{"id":8144,"date":"2022-08-16T10:24:09","date_gmt":"2022-08-16T15:24:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/royalaviationmuseum.com\/?p=8144"},"modified":"2022-08-16T10:24:11","modified_gmt":"2022-08-16T15:24:11","slug":"is-the-de-havilland-canada-beaver-the-best-bush-plane-ever-built","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/royalaviationmuseum.com\/is-the-de-havilland-canada-beaver-the-best-bush-plane-ever-built\/","title":{"rendered":"Is the de Havilland Canada Beaver the best bush plane ever built?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Anyone successful will tell you that one of the keys to success is understanding your audience. De Havilland Canada<\/a> understood this and subsequently developed \u201cthe best bush plane ever built,\u201d as it\u2019s so often been called.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 1946, de Havilland Canada sent out a survey to a group of approximately 50 pilots asking them what features their ideal bush plane would have. The result was the de Havilland Beaver DHC-2, an aircraft characterized by its ability to take off and land on short runways, ease of fueling and loading, impressive cargo capacity, and powerful Pratt & Whitney<\/a> R-985 Wasp Jr. engine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Beaver was designed to be very versatile. Full-size cargo doors on either side allow for easy loading and unloading. It can be operated on wheels, skis, floats, and amphibious floats, making it suitable for any terrain or conditions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Museum volunteer and pilot Gerry Norberg spent a lot of time flying this particular aircraft and can attest to its versatility and reliability. He flew extensively in the northern regions of Canada where runways were primitive. The Beaver\u2019s STOL (short take-off and landing) capabilities were crucial under these circumstances.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Pilot and museum volunteer Gerry Norberg with his DHC-2 Beaver at Watson Lake, Yukon<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

There are two key factors that define the aircraft\u2019s STOL performance. The first is its impressive 48-foot wingspan that, when combined with its 450-horsepower engine, allows it to generate substantial lift. The second is the design of its ailerons and flaps which can be lowered during takeoff, further enhancing lift.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Officials from the Ontario Department of Lands and Forests could even quantify the Beaver\u2019s superiority to its predecessor, the Noorduyn Norseman. In a Maclean’s article<\/a> dated November 1, 1953, a representative stated that the aircraft allowed them access to twenty percent more lakes and rivers, thanks to its ability to take off and land with less open water.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All the buzz surrounding this aircraft led the Canadian Engineering Centennial Board to name the Beaver one of the top 10 Canadian engineering achievements of the 20th century<\/a> back in 1987.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The very first Beaver, CF-FHB, was flown on August 16, 1947\u201475 years ago today\u2014and can be seen at the Canada Aviation and Space Museum<\/a> in Ottawa. Throughout the 20 years it was manufactured, more than 1,600 Beavers were produced out of de Havilland\u2019s factory in Downsview, Ontario. The Royal Aviation Museum\u2019s Beaver, C-FMAA<\/a>, flew with the Manitoba Government Air Service before being donated to the museum.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Though de Havilland stopped producing the Beaver in 1967, many are still flying today and there are signs of a modern comeback. Harbour Air<\/a> out of British Columbia has worked with US-based magniX<\/a> to develop an all-electric Beaver, part of their commitment to becoming North America\u2019s first carbon-neutral airline.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A phrase like, \u201cthe best (insert noun) ever built\u201d is very subjective, though there\u2019s no question as to this plane’s popularity. Actor Harrison Ford owns a de Havilland Beaver and proclaims it his favourite aircraft. So, while there may never be a consensus on whether it\u2019s \u201cthe best bush plane ever built,\u201d an endorsement from Indiana Jones can\u2019t hurt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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View C-FMAA in our Northern Connections exhibit<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Anyone successful will tell you that one of the keys to success is understanding your audience. De Havilland Canada understood this and subsequently developed \u201cthe best bush plane ever built,\u201d as it\u2019s so often been called. In 1946, de Havilland …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":8147,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_tec_requires_first_save":true,"_eb_attr":"","inline_featured_image":false,"_EventAllDay":false,"_EventTimezone":"","_EventStartDate":"","_EventEndDate":"","_EventStartDateUTC":"","_EventEndDateUTC":"","_EventShowMap":false,"_EventShowMapLink":false,"_EventURL":"","_EventCost":"","_EventCostDescription":"","_EventCurrencySymbol":"","_EventCurrencyCode":"","_EventCurrencyPosition":"","_EventDateTimeSeparator":"","_EventTimeRangeSeparator":"","_EventOrganizerID":[],"_EventVenueID":[],"_OrganizerEmail":"","_OrganizerPhone":"","_OrganizerWebsite":"","_VenueAddress":"","_VenueCity":"","_VenueCountry":"","_VenueProvince":"","_VenueState":"","_VenueZip":"","_VenuePhone":"","_VenueURL":"","_VenueStateProvince":"","_VenueLat":"","_VenueLng":"","_VenueShowMap":false,"_VenueShowMapLink":false,"_tribe_blocks_recurrence_rules":"","_tribe_blocks_recurrence_description":"","_tribe_blocks_recurrence_exclusions":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[35,36],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/royalaviationmuseum.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/DSC00203-scaled.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/royalaviationmuseum.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8144"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/royalaviationmuseum.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/royalaviationmuseum.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/royalaviationmuseum.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/11"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/royalaviationmuseum.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8144"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/royalaviationmuseum.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8144\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8152,"href":"https:\/\/royalaviationmuseum.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8144\/revisions\/8152"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/royalaviationmuseum.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8147"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/royalaviationmuseum.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8144"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/royalaviationmuseum.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8144"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/royalaviationmuseum.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8144"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}