Fleet Finch

Finch
Fleet Finch II at the Canadian Museum of Flight British Columbia
General information
TypeTrainer
ManufacturerFleet Aircraft
StatusRetired
Primary usersRoyal Canadian Air Force
Number built606[1]
History
Manufactured1939– 1941[1]
Introduction date1939
First flight8 February 1939
Retired1947
Fleet 16B Finch in the Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum Hamilton, Ontario – note centre-hinged main LG radius rods
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 Second World War.

  1. ^ a b Holmes 2005, p 78.