Monday, December 7, 2015

Remington Fleetwing

I thought readers might enjoy some shots of a machine I just cleaned up for sale at The Urban Legend Institute.

What a difference a few years make. What used to be a metal-clad, bulbous Quiet-Riter is now a plastic fantastic, angular '60s creation made in Holland—but the interior mechanism is the same, sturdy design.

This is the color known as Sapphire Blue, although the plastic has yellowed a bit.



Here's the user's manual.

13 comments:

  1. Reminds me of my Ten Forty, another Sundberg design. Curious if these are Remington mechanics or Torpedo, since they come from Europe?

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    1. Remington. It is essentially the mechanism introduced in 1949 on their portables.

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  2. Gotta say I really like the looks of these plastic Remmies, but never much liked the feel..

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    1. You'd like this one if you like Quiet-Riters.

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    2. orly? I had a Ten-Fourty that I absolutely despised thanks to the touch. I suppose my experience with them has been limited, as they don't show up at thrifts hereabout much.

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    3. At least some of the Ten Fortys are Torpedo designs and related to the Travel-Riter. This one is a different mechanism.

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  3. I like that design better than the originals. I had a few Smith-Corona typewriters cross my desk that were made in Holland, but none typed any good.

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  4. I believe this impregnated color plastic was called cycolic, and was supposed to be stronger than some of the metal typewriters.
    Someone gave me a dirty Remington 1040, and I was amazed at how solid it is, and how nicely it types

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  5. I have one almost just like that one--only in green. It was made in England in 1962. And yes, it is mechanically pretty much the same as the Quiet Riters. It even takes the same type of ribbon, which is the same for the Super Riters and Remington electrics.

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  6. I’m wondering if it would be a good typewriter for a kid? And, what does it weigh?

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  7. Question: How common or rare is the Remington Fleetwing ?

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  8. I see 5 on eBay right now, and 2 that sold recently. So: not the most common but not rare. If I’m interpreting The Typewriter Database correctly, over 50,000 were made.

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