The Fairchild Airplane Manufacturing Corporation, often shorted to just Fairchild, is a company featured in Crimson Skies, Crimson Skies: High Road to Revenge, and the Crimson Skies Board Game. Fairchild was founded by Sherman Fairchild in 1925 at Hagerstown, Maryland, who continued to be its President.[1]
Fairchild catered to the civilian market prior to the Wall Street Crash, where it soon earned a reputation for quality civilian aircraft. The company grew quickly thanks to investments and acquisitions of smaller companies, however this would stall following the crash.[1] In the years following the collapse of the United States, Fairchild’s products became easy prey for pirates and privateers, which prompted the company to produce armed versions of its designs.[1]
Their first fighter aircraft rolled off the production line in 1932 in the shape of the Fairchild F4 Bandit. This was followed swiftly by the Fairchild F5 Corsair and the now famous Fairchild F611 Brigand. in the years following the collapse, Fairchild acquired a reputation for offering good value plus incentives for various groups to purchase its aircraft. The incentives easily saw Fairchild rise one of the top ten companies in Columbia in the late 1930s, though its business rivals have called out some of its practices as unfair. A few even charged Fairchild with deliberately fostering air piracy to ensure continued sales.[1]
While it was true Fairchild benefited from the increased sales brought about by the rise of piracy, Sherman vocally continued denying any accusations of Fairchild supporting any faction, militia, or pirate gang. In support of this view, he often cited Fairchild's strict neutrality policy. The company detractors, however, continued to hold the opinion that neutrality equated instead to a lack of morals.[1]
Products[]
F4 Bandit[]
The Bandit was Fairchild's first armed aircraft, brought about as a response to the rise of piracy and privateers that flourished in the newly fractured North America. The Bandit was successfully released in 1932, and would lead Fairchild to continue developing and marketing armed aircraft.[1]
F5 Corsair[]
A further development of the Bandit, the Corsair was released shortly after the Bandit and to similar effect.
F611 Brigand[]
- Main article: Fairchild F611 Brigand