraft Company as a personal aircraft for Mr. Loening (for whom Reddig worked from 1929 to 1933), the Sea Bird was unusual because of its construction from spot-welded stainless steel. It was a high-wing, wire-braced monoplane with its engine housed in a nacelle mounted above the wings on struts. The pilot and passengers sat in a fully enclosed cabin. Fleetwings initially planned to manufacture 50 production units, but at a price approaching $25,000 during the Depression, there proved to be no sustainable market. Operational historyThe Sea Bird found use with private pilot owners and saw service with the oil support industry in Louisiana, including operation by J. Ray McDermott. Variants- F-4 Sea Bird - 4-seat prototype (1 built)
- F-5 Sea Bird - 5-seat production aircraft (5 built)
Specifications{{Aircraft specs
|ref=Specifications of American Airplanes[1]
|prime units?=imp
|genhide=
|crew=1
|capacity=3 passengers
|length m=
|length ft=31
|length in=5
|length note=
|span m=
|span ft=40
|span in=6
|span note=
|height m=
|height ft=12
|height in=6
|height note=
|wing area sqm=
|wing area sqft=235
|wing area note=
|aspect ratio=
|airfoil=
|empty weight kg=
|empty weight lb=2320
|empty weight note=
|gross weight kg=
|gross weight lb=3450
|gross weight note=
|fuel capacity={{convert|52|USgal|impgal L|abbr=on}}
|lift kg=
|lift lb=
|lift note=
|more general=
|eng1 number=1
|eng1 name=Jacobs L-5
|eng1 type=7-cyliner air-cooler radial engine
|eng1 kw=
|eng1 hp=285
|prop blade number=
|prop name=
|prop dia m=
|prop dia ft=
|prop dia in=
|prop dia note=
|perfhide=
|max speed kmh=
|max speed mph=150
|max speed kts=
|max speed note=at sea level
|cruise speed kmh=
|cruise speed mph=133
|cruise speed kts=
|cruise speed note=
|stall speed kmh=
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|stall speed note=
|never exceed speed kmh=
|never exceed speed mph=
|never exceed speed kts=
|never exceed speed note=
|minimum control speed kmh=
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|minimum control speed kts=
|minimum control speed note=
|range km=
|range miles=400
|range nmi=
|range note=
|combat range km=
|combat range miles=
|combat range nmi=
|combat range note=
|ferry range km=
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|endurance=
|ceiling m=
|ceiling ft=15000
|ceiling note=
|g limits=
|roll rate=
|glide ratio=
|climb rate ms=
|climb rate ftmin=900
|climb rate note=
|time to altitude=
|more performance=
}}
References{{commons category|Fleetwings Sea Bird}}1. ^Aviation April 1937, pp. 70–71.
- {{cite magazine|url=http://archive.aviationweek.com/issue/19370401/#!&pid=66|title=Specifications of American Airplanes|magazine=Aviation|volume= 36|issue=4|date=April 1937|pages=66–71|registration=y}}
- {{cite book |last= Taylor |first= Michael J. H. |title=Jane's Encyclopedia of Aviation |year=1989 |publisher=Studio Editions |location=London |pages=392 |isbn= 0-7106-0710-5 }}
- {{cite journal| title=A Shot-Welded Stainless Steel Amphibian |journal=Flight |date=22 October 1936 |pages=424 |url=http://www.flightglobal.com/PDFArchive/View/1936/1936%20-%202873.html |accessdate=2008-03-19}}
- aerofiles.com
External links- [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g_KNbIjc4tU Vintage film of the Fleetwings Sea Bird]
{{Kaiser-Fleetwings aircraft}} 6 : United States civil utility aircraft 1930–1939|Fleetwings aircraft|Amphibious aircraft|Single-engined tractor aircraft|High-wing aircraft|Aircraft first flown in 1936 |