Fairey Firefly I  The Fairey Firefly was a British fighter of the 1920s from Fairey Aviation. It was a single-seat, single-engine biplane of mixed construction. The Firefly was a private-venture design, penned by Marcel Lobelle. It was first flown on 9 November 1925 by Norman Macmillan. The Air Ministry did not pursue the project, partly because of the American Curtiss engine used and partly because of its wooden construction and the Firefly I did not enter production.