CF-EAS Fleet 80
Canuck
(c/n 137)
This is the same image I use in
my 'Classic' aircraft selection (in the US N,NC,NX etc section).
It was taken at Vancouver's Sea Island Airport in the
summer of 1960. Some 200 of these nice
looking 2 seaters were built before Fleet, like so many of its
contemporary US manufacturers,
found itself in serious financial
difficulties in 1948. As a result the design and production
rights
were sold to
Leavens Brothers in Toronto. They built 26 more model 80s before
even that, too,
proved to be economically
unviable. Hence another classic aircraft model bit the
dust. However,
as a testament to the design, some 25%
of all those built are still airworthy today.