I flew Beavers in Alaska a good bit. Very fine airplane, terrific load
hauler, and really good for heavy short field work. That 450 hp
Pratt&Whitney radial engine was/is a workhorse. They are such a highly
prized bush plane that few ever are allowed to reach the airplane
graveyard. They always go through a restorative rebuild or if
sufficiently damaged by accident, they are simply dismantled and all
parts distributed to others who are doing a full restoration. I've never
see good parts from a Beaver just junked.

I've also got a fair amount of time in a Dehaviland Standard Otter. Now
THERE is an airplane!! 650 HP, three bladed prop, full span flaperons,
steerable/locking tail wheel - essentially same as a Beaver, but SO much
bigger. But slow as smoke off a pile! About 115 kts. I picked one up in
Seattle one time, that had been surplussed out from the Alaska Guard, to
ferry to the Civil Air Patrol National Headquarters at Maxwell Air Force
Base in Montgomery, AL. Because of the weather, I could not fly a
straight line back south over the mountains, so flew down the coast line
to California then across the states to the east. One stop was  at Gold
Beach right on the coast. When I got ready to go, the Flight Service
Station guys, only hearing about but never seeing  an Otter before,
asked me to demo the AC on departure. After runup, I taxied into
position and locked the brakes, set the flaperons(flaps and ailerons
working together) for a maximum performance takeoff, locked the
steerable tailwheel to track straight, and opened the throttle. She came
off the ground in the length of the airplane -hopped off the ground in a
three point attitude, then  the tail came up, nose went down, and she
climbed out in that tail-high nose down attituded, like an angry hornet
about to deliver the message. I grinned. I could hear the guys in the
station whooping in the back ground when the senior attendant on duty
came on the mike and said - "Nice take-off - flight plan activated -
have a good light". It was a good day to be an Otter pilot!

John Rodgers
Clayartist and Moldmaker
88'GL VW Bus Driver
Chelsea, AL
Http://www.moldhaus.com

On 12/17/2010 9:27 AM, Alistair Bell wrote:
> Another entry in the "what I see while driving my Vanagon around the
> neighbourhood" series....
>
> http://shufti.wordpress.com
>
> - A couple of Beavers, one on land with what I think is a chopped in
> half Caddy Eldorado as a tug, and one on the water with an URL
> painted on its side (ugh!)
>
> -  A Kamov KA32A11BC helicopter. There has been at least one of these
> cuties around the airport for a few years. I remember when one was
> delivered in a Russian transport plane (no, not the gigantic
> transport, one size smaller), my son and I stood at the fence gawking
> like yokels.
>
>
> alistair
>
>