Designed by Fairchild (Canada) in the hope of attracting orders from the Royal Canadian Air Force and Canadian Airways,the 45-80 was an ambitious project, being the largest design yet attempted [REF].
Testing commenced in August 1937 and revealed a number of serious deficiencies in the design, including that the aircraft was overweight and impossible to control directionally when flying on only one engine as the ailerons caused severe drag tending to turn the aircraft in the opposite direction [REF].