Fairchild Aerospace Metro II, III & 23

Despite a slow start to sales in the early 1970s, the Metro series has become one of the most popular 19 seat commuters. The Metro can trace its lineage back to the original Swearingen Merlin I executive transport. From the Merlin I Swearingen developed the turboprop powered II and III which were to form the basis of the new Metro commuter airliner. The Metro was Swearingen's first complete inhouse design and development work began in the late 1960s, resulting in the SA226TC Metro's first flight on August 26 1969. The design was similar in appearance and layout to the earlier Merlins, and featured a pressurised fuselage, TPE331 turboprop engines and double slotted trailing edge flaps. Certification was awarded in June 1970 and the first example entered commercial service in 1973. The Metro II superseded the I from 1975, with improvements to reduce cabin noise levels. The equivalent executive aircraft is the Merlin IV. Following the Metro II from 1981 was the III (by which time Fairchild had taken over Swearingen), which was certificated to SFAR41B allowing greater takeoff weights, while more efficient engines (including the option of Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6As on the IIIA) and greater wing span made the III more economical to operate. The Expediter freighter is based on the III. The current Metro model is the 23. Certificated to FAR Part 23 (Amendment 34) standards (hence the Metro 23 designation) it features a higher takeoff weight, more powerful engines and systems improvements first introduced on the military C26. The Metro 23 EF has a bulged lower fuselage for greater baggage capacity, while the Merlin 23 and Expediter 23 models are also offered. In 1996 Fairchild studied (but did not proceed with) a Metro with a significantly higher fuselage allowing stand-up headroom (in the style of the Raytheon Beech 1900D).

The backbone of this section is from the The International Directory of Civil Aircraft by Gerard Frawley and used with permission. To get your own copy of the book click here.