09/30/2014. Remarks by Johan Visschedijk: "The FB-5 was the major production model of the FB series. The first FB-5 flew on October 7, 1926, and all 27 (BuNo A-7101 to A-7127 c/n 807 to 833) were delivered to the Navy on January 21, 1927. The delivery was unique in that the aeroplanes were rolled out of the narrow factory doors after being stood on their noses on dollies, and were loaded on waiting barges and ferried directly to the aircraft carrier Langley in Seattle Harbour. The factory was some distance from the flying field, and normal delivery procedure was either to truck dismantled aeroplanes to the field and set them up there for flyaway delivery or to ship dismantled aeroplanes in crates directly from the factory to the customer.

The FB-5 differed considerably in appearance from the earlier FBs. The cowling for the 730 hp Packard 3A-2500 engine was similar to that of the FB-3, but the rearrangement of the wings provided the principal point of recognition. The stagger was increased by moving the upper wing forward slightly while moving the lower wing aft, and a second set of flying wires was attached to the rear wing spar. A completely new landing gear was developed so that the strut would still attach to the fuselage at the front lower wing spar fitting. The first FB-5 built retained the unbalanced rudder of the earlier PW-9s and FBs, but production was completed with aerodynamically balanced rudders of increased area developed on the FB-3s.

In spite of being a satisfactory shipboard fighter by prevailing standards, the FB-5s were retired after only a couple of years' service as a result of the Navy's decision to concentrate entirely on the air-cooled radial engine for ship-based aircraft. Since they were still up-to-date aeroplanes, most of the surplus FB-5s were given to service and civilian schools as non-flying instructional items. Two of the FB-5s still exists, A-7114 (c/n 820) is on display at NASM's Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center, Chantilly, Virginia, and A-7126 (c/n 832) is on display at Planes of Fame, Chino, California."

Span: 32 ft 0 in (16.76 m)
Length: 23 ft 10 in (12.45 m)
Height: 9 ft 5 in (4.11 m)
Wing area: 241 sq.ft (80.64 sq.m)
Empty weight: 2,458 lb (2,558 kg)
Loaded weight: 3,249 lb (4,439 kg)
Max speed: 175 mph (161 kmh)
Cruise speed: 150 mph (161 kmh)
Climb: 2,100 ft (230 m)/min
Service ceiling: 22,000 ft (3810 m)
Range: 420 mls (1,413 km)