Fairchild 91 Baby Clipper

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Fairchild 91 A-942
Fairchild XR-942-B "Kono," belonging to explorer Richard Archbold
Role Flying boat airliner
Manufacturer Fairchild
First flight 5 April 1935[1]
Primary user Pan Am
Number built 7

The Fairchild 91, (a.k.a. A-942), was a single-engine eight-passenger flying boat airliner developed in the United States in the mid-1930s.[2]

Design

Fairchild designed the aircraft in response to a Pan American Airways request[2] for a small flying boat to operate on their river routes along the Amazon and Yangtze. The result was a conventional high-wing cantilever monoplane with its radial engine mounted above the wing in a streamlined nacelle. Before construction of the prototype was complete, however, Pan American no longer required the aircraft to operate in China, and Fairchild optimised the design for the Brazilian tropics.

Operational history

After the first two aircraft were delivered, Pan American cancelled the remaining four aircraft of its order, as they no longer needed any for China, and the two aircraft were capable of handling the Amazon River.

The sole A-942-B was specially built for the American Museum of Natural History and was used by naturalist Richard Archbold on his second expedition to Papua New Guinea in 1936–1937.[1]

The prototype was sold to the Spanish Republican Air Force, but the ship carrying it was captured by the Spanish Nationalists and was used by them until 1941.

The A-942 bought by industrialist Garfield Wood was sold to the British American Ambulance Corps before being transferred to the RAF, who operated it in Egypt for air-sea rescue.

One exampled was sold to the Imperial Japanese Naval Air Service for evaluation, but it was wrecked shortly after delivery, so a second example was purchased to replace it.

Variants

Fairchild 91 Baby Clipper[1]
Initial version built to Pan Am specifications for use on rivers, powered by a 750 hp (560 kW) Pratt & Whitney S2EG Hornet.[2] Six built.
Fairchild A-942-A[1]
Alternative designation for the Fairchild 91
Fairchild 91B Jungle Clipper[1]
Specially equipped for NYC Museum of Natural History, powered by a 760 hp (570 kW) Wright SGR-1820F-52 Cyclone.[2] One built, NR777.[1]
Fairchild A-942-B[1]
Alternative designation for the Fairchild 91B.
Fairchild XSOK-1
Proposed U.S. Navy scout; none built.[3]
Fairchild LXF
Two A-942Bs supplied to the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service for evaluation.

Airframes

MSN Registration
as built		 Delivery
Customer		 Notes Refs
9401 NC14743 None - Prototype to Spanish Aviación Nacional as 63-1 Virgen de Chamorro, scrapped 1941 [4]
9402 NC14744 Pan Am for Panair do Brasil PP-PAP, wrecked at Belém, 1941 [4]
9403 NC15952 Pan Am for Panair do Brasil PP-PAT, scrapped 1945 [5]
9404 NC16359 Imperial Japanese Naval Air Service designated LXF-1, wrecked Japan, 1937 [6]
9405 NC16690 Gar Wood to British American Ambulance Corps, then to RAF as HK832 [6]
9406 NC19130 Imperial Japanese Naval Air Service designated LXF-1, wrecked in Nankin, China, 1939 [7]
9407 NR777 American Museum of Natural History as Kono (Duck) wrecked during storm in Port Moresby, 1936. [8]

Specifications (A-942-A)

Fairchild A-942 3-view drawing from L'Aerophile May 1936

Data from [1]

General characteristics

  • Crew: two pilots
  • Capacity: eight passengers
  • Length: 46 ft 8 in (14.22 m)
  • Wingspan: 56 ft 0 in (17.07 m)
  • Height: 14 ft 8 in (4.47 m)
  • Wing area: 483 sq ft (44.9 m2)
  • Empty weight: 6,596 lb (2,992 kg)
  • Gross weight: 10,500 lb (4,763 kg)
  • Powerplant: 1 × Pratt & Whitney R-1690 , 800 hp (600 kW)

Performance

  • Maximum speed: 167 mph (269 km/h, 145 kn)
  • Range: 665 mi (1,070 km, 578 nmi)
  • Service ceiling: 15,600 ft (4,800 m)
  • Rate of climb: 840 ft/min (4.3 m/s)

See also

Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era

Related lists

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Fairchild 91 Baby Clipper.

Notes

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h "Fairchild".
  2. ^ a b c d Taylor, Michael J.H. . Jane's Encyclopedia of Aviation. Studio Editions. London. 1989. ISBN 0517691868
  3. ^ Johnson, E.R. (2009). American Flying Boats and Amphibious Aircraft: An Illustrated History. Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Company. p. 339. ISBN 978-0786439744.
  4. ^ a b Pentland, Andrew (26 June 2010). "Civil Aircraft Register - United States". Golden Years of Aviation. p. N31. Retrieved 2 September 2022.
  5. ^ Pentland, Andrew (26 June 2010). "Civil Aircraft Register - United States". Golden Years of Aviation. p. N34. Retrieved 2 September 2022.
  6. ^ a b Pentland, Andrew (26 June 2010). "Civil Aircraft Register - United States". Golden Years of Aviation. p. N35. Retrieved 2 September 2022.
  7. ^ Pentland, Andrew (26 June 2010). "Civil Aircraft Register - United States". Golden Years of Aviation. p. N40. Retrieved 2 September 2022.
  8. ^ Pentland, Andrew (26 June 2010). "Civil Aircraft Register - United States". Golden Years of Aviation. p. N2. Retrieved 2 September 2022.

Bibliography

  • Fernandez, José (November 2000). "F-91, le baroudeur de chez Fairchild" [The F-91, the Adventurer of House Fairchild]. Avions: Toute l'Aéronautique et son histoire (in French). No. 92. pp. 24–27. ISSN 1243-8650.
  • Fernandez, José (December 2000). "F-91, le baroudeur de chez Fairchild". Avions: Toute l'Aéronautique et son histoire (in French). No. 93. pp. 41–51. ISSN 1243-8650.
  • Taylor, Michael J.H. . Jane's Encyclopedia of Aviation. Studio Editions. London. 1989. ISBN 0-517-69186-8
  • World Aircraft Information Files. London: Bright Star Publishing. pp. File 894 Sheet 04.