View source for Fleet 50 Freighter

{{Short description|1930s Canadian transport aircraft}}
<!-- This article is a part of [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Aircraft]]. Please see [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Aircraft/page content]] for recommended layout. -->
{|{{Infobox aircraft begin
 |name= Fleet 50 Freighter
 |image=Fleet 50K Freighter being loaded through the nose hatch.jpg
 |caption=
}}{{Infobox aircraft type
 |type=General utility aircraft
 |manufacturer=[[Fleet Aircraft]]
 |designer=
 |first flight=22 February [[1938 in aviation|1938]]
 |introduced=
 |retired=
 |status=
 |primary user=
 |more users=
 |produced=
 |number built=5
 |variants with their own articles=
}}
|}

The '''Fleet 50 Freighter''' was a Canadian twin-engine biplane general utility aircraft designed and built by [[Fleet Aircraft]]. This peculiar-looking aircraft had promise as a freighter and general use aircraft, but it was underpowered and only five were built.

==Development==
Design was started in 1936 to create a general purpose twin-engined utility aircraft for the Canadian market. It was designed as a short take-off freighter with features added to ease cargo handling. The Freighter was a [[biplane]] with the lower wing an inverted [[gull wing]] with either a float or wheel landing gear. Two radial piston engines were mounted in [[nacelle]]s on the upper wing panels.

The fuselage structure was welded steel tubing with [[duralumin]] formers, and a semi-[[monocoque]] duralumin nose section.  The wings were stressed-skin metal structure on the inboard panels and fabric-covered wood beams and duralumin ribs on the outboard panels.  The fuselage had room for two crew and up to ten passengers. Large doors and a roof-mounted chain  hoist were fitted for use in the cargo role.
[[File:Fleet 50K Freighter CF-BXP (ex-CF-BJU, ex- RCAF 799) wreckage at the Canada Aviation and Space Museum in Ottawa.jpg|thumb|Surviving example at the [[Canada Aviation and Space Museum]]]]
The prototype designated the '''50J''' first flew on 22 February 1938, powered by two 285&nbsp;hp (213&nbsp;kW) [[Jacobs R-830|Jacobs L-5MB]] 7-cylinder [[radial engine]]s. It was later re-engined with 330&nbsp;hp [[Jacobs R-915|Jacobs L-6MB]] engines and re-designated the '''50K'''. A further four aircraft were built, all with L-6MB engines.

None of the aircraft was operated for long, as the design was underpowered and could not maintain altitude on only one engine.  The last aircraft went out of service in 1946.
The remains of one airframe are held by the [[Canada Aviation and Space Museum]].

==Specifications (50K landplane) ==
{{Aircraft specs
|ref=The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft (Part Work 1982-1985), 1985, Orbis Publishing, Page 1817
|prime units? = imp
|crew=2
|capacity=10 passengers or freight
|length m=10.97
|length ft=36
|length in=0
|span m=13.72
|span ft=45
|span in=0
|height m=3.99
|height ft=13
|height in=1
|wing area sqm=49.05
|wing area sqft=528
|empty weight kg=2087
|empty weight lb=4600
|gross weight kg=3777
|gross weight lb=8326
|eng1 number=2
|eng1 name=[[Jacobs R-915|Jacobs L-6MB]] 7-cylinder radial engine
|eng1 kw=<!-- prop engines -->246
|eng1 hp=<!-- prop engines -->330
|max speed kmh=241
|max speed mph=150
|range km=1046
|range miles=650
|ceiling m=4570
|ceiling ft=15,000
}}

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|related=<!-- related developments -->
|similar aircraft=<!-- similar or comparable aircraft -->
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==References==
{{Commons category}}
===Citations===
===Bibliography===
* ''The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft (Part Work 1982-1985)''. London: Orbis Publishing, 1985, p.&nbsp;1817.

{{Fleet Aircraft}}
{{Aircraft manufactured in Canada}}

[[Category:Fleet aircraft|50]]
[[Category:1930s Canadian civil utility aircraft]]
[[Category:Biplanes]]
[[Category:Inverted gull-wing aircraft]]
[[Category:Aircraft first flown in 1938]]
[[Category:Twin piston-engined tractor aircraft]]