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The Gregor FDB-1 was a Canadian biplane fighter, designed in 1938 by Michael Gregor and manufactured by Canadian Car and Foundry. Despite being an advanced and innovative design, incorporating all-metal construction with flush riveting, retractable undercarriage and a sleek shape, the FDB-I was overtaken by events and, after being unable to find a buyer, was lost in a fire in 1945. ==Design and development== In 1938, American and Russian expatriate designer Michael Gregor approached Canadian Car & Foundry, at the time, that country's leading manufacturer of rolling stock, which had limited experience building airplanes, but wanted to enter that field. Instead of building its own designs, Can-Car was producing Curtiss, de Havilland, Consolidated, Bristol and Hawker products under license. In 1936, Grumman and Canadian Car & Foundry or "Can-Car" concluded an agreement for production of 50 revised Grumman SF-1 carrier fighters, with 700 hp. Wright R-1820-78 radial power-plants and known as GE-23s or Grumman Exports 23s, that would be put together in Canada (although some were actually assembled in Spain). In 1938, there were many aviation observers who doubted the supposed merits of the emerging monoplane over the proven performance of reliable biplanes. Most of the major powers' front line fighter units employed biplanes. The Soviet Union, despite having recently developed the Polikarpov I-16 (the first successful production monoplane fighter with retracting gear), still depended heavily on biplanes. Great Britain's RAF and Nazi Germany's Luftwaffe had likewise embraced the monoplane but, respectively, continued to deploy the Gloster Gladiator and the Heinkel He 51 biplane fighters. In Fascist Italy, the series of Fiat CR.32 in operation and the Fiat CR.42 biplane fighters were entering service while the U.S. Navy operated biplane fighters exclusively. Similar in size and dimensions to Grumman's F2F Navy fighter and also designed to operate from aircraft carriers as a dual fighter/bomber, Michael Gregor's FDB-1 had an empty weight of 2,880 lb and a gross of 4,100 lb. As in many other gull wing fighters, pilot's view while flying straight and level was excellent, but marginal when landing and extremely poor when looking downward during that critical phase. Hydraulically operated landing gear retracted flush into large wells on either side of fuselage, ahead of the lower wing. Twenty-eight foot span top wing featured nearly full span slats measuring 10 ft (3 m) per side, plus all-metal split flaps of 4 ft (1 m), 3 in per side, positioned between root and ailerons. Bottom wing span of 23 ft (7 m), 10 in also incorporated longer split flaps of 7 ft (2 m), 9 in per side. Like many a Soviet and Polish contemporary that had preceded it, biplanes as well as high-wing monoplanes – the center section of the top wing on Gregor's trim fighter had a gull-wing configuration, attached at right angles to the fuselage for less drag. This was supposed to afford improved visibility too, particularly straight ahead in level flight. The compact 21 ft (6 m), 8 in fuselage of the Model 10 FDB-I utilized a monocoque shell of circular cross section, covered by flush-riveted, stressed skin. The all-metal wings were fabric covered behind the front spar and metal-framed control surfaces were also fabric covered. An anticipated range of 985 miles (1,585 km) was based on 95 gallons of fuel carried in a pair of semicircular-shaped tanks mounted side-by-side in the fuselage, between the wheel wells. The structure was extremely robust and capable of withstanding stress forces 60 percent above requirements. A pair of fuselage-mounted .50 cal. machine guns, synchronized to fire through the Hamilton Standard's nine ft propeller arc, were part of the design, but armament was never installed. Additionally, two 116 lb bombs were to have been carried, one under each lower wing.〔Milberry 1979, p. 111.〕 Streamlining on the FDB-1 was accentuated. The engine was snugly faired into a NACA cowling reminiscent of earlier Seversky fighter designs, also heavily influenced by Gregor, who left that company early in 1937. The rearward sliding center section of cockpit's canopy, spacious for such a small airframe, was a unique Gregor innovation. The FDB-1 clean lines partly were accomplished by the attachment and support of wings via substantial faired "V" interlane struts. Flying and landing wires and cables were replaced by a single faired strut running between the root of the top wing rear spar and the foot of the "V" strut where it joins the lower wing at its front spar. A system of tubes moved the control surfaces, except for the rudder, which was partially operated by cables. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Canadian Car and Foundry FDB-1」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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