Fletcher FD-25

what is it?

The Fletcher FD-25 Defender was a light ground-attack aircraft developed in the United States in the early 1950s.

🔎How to recognise it: 1 piston engine with propeller · 9.1 m wingspan

base stats

• speed 301 km/htop speed
• size 1,134 kgmax take-off weight
• built 13made in total

Bars compare against all aircraft: 3,500 km/h, 20,000 km, 850 seats; size and number built on a log scale up to 640 t (An-225) and 45,000 built (Cessna 172).

fun facts

• 🎂First flew 73 years ago, in 1953.
• 🏎️Top speed is 2.3× a car on the Dutch motorway (130 km/h).
• 🚗Wingspan of 9.1 m: about 2 cars parked nose to tail.

piston: A car-like piston engine turning a propeller: simple and cheap, the classic small plane.

spec sheet

first flight

1953

number built

13

role

counterinsurgency aircraft

makers

Fletcher Aviation

engines

1× Continental E-225-8

crew

1

length

6.4 m

wingspan

9.1 m

height

1.9 m

max take-off weight

1,134 kg

top speed

301 km/h

cruise speed

261 km/h

range

—

ceiling

5,029 m

Specs are for the version in the Wikipedia article's specification section. Blank means the sources don't say.