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Fairchild 42

type of aircraft

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Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionMar 6, 2026
Entity authorityQ5430053 ↗
Source-derived summary

The Fairchild Model 41 Foursome is a light aircraft developed in the United States in the late 1920s and produced as the Model 42 Foursome. It was a conventional high-wing, strut-braced monoplane with fixed tailwheel undercarriage. The pilot and three passengers were seated within a fully enclosed cabin, and the aircraft generally resembled a scaled-down version of Fairchild's successful FC-2 design. Two prototypes were built as the Model 41 and Model 41A leading to the Model 42 production version which was built in a small series. This production version differed from the prototypes in having a redesigned, strut-braced empennage in place of the wire-braced unit of the earlier aircraft, and a more powerful version of the Wright Whirlwind powerplant.

Variants

Model 41 Foursome

First prototype four seat cabin monoplane, powered by a 220 hp (160 kW) Wright J-5, one built

Model 41A Foursome

Second prototype four seat cabin monoplane, powered by a 300 hp (220 kW) Wright J-5, one built.

Model 42 Foursome

Production four seat cabin monoplane, powered by 330 hp (250 kW) Wright J-6 engines, six built and two converted from the 41 and 41A.

Surviving aircraft

NC106M has been rebuilt to airworthy standard in Alaska as of July 2008, powered by a Pratt & Whitney R-985 Wasp Junior and converted to seat 7 passengers, with rear round windows added.

Specifications (Model 42)

Data from U.S. Civil Aircraft Vol. 3 (ATC 201–300)General characteristics

Crew: One pilot

Capacity: 3 passengers

Length: 30 ft 6 in (9.30 m)

Wingspan: 45 ft 6 in (13.87 m)

Height: 9 ft 2 in (2.79 m)

Wing area: 290 sq ft (27 m2)

Airfoil: Göttingen 387

Empty weight: 2,676 lb (1,214 kg)

Gross weight: 4,246 lb (1,926 kg)

Fuel capacity: 100 US gal (83 imp gal; 380 L)

Powerplant: 1 × Wright J-6 , 300 hp (220 kW)

Performance

Maximum speed: 130 mph (210 km/h, 110 kn)

Cruise speed: 109 mph (175 km/h, 95 kn)

Range: 700 mi (1,100 km, 610 nmi)

Service ceiling: 15,300 ft (4,700 m)

Rate of climb: 720 ft/min (3.7 m/s)

Time to altitude: 10 minutes to 5,350 ft (1,630 m)

References

Juptner, Joseph J. (1966). U.S. Civil Aircraft Vol.

Editorial summary

This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Fairchild 42” as type of aircraft. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.

Editorial reviewA concise reference frame for defining the subject, testing terminology and identifying the institution closest to the evidence. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—2008, 1966—that can be checked directly. The selected authority fields contribute no independent date. The account is most persuasive where Fairchild, type and aircraft can be independently traced.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

The subject matters to the general reference register because the source frames it as type of aircraft. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.

Evidence profile

Vocabulary and entity names are the principal evidence signals here, because they determine the precision of every later search. The source revision retrieved here is dated Mar 6, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q5430053. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 2008 and 1966.

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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from “Fairchild 42” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.