The
Fleet Model 1 and its derivatives were all orthodox
biplanes with staggered, single-bay wings of equal span and fixed
tailskid undercarriage. Accommodation was provided for two in tandem, originally sharing a single open cockpit, but in most examples in separate open cockpits. The fuselage was made of welded steel tube with triangular-layout
Warren truss construction pattern side structures typical of the time, and the wings had a wooden spar with duralumin ribs, the entire aircraft being fabric-covered. Despite a superficial resemblance to Consolidated's highly successful
Trusty and
Husky designs (hence the "Husky Junior" nickname), the Model 14 was an all-new design. Originally created as a means for Consolidated to enter the civil market, the company abandoned this ambition shortly before the completion of the first prototype. The manufacturing rights were purchased by designer and Consolidated company president
Reuben Fleet to put into production under his new enterprise,
Fleet Aircraft. It was an immediate success, and in the first year of production alone, over 300 machines were sold. Consolidated quickly responded by buying Fleet Aircraft and retaining it as a subsidiary while opening a second production line at
Fort Erie, Ontario, Canada. The Canadian manufacturing was a great success, with some 600 examples built for the
Royal Canadian Air Force as the
Fleet Fawn (Model 7) and
Fleet Finch (Model 16). A small number of U.S.-built machines were purchased by the U.S. military, including a batch evaluated by the
United States Army Air Corps as the
PT-16 but not bought in quantity. One initial prototype aircraft and six subsequent specialized production
N2Y trainers were purchased by the
United States Navy. These N2Y-1 aircraft were equipped with hooks to catch the trapeze on two
U.S. Navy airships, the
USS Akron and the
USS Macon. The N2Y-1
parasite aircraft were used to train pilots that would subsequently fly the longer distance single-seat
F9C Sparrowhawks reconnaissance aircraft. The two-seater N2Y-1 also acted as service aircraft, flying passengers to the inroute airships. On July 6, 1930, future air racer and movie stunt pilot
Paul Mantz flew a Fleet Model 2 biplane through 46 consecutive outside loops, an international record which stood for almost 50 years. United States manufacturing rights were eventually sold to
Brewster Aeronautical Corporation, which intended to produce the
Brewster B-1 based on the Canadian
Model 16F. ==Variants==