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41-512: Canadair's origins lie in the establishment of a factory for Canadian Vickers in the Saint-Laurent borough of Montreal, at Cartierville Airport . It was created as a separate entity by the government of Canada on 11 November, 1944. Throughout much of its existence, it was a subsidiary of various other aircraft manufacturers prior to being nationalized by the Canadian government in 1976. For

82-445: A charter basis (including pleasure flights), provide scheduled service, or be operated by residents of the area for private, personal use. Floatplanes have often been derived from land-based aircraft, with fixed floats mounted under the fuselage instead of an undercarriage (featuring wheels). Floatplanes offer several advantages since the fuselage is not in contact with water, which simplifies production by not having to incorporate

123-577: A turbojet -powered, low-wing aircraft, complete with a tricycle undercarriage and a side-by-side cockpit arrangement. Despite a lack of official backing from the Canadian Government, the Royal Canadian Air Force 's (RCAF) Directorate of Training’s Jet Trainer Liaison Committee had closely engaged with the company; their involvement in the project had reportedly made a significant impact in the aircraft's final design. During September 1961,

164-543: A Canadian division to manufacture vessels for the nascent Royal Canadian Navy . According to naval historian Marc Milner, "the Harbour Commission and the city of Maisonneuve offered Vickers a first-class location" to establish the yard, and "an extended lease on the land and deferred taxes." Vickers Sons & Maxim established Canadian Vickers in June 1911 and constructed the shipyard between Rue Notre-Dame and rue Viau along

205-448: A contract to supply Vickers Viking flying boats to the recently formed Canadian Air Force ( Royal Canadian Air Force from 1924). Between 1923 and 1944, Canadian Vickers produced over 400 aircraft, some of which were original Vickers' designs while the remainder were other manufacturers' designs built under license. In July 1941, the Canadian government awarded Canadian Vickers a contract to produce PBV-1 "Canso" amphibians (a version of

246-464: A decade, the company operated as a federally-owned Crown Corporation . In 1986, Canadair was privatized via its sale to Bombardier, after which it became a core element of the firm's aerospace division . The company's former principal manufacturing facility, Canadair Plant One , remains intact, although Cartierville Airport itself has been closed and since undergone redevelopment. During its operational years, Canadair achieved several aviation firsts;

287-514: A federal crown corporation until 1986 when, having experienced record losses during its development of the Challenger business jet, the Mulroney government sold it to Bombardier Inc. Shortly after Canadair's acquisition, Bombardier was able to restore it to profitability; the company soon acquired other aviation companies, such as the near-bankrupt Short Brothers of Belfast , Northern Ireland, and

328-455: A result of this purchase, Canadair was reorganised as Convair's Canadian subsidiary. During the 1950s, Canadair decided that it would develop its own indigenous trainer aircraft as a private venture. This aircraft, which would become the CT-114 Tutor was the product of the company’s in-house Preliminary Design department. By August 1957, the basic configuration had been completed, which was of

369-561: A small light-weight all-terrain amphibious tracked vehicle. In turn, Canadair developed the CL-70 RAT Remote Articulated Track ; this vehicle, while not a commercial success, gave Canadair useful experience towards the development of the upgraded CL-91 Dynatrac, which was a marketing success and purchased by the US Army as XM-571 . During 1976, the Canadian government acquired Canadair Ltd. from General Dynamics. It remained

410-444: Is a type of seaplane with one or more slender floats mounted under the fuselage to provide buoyancy . By contrast, a flying boat uses its fuselage for buoyancy. Either type of seaplane may also have landing gear suitable for land, making the vehicle an amphibious aircraft . British usage is to call floatplanes "seaplanes" rather than use the term "seaplane" to refer to both floatplanes and flying boats. Since World War II and

451-420: Is directly attached to the fuselage, this being the strongest part of the aircraft structure, while the smaller floats under the outer wings provide the aircraft with lateral stability. By comparison, dual floats restrict handling, often to waves as little as one foot (0.3 metres) in height. However, twin float designs facilitate mooring and boarding , and – in the case of torpedo bombers – leave

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492-608: The Battle-class naval trawlers . This shipyard would go on to produce many civilian and military ships in Canada, including: Canadian Vickers also manufactured luxury yachts and vessels that were later converted as yachts: Following World War I, labour militancy grew within Quebec . In June 1919, Canadian Vickers workers led labour action in Montreal as part of larger strike actions within

533-518: The CL-204 , was a purpose-designed water bomber that evolved into an amphibian flying boat configuration, powered by two shoulder-mounted 2,100 hp (1,566 kW) Pratt & Whitney R-2800 piston engines . Its design was shaped by a desire for the CL-205 to be well-suited for performing a range of roles, including air-sea search and rescue , cargo haulage and commercial passenger-carrying, in addition to

574-516: The CL-44D , based on the British Bristol Britannia airliner , was the first design that allowed access by swinging the entire rear fuselage. The CL-89 and CL-289 were the first surveillance drones to be put into service in several countries' armed forces. The experimental CL-84 was the first VTOL aircraft that rotated the wings to achieve vertical lift-off ( tiltwing ). The CL-215 was

615-769: The Canadian Regional Jet (CRJ). However, this branding has since been dropped; new projects from all of Bombardier's various aircraft divisions have since simply been known as Bombardier Aerospace. Shooting Star the Forty-Four AN/USD-502 Midge Challenger Canadian Vickers Canadian Vickers Limited was an aircraft and shipbuilding company that operated in Canada from 1911 until 1944. A subsidiary of Vickers Limited , it built its own aircraft designs as well as others under licence. Canadair absorbed

656-825: The Consolidated PBY Catalina flying boat) for the Royal Canadian Air Force . Many of the aircraft were delivered to the United States Navy as the PBV-1; also to the United States Army Air Forces as the OA-10A for rescue work. To speed Canso production, the government authorized construction of a new manufacturing facility at Cartierville Airport in Ville Saint Laurent , on the north-western outskirts of Montreal, and appointed Canadian Vickers to manage

697-679: The Royal Navy . The hulls were Canadian-built, but the machinery and equipment were American. They were known as the British H-class submarine in the Royal Navy and were the first submarines to cross the Atlantic Ocean under their own power. Canadian Vickers (along with Polson Iron Works of Toronto ) also constructed the first vessels specifically designed for the Royal Canadian Navy,

738-537: The Saint Lawrence River (now Viterra Montreal Terminal). Canadian Vickers ordered the construction of a large floating drydock , which was opened in 1912. Due to the establishment of Canadian Vickers, Montreal became one of Canada's leading shipbuilding centres. The shipyard's first full year of operation was 1914, a year marked by the beginning of World War I . During World War I the yard assembled American-designed Holland 602 type submarines on behalf of

779-491: The business jet specialist Learjet of Wichita, Kansas , as well as de Havilland Aircraft of Canada of Toronto , Ontario . Together with these other entities, Canadair became a core component of Bombardier Aerospace . Following the company's acquisition by Bombardier, the Canadair name had continued to be prominently used in the branding of its larger series of business jets and regional jets , which have been marketed as

820-466: The 1920s and 1930s, most notably in the form of the Schneider Trophy , not least because water takeoffs permitted longer takeoff runs which allowed greater optimization for high speed compared to contemporary airfields. There are two basic configurations for the floats on floatplanes: The main advantage of the single float design is its capability for landings in rough water: a long central float

861-593: The 1930s, the yard survived the Great Depression with repair contracts and constructing manufacturing turbines and structural steel. The shipyard was reacquired by Vickers in 1956. It was renamed Vickers Canada Limited in 1978 after being sold to Canadian interests and renamed several times again by the last owners Marine Industries , eventually (as Versatile Vickers Inc in 1981 and MIL Vickers in 1987). Shipbuiding operations ceased by 1988. Canadian Vickers ventured into aircraft manufacturing in 1923 when it won

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902-564: The 1960s and 1970s during the period of turmoil at the shipyard in Montreal. The rail car products were mostly built under contract, or licensed from other rail car builders or as joint production efforts (such as the MR-63 subway cars for the Montreal Metro with technical support from CIMT-Lorraine which also designed the rubber-tired system for some of the Paris Métro lines). In 1979 Vickers name

943-656: The Canadian Vickers aircraft operations in November 1944. In 1907, British shipbuilding and weapons manufacturing conglomerate Vickers Sons & Maxim began investigating possible locations for a shipyard in Montreal . Vickers Sons & Maxim intended to use the shipyard as a repair facility for transatlantic shipping traffic entering Montreal. Vickers Sons & Maxim was invited by the Government of Canada in 1911 to establish

984-510: The Canadian government, having been impressed by the performance of the prototype, placed a sizeable order for 190 production aircraft on behalf of the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF). Serving as the service's primary trainer platform, the Tutor would be operated as such for over thirty years. Another indigenously-developed design was the CL-215 amphibian. It arose from an internal research study during

1025-562: The Challenger 600 was hampered by a deadly crash amid the flight test programme on 3 April 1980; despite this, type certification for the aircraft was approved by both Transport Canada and the Federal Aviation Administration later that same year. The high cost of developing the Challenger 600 has been attributed as a major cause of Canadair's poor financial situation during the 1980s, being reportedly close to bankruptcy ;

1066-568: The PBY contract, a development contract to produce a new variant of the Douglas DC-4 transport was also underway. The resulting aircraft, the Canadair DC-4M , which was powered by an arrangement of four British -sourced Rolls-Royce Merlin engines, began production during 1946; it was marketed under the "Northstar" name. During the immediate postwar era, Canadair purchased the "work in progress" on

1107-706: The advent of helicopters, advanced aircraft carriers and land-based aircraft, military seaplanes have stopped being used. This, coupled with the increased availability of civilian airstrips, has greatly reduced the number of flying boats being built. However, many modern civilian aircraft have floatplane variants, most offered as third-party modifications under a supplemental type certificate (STC), although there are several aircraft manufacturers that build floatplanes from scratch. These floatplanes have found their niche as one type of bush plane , for light duty transportation to lakes and other remote areas as well as to small/hilly islands without proper airstrips. They may operate on

1148-508: The company's condition in turn ultimately contributed to its acquisition by Bombardier Inc. during 1986. In the long run, the business jet was well received by the market and can be considered to be a success, being produced for over four decades. In excess of 1,000 Challenger 600s had been reportedly completed by late 2018. Outside of the field of aviation, Canadair opted to diversify into various other sectors, developing its own range of industrial and commercial products. The "Canarch" division

1189-575: The company's most commercially successful product was the Challenger 600 business jet . Originally conceived of by the American aviation inventor Bill Lear as the LearStar 600 , at the end of 1975, Canadair gave its backing to the concept; during April 1976, the company opted to acquire the whole project, formally launching it with the backing of the Canadian federal government shortly thereafter. Development of

1230-463: The compromises necessary for water tightness, general impact strength and the hydroplaning characteristics needed for the aircraft to leave the water. Attaching floats to a landplane also allows for much larger production volumes to pay for the development and production of the small number of aircraft operated from the water. Additionally, on all but the largest seaplanes, floatplane wings usually offer more clearance over obstacles, such as docks, reducing

1271-458: The difficulty in loading while on the water. A typical single engine flying boat is unable to bring the hull alongside a dock for loading while most floatplanes are able to do so. Floats inevitably impose extra drag and weight, rendering floatplanes slower and less manoeuvrable during flight, with a slower rate of climb, than aircraft equipped with wheeled landing gear. Nevertheless, air races devoted to floatplanes attracted much attention during

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1312-529: The early 1960s at Canadair, originally conceived of as a twin-engined floatplane transport based on the design of the 369 Canso (a variant of the PBY). However, it was altered into a "firefighter" following a request by forestry officials in the Quebec Service Aérien ( Quebec Government Air Service ) who wanted a more effective way of delivering water to forest fires. The 1962 preliminary design, designated as

1353-466: The existing Douglas DC-3 / C-47 series. In 1946, the Electric Boat Company , an American industrial group, bought a controlling interest in the company; shortly thereafter, the two companies merged to form the American company General Dynamics in 1952. During 1954, General Dynamics opted to purchase Convair , which had been created by the merger of Consolidated Aircraft and Vultee Aircraft; as

1394-467: The first purpose-designed water bomber. Canadair was formally created on 11 November 1944 as a separate entity by the government of Canada. Having absorbed the operations of the Canadian Vickers company, it initially operated as a manufacturer of Consolidated PBY "Canso" flying boats on behalf of the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF). Benjamin W. Franklin became its first president. In addition to

1435-597: The plant's operation on the government's behalf. Independently Boeing also produced Catalinas in Canada. In 1944, business pressure compelled Canadian Vickers to ask the government to relieve it of its management responsibilities regarding the Cartierville plant. Ottawa agreed and entered into a management contract with Canadair , a new company founded by a small group of former senior Canadian Vickers personnel headed by Benjamin W. Franklin (no relation to his famous namesake). On 4 November 1944, Canadair took over operation of

1476-425: The plant. In September 1946, Canadair and the plant were acquired by the Electric Boat Company of Groton, Connecticut. In 1952, Electric Boat bought Consolidated Vultee and combined it, Canadair, and several smaller companies to form General Dynamics Corporation. General Dynamics later became one of the largest U.S. aerospace corporations. Canadair remained a General Dynamics subsidiary until January 1976 when it

1517-909: The shipbuilding industry. The labour strike was a result of demands for maximum 8-hour shifts. Employees of Canadian Vickers coordinated with other work forces in Montreal, though shortly after it began, disagreements over a general strike led the labour action to falter. The end of the First World War also saw a reduction of shipping orders and increased competition among shipbuilders. This led to consolidation among shipyards and Canadian Vickers' parent company, Vickers merged with Armstrong Whitworth to form Vickers-Armstrongs . In 1926, Frank Ross of Montreal Dry Dock and two business partners sought to acquire Canadian Vickers from its parent company. Negotiations began in March and were agreed to in November. In 1928, Ross merged Montreal Dry Dock with Canadian Vickers. During

1558-543: The water bomber mission. The definitive design was publicly revealed at the 1965 Paris Air Show . While the CL-215A served as the standard water bomber configuration, another model, designated as the CL-215C , had been envisioned to dispense with compromises meant to enhance its performance at the water bomber role, allowing it be furnished with larger doors on the sides of the fuselage and a revised underfloor hull structure. Perhaps

1599-492: Was changed from Canadian Vickers Ltd. to Vickers Canada, Inc. following the purchase of its shares by the Canadian management from the British holding company. In 1981 the name was again changed to Versatile Vickers, Inc. Versatile Vickers went out of business in 1990. There is a Canadian Vickers fonds at Library and Archives Canada . Archival reference number is R3819. Notes Bibliography Floatplane A floatplane

1640-542: Was involved in curtain wall design and manufacture for a number of buildings. They also produce the cabins for many air traffic control towers operated by the Federal Aviation Administration in the United States. Both tracked and air-cushioned vehicles were designed and underwent testing; however none proceeded into commercial production. In the late 1950s, the United States Army contracted Canadair to develop

1681-508: Was re-acquired by the Canadian government. In December 1986, the government again sold Canadair, this time to Bombardier , a Quebec-based international conglomerate. Today, Canadair itself no longer exists as a separate entity having been absorbed into Bombardier Aviation . For aircraft built after 1944, those aircraft were built under the Canadair name. Versatile Vickers used the Canadian former Vickers plant briefly to build rail cars in

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