Issue No 21 THE AVIATION HISTORIAN 103
Merlins; one on each wing and one in the nose of
the aircraft, each mounted on a rubber-insulated
structure. The wing-mounted engines’ propellers
were to be located opposite a “blanked” por-
tion of the passenger cabin, which, with addi-
tional soundproofing, would reduce noise and
vibration. The company further postulated that a
30-seat airliner with an all-up-weight of approx-
imately 42,000lb (19,000kg) powered by three
interchangeable Merlin engines would be Stage
I, to be followed by a twin-engined machine
powered by a pair of Armstrong Siddeley Double
Mamba turboprops as Stage II — or the FC.3, as
it became known. Fairey anticipated that, given
the go-ahead, the first prototype would be ready
within 22–26 months.
The Stage I (FC.2) design was an attractive
low-wing light-alloy monoplane incorporating a
tricycle undercarriage and a pressurised cabin. It
was designed to be of the lightest possible weight
to offer the maximum disposable load with the
best handling and the safest take-off and landing
characteristics. There was to be ample space for
passengers, with a three-abreast layout providing
53ft³ of space per passenger. A compartment for
luggage and other light freight items was located
on the starboard side of the flightdeck behind the
navigator’s station, with a loading door incorp-
orated in the forward fuselage. Additional space
would also be available under the cabin floor.ABOVE An official Fairey illustration of its first post-war
design study for an airliner, the FC.2, which was to be
powered by three Rolls-Royce Merlin T.24 engines. This was
to be Stage I, with the trimotor configuration giving way to a
pair of wing-mounted turboprops in due course.
LEFT The FC.2’s proposed passenger cabin layout had
rows of twin seats on the starboard side, with singles on
the port side, separated by an offset aisle. The Merlin T.24
was a specialised version of the two-speed supercharged
Mk 24, developed for improved service life for use with RAF
Transport Command’s Lancasters, Lancastrians and Yorks.ABOVEa view to putting forward an attractive design
when the right combination could be found for a
marketable product. On this they were guided by
the work of various new committees, including
the Brabazon Committee, established in late 1942
to devise a strategy for Britain’s post-war civil
aviation development, part of which would be
to prepare an “outline specification for several
aircraft types needed for post-war air transport”.
Significantly, part of the committee’s work would
be to consider which civil aircraft could best be
converted into military transport aircraft. Here
was the endorsement Richard Fairey had been
looking for only four years previously.
In the immediate post-war period, Fairey began
studying general trends in the airliner market
and concluded that in the medium-sized airliner
category, a 30-passenger type of around 40,000lb
(18,100kg) would fulfil the market’s needs. Based
on its availability, the first choice for a suitable
powerplant was the homegrown tried-and-
trusted 1,610 h.p. Rolls-Royce Merlin T.24-2, with
a Bristol engine as a contingency. For the USA and
world market the Wright Cyclone was envisaged,
although it was also acknowledged that the
reciprocating engine would give way to the gas-
turbine (turboprop) within a few years and that
radical alterations to the design to accommodate
this should be reduced to a minimum.
Fairey’s initial design study incorporated three