History:
NOV. 1943 FAIRCHILD US Army CONTRACT #928 is born and assembly begins as UC-61K Forwarder #43-14964. MAY 3,1944 43-14964 is accepted by USAAF at Hagerstown PA. JUNE 1944,43-14964 Assigned to RAF under Lend Lease act of 1944 (1 of 307 UC-61K supplied to RAF).JUNE 1944 Shipped on U.S.S. Samwater to United Kingdom.Sept. 1944 Assigned to Royal Air Force Auxiliary Transport Authority
as HB-690 Argus III Liaison Aircraft.OCT. 1946 Stricken off R.A.F. Record returned to USAAF and put up for surplus sale in UK.FEB. 1948 Purchased by Dentist, flown to Netherlands and Registered as PH-NDI. Flown for only a few years and removed from service for Overhaul and recovering.It was never assembled again.Story gets a bit sketchy here: Purchased by an Airline Pilot in late 1960’s with 5 other Fairchild 24’s, loaded on container ship and sent to Eastern USA. They sat in the Northeast for a few years and then the lot was parted out.#928 along with 2 other aircraft#921θ were bought by JW Aviation of Madison WI.The disassembled planes sat until the late 70’s. Our Plane # 928 was sold to a farmer in central Illinois as a parts plane for his Civilian Fairchild 24 restoration. Most remaining “good” pieces were taken from 43-14964 and the hulk left in the barn with “bad” parts. Spring 2001 Along come Jim Chybicki, Bob Coon and Chris Stinson. 3 friends that met volunteering at an aviation museum. After finding out this was a very RARE military version of the Fairchild 24, a deal was made and the New proud owners had their very own warbird restoration project.
| Registration Number | Date of Manufacture |
| N24FM | May 1943 |
| Aircraft Role | Nickname |
| Liaison, Transport | RAF: ARGUS III |
| Aircraft Type: | Wingspan: |
| Fairchild F24R USAAF:UC-61K / RAF: Argus III | 36 ft. 4 in. |
| Overall length: | Empty weight: |
| 26 ft. | 2320 Lbs |
| Gross weight: | Fuel capacity: |
| 2882 Lbs | 60 US Gal |
| Oil capacity | Engine type: |
| 4 US Gal | Ranger L440-7 or 6-440C5 |
| Propeller type: | Max Speed |
| Sensenich 2 Blade Wood | 160 mph |
| Rate of Climb | Cruise Speed |
| To Be Determined by weight | 120 mph |
| Service Ceiling | Number of Crew |
| 1 pilot, up to 3 passengers | |
| Armament | Bomb Load |
| 0 | 0 |
| Number Built | Number Surviving |
| 307 | 26 total, only 5 flying, this is the only 1 in USA |
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Restoration
over the past 16 years using our passion for aviation and skills in restoration,Fairchild #928 / USAAF #43-14964 / RAF HB690 has been slowly and meticulously restored from a pile of used and neglected airplane parts to a living, flying tribute to the men and women of the U.S. and Royal Air Force flying services.
For we are only THE CARETAKERS OF HISTORY and we are dedicated to preserve this aircraft and the memories of the people that were called upon to used it in times war.
Restoration Images
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