Fairchild FC-2

The Fairchild FC-2 is an American light, single-engine, high-wing utility monoplane built in the 1920s and 1930s, the production successor to the FC-1 prototype that first flew in June 1926. Sherman Fairchild had it built in-house to carry cameras for his aerial survey business after he judged other builders' quotes excessive, so Norman McQueen and Alex Klemin gave it a fully enclosed, extensively glazed cabin, strut-braced wooden wings that folded back for storage and a choice of wheels, skis or floats. Variants included the FC-2L for the Royal Canadian Air Force, the Pratt and Whitney Wasp powered FC-2W for cargo, and the FC-2W2 that Richard Byrd flew as Stars and Stripes on his Antarctic expedition, now preserved by the Smithsonian. On 19 October 1927 an FC-2 floatplane flew the first contract air mail flight for Pan American Airways.