Russell Armstrong takes us on a detailed walkaround tour of his beautiful Dehavilland Beaver. This is one very impressive STOL aircraft. Not to mention that it has a radial engine which is way cool right there.
I have flown on many Beavers and Otters. My take-away is, these Airplanes are built like a brick S House. They made them to last a thousand years. Beautiful Airplane!
Thank you for this. I live in Northern Ontario, Canada. We went on a fly-in fishing trip last summer and flew in with a Beaver...now I'm hooked. This video was very well made. Thanks again. Tony
I was so fortunate as to have the Beaver be my first airplane to work on in the USAF, at Osan Korea,1966. The large back doors had quick disconnect hinges for removal, so they were occasionally used as a jump airplane. Nice ,flip-over yolk. Beautiful plane. It deserves all the pride Russ exhibits .
Same here in the Army in 1968. Mine was brandy new I also flew the jump team in Germany besides being an air taxi. I like what the bush pilots wanted, a pick up truck with wings! It was that
Thanks a lot, For such a gracious tour of your De Havilland Beaver. It really is a fantastic aircraft, very well designed and very suitable for upgrades. Thank you again very much for your kindness in making this video. Please stay safe.
Great video! Clear, concise, informative and interesting narration. And thanks also for not including the annoying "music" track that many find necessary. We in Canada are very proud of the Beaver and I'm glad this one found a good home in Texas.
Thx for all those precious informations and feedbacks , it’s nice to see that this kind of piece of history is still in good hands ❤ Cheers from France
Excellent video! I know Beavers from Vancouver BC and Atlin Lake in northern BC. A Beaver used to take off with a great roar early mornings from the lake and disappear into the low ceiling clouds, with me wondering how the pilot was going to stay clear of the surrounding mountains. Great to get a tour of the controls and instruments. Thanks.
It does do my heart well to have listened to your story and take the walk around with you. as a pilot myself, you have done a great job of it. Anyone paying attention could fallow all the instructions Clear and precise. Thank you from a fellow aviator RETIRED
These were built in my hometown and alot of my aunts and uncles built those. They were simply amazing at the stuff they'll do and how nearly indestructible they are. We also built the Otters and twin Otters.
Thank you for a great and detailed review of a wonderful airplane. As a Canadian and a Supercub pilot I have a big love for the Beaver. You did a great job explaining all the mods. Thank you!
Working up in remote First Nations communities in Ontario I used to love watching these birds used to bring in hundreds of pounds of moose, caribou and fish in from the wilds every summer. Loved to hear that very particular sound every morning during those twenty hours of summer daylight That’s a true air truck there.
haha. It seems to me from some of the comments that some people feel he is forcing this Canadian built plane to live in the sultry climate in Texas instead of the cold windy land where it was born. Come on folks.....it's not like he stole a baby chimp from it's Mum in the jungle here. If that Beaver could talk it would say it knows it is loved and that it never really liked the cold anyhow.
Cirrus pilots. They have parachutes, it must be a awkward realising that De Havilland Canada beat em to the concept by decades, except they called them flaps. :) Sorry boys and girls just kidding you. Love you really. Truly, I do. Fly safe all, smooth tailwinds.
Yeah you shouldn't try to look into these things. 26 dislikes as of April 2019 and the like/dislike ratio of this video is pretty favourabl, compared to others. Some people are tools...maybe they didn't like his shirt or something equally mundane.
This was just ridiculously cool. Back in the early '70s as a kid in Northern Ontario (South Porcupine), I used to watch Beavers and Otters fly in and out of the aerodrome on the lake. I've never seen a cockpit till today. Thank you SO much for this!
My wife and I, both retired pilots, flew beaver no.1, C-FFHB, originally FBX, now in the Aviation Museum in Ottawa. Was working for NorCanAir in Laronge Sask.
Great plane Russ. I remember flying my first Beaver in the 60's in the Washington State Army Guard. Ft Lewis, WA. They only had wheels. We had an Otter also but the Beaver was my favorite.
Very good video -- the Beaver is a very strong, substantial aircraft -- I'd trust it any day, in almost every situation! And this man sure knows this aircraft! I've always liked radial engines since I first flew in a Stearman a lot of years ago. I like a 3-blade prop, the belly fuel tanks, and the other attributes of this aircraft. Good little bird!
Russell your walk around of the Beaver took me back to 1963! When the Queen allowed me to fly one of her Beavers in Malaysia. We used to land on a 1 in 10 up slope LOL but it tells you a lot about the Beaver. Excellent Video as well.
Beavers and otters seem to be highly coveted craft. Working at Aerorecip I've had thousands of 985,1340 & 1830s go through my hands...probably those ones too. Thanks for the great vid
Hello, I was in Vietnam in December of 1961 and was a crew chief on an ARMY L20 beaver that we installed with floats.....tail number 06833. My name is Ed Martin, I am now living in Florida. I am now 76 years old and enjoying everyday. I remember the days when I flew with the crew around Vietnam 🇻🇳 and have a lot of stories to tell about flying around the Saigon river for general Still Well. Unfortunately this airplane was shot down into the Saigon river one time when I was not on board, I would love to hear from anyone who was in Vietnam around that time frame. Looking forward to hearing from everyone with pictures and information, thanks everybody. -Ed Martin senior, Palm Coast Florida
Mr . Russell , excellent video . The Beaver has many design features that make it an excellent aircraft . Also built in Canada was the C-64 Norseman , UC-64 the American designation . The Norseman was designed by Robert Noorduyn in the mid '30"s and was quickly adopted by the USAAF during WW II . The Norseman was a true workhorse and was also helpful in opening the north . Red Lake , Ontario is the Norseman capital of the world .
In May of 2000 a friend invited me along with his family to go on a Canadian fishing trip for a week. There were 6 of us, with all our fishing gear plus all our bait, cold weather clothes and sleeping bags/blankets, enough beer (a bunch) to last 6 freed domestics the whole week, couple of chainsaws plus fuel for firewood, and a variety of other items (the Co. supplied the food), crossed the border at International falls Minn (Ft. Pierce I Think), there in the water was a Beaver on floats, I thought we'd have 2 trips, we all got on-board with all our stuff piled to the roof, I'm thinking this plane's never getting out of the water but it did, flew us out in the middle of no-where dropped us off and returned a week later.
Titus Tucker: Fort Frances Ont. I watch (listen) to Beavers, Otters and Carravan’s coming and going from dawn to dusk whenever the ice is gone from Ranier Minnesota just across Sand Bay of Rainy Lake. Rusty Meyers flight service also flys a twin Beechcraft all perfectly polished, it is a thunderous beauty. Some years ago some friends would have a lobster boil on Sand Point Island the second Saturday of July. A few of Rusty’s pilots would bring the live lobsters up to us with the Twin Beech buzzing the island coming and going, something you’ll never forget. In our peak year we boiled 300 lobsters (sweet corn, fried potatoes, cole slaw and lots of butter). After 9-11 things became more complicated with crossing the border and sadly ended after 11 memorable yr’s. One of the early partners (Vern Jones) kept his beaver, serial # 3 . Back in the day it was strictly a compass and knowing the terrain, those pilots needed a beaver just to carry their balls. These details are to the best of my recollections.
Russell, an excellent and comprehensive walk-around on a beautiful Beaver. I was an instructor pilot in U.S. Army Aviation and taught students in C Phase -- Instruments. Yes, at the time, the Beaver waw the aircraft to teach and get Army Aviators their Instrument ticket. We had the fuel tanks in the wings for a total of 135 gallons but this total did not give you much leeway for flight to destination plus alternative plus 45 minutes. Because the U.S. Army was the biggest customer for the Beaver, most beautifully painted Beavers on floats where Olive Drab Wheeled Beavers converted. I enjoy your channel and wish you well. I can see your Beaver is in good, loving hands. - Dean from Minnesota
An excellent video I am Pilot with 4500 + hours flying time flew charters flew ferries and flew jumpers for many years... why jump out of the perfectly good airplane .. I was fortunate to get checked out on piston version and flew the PT6 conversion twice one awesome STOL plane I would say without hesitation that one take off was the shortest I ever had .
Really enjoyed this as we are old Puget Sound/San Juan Island boaters and we have been watching the Kenmore Air Beavers flying around same area for forty years! One time near Blakey Island a new pilot with instructor on board ran a brand new Beaver into a solid rock section of Obstruction Island. We hustled over in our boats to the rescue but people had already helped them out of plane and they were OK! This was around 1994 NOT a Kenmore Air. Kenmore Air has a great reputation for safety.
Perfect video and perfect walk-a-round. Thank you for sharing. I have always liked theDe Havilland series of aircraft and this just boosts my reason for why, I find, this is a finely engineered and well made aircraft.
I love the Beaver! It's one of favorite civilian birds. That was a great walk around. From one Texas boy to another....thanks for making and posting this video. AWESOME!
I knew nothing about Alaska bush planes and pilots but I was writing a story and I wanted one in it so I started researching. As soon as I saw this kind of plane I knew this was the one my character would have so I learned more. The story is long finished (not published) but I'm still fascinated with this plane and the people who love them. And today I happened upon your video and thoroughly enjoyed it. I wish I'd found you when I was first doing my research.
Thank you for a wonderful and thoughtful description. I am impressed with your humility. Glad that one of our Canadian planes has a home somewhere warmer. ;-)
What a great education on this fine airplane. Love the part about finding the check pilot. Have been to Victoria many times and love to watching them taking off and landing.
The reason the pitot tube was so long and extended, was to avoid any possible prop wash induced debris, ice, freezing rain, snow or water from entering it during take off and landing. This one is in very nice condition. I miss flying these up and down the Strait of Georgia in the PNW back in the 80's. You have a very beautifully restored model. Victoria Air have rebuilt more than a few DH-2's. Viking Air offers excellent parts service and you won't be disappointed in the quality of any of the components. I hope you have many years of enjoyable trips in your Beaver. Have a nice flight!
As a little boy, Jack London got me hooked on all things Alaska, which for many of us young boys, segued into an interest and love of bush plane and pilot stories, too, a singularly modern tome of, and dedication to, the adventurer's heart, and his need to see what's just over the next rise, or mountain range, or across a vast channel, as exploration for many of us took on, very early in our lives, a mythic quality, and a spiritual one, even, or a "religious" practice, if you will....in our endless search, and I suppose, it is, as it occurs to me, now, that after leaving home as young men, we are searching for our home, and our own Shangri-La, and the tool of choice in our search, as our Dream would have it, if it only could, for anyone who has dedicated any amount of time to this kind of searching, driven by our collective passion for these very things, we, nearly all of us, dream of having a De Havilland DHC-2 Beaver.... For me, and countless others, from a very early age, this plane was and still is: the Dream....as it represents freedom and adventure, like nothing else on planet earth does!! Truly, I thoroughly enjoyed your video of this awesome plane of yours! Thank you so much, from the bottom of my adventurous, searching for home heart, (for home is where the heart is, as they say), thank you for sharing this video with all of us who truly love these planes! This plane is iconic, and unique in its allure, an indispensable Swiss army knife of bush planes, the tool of choice, for scratching that itch, which is freedom and adventure! Safe flying, brother! God bless you as you soar with the angels, and take in God's Glorious Creation from the vantage point of your very own Beaver..... Man, what an incredible Blessing He has bestowed upon you, brother! Beautiful...just a truly beautiful plane. Thank you...
Great American tutorial on a great Canadian aircraft. Thanks so much for posting. I enjoyed that thoroughly. I'm a huge Dehavilland fan. Love anything to do with Beavers, turbo Beavers and Otters.
The beaver has gotta be my favourite General aviation aircraft of all time. It looks so cool both as a land and seaplane. I'm looking forward to try to get one for myself.
Thank for the tour! Very interesting and entertaining walk. When I was studying photogrametry the professor took us to meet the airplane where all the aerial photos were taken for the Department of Transpotation of Puerto Rico and it was a Beaver. He loves that aircraft and refers to it as our "work horse" and that it was great for aerial photos due to its stability. Later I could a test to that because I did all the QC of aerial photos of the Department of Natural Resourses and the DOT were the least drift from the center of flight line and the least skews.
Great walk-around of a great plane. It’s hard to believe the plane was designed in the mid 40’s. The modifications to the windows and doors look like they were part of the original design. It’s easy to see that this plane is one of your favorites and I agree, it is special. Keep the videos coming, love them.
OMG....I love the sound. Living on the BC coast I hear them all the time. Never gets old. I get goose bumps hearing them. Because of that sound, and as a rider, I call them the Harley Davidson of the Sky. Thank you for taking care of one of our Canadian icons. She’s in good hands.
Nice aircraft, was Crew Chief on one of these... I sort of got the basics of flying one of these when I was stationed in the South Pacific on Eniwetok Atoll.. The Pilot would pull the pin and flip the control over to me. Came back to the USA and later went on to get my Private license.
Great video and the best walk around I've seen on a Beaver. Lovely plane. Best luck to you as you look after this pickup with wings so it can be passed on to another lucky person to look after it. Take good care of her and she'll take good care of you
Thank you for a very good presentation & history. Congratulations with your fantastic DH Beaver and with the greatest respect to your father. I fly a rc scale DH Beaver ws 2.45m with a SAITO FG 60cc R3 w.Kelko exhaust ring as gives almost the fantastic full size Beaver sound Also on skies and floats. Both full size and rc scale gives fantastic nature adventures. We must keep then flying! Thank you so much. Best regards, John Lee (66 years rc builder and pilit for 55 yeras Norway/Colombia. PS I really enjoy your fantastic videos. Thank you.
I worked on these back in the 1960s as an army aircraft technician here in the UK and in Germany. Nice aircraft. Pratt & Whitney Wasp Junior engine. Nice video that brought back some great memories.
My 1965 Mooney M20C is the same with the braking. The left seat (pilot side) has the brakes. I've had this plane in my name since my dad's passing in 2005 so to this day I have a hard time finding an instructor not only with Mooney time but also comfortable flying with me having the brakes. There has been a few times I had to fly at a flight school to get my BFR knocked out. The Mooney has been in my family since new, my grandpa bought it brand new from Mooney Aircraft in Kerrville, TX and flew it home to 1C8 and it's been here ever since, 55 years with only 1878.6 hrs TT
My grandfather owned two beavers, N166BM and N199BM. Both still fly and I believe 66BM was wrecked by the new owner. He also owned a Cessna 206 and a Cessna 185F (N177BM) He has an estimated 70,000 hours in these planes combined with no electronic gps, all with charts on paper
Fantastic tour. As a geophysicist in the very early 70s the Beaver and Otter were my and my crews transport in northern Canada and Territories. Years of flying and never an accident...but close as one time returning in strong headwinds to Watson Lake we glided into the airport...fuel gone. That was my closest call in a Beaver.
Thank you for the great video I rode in one in the early 60's when I was a young one! There was one one on the lake where I grew up as well! So now I know what the controls are for as being a young lad I had to know!!!