What a machine III

c_172pilot · Post by **c_172pilot** » Tue Aug 31, 2004 9:56 am

Well yesterday I finally got to fly a beaver! I guess for some of you this is no big deal but for a wet behind the ears kid who grew up on the coast admiring them from afar this was a dream come true. The Beaver belongs to a fellow from the state that is up here with his family on vacation. I made sure that he got some space at a dock to tie up to and helped out where ever I could. That included diving 25ft to the bottom of the lake to retrieve a door handle that fell off.

Yesterday he asked if I would like to come along for the ride, it didn’t take more than a moment for me to call the boss and let him know I was going flying for the afternoon. What a ride it was. I thought that I would get to play a little in the air but he showed me all the idiosyncrasies of the beaver and let me know what the #s where and let me fly it for more than 4 hours. I got 6 takeoffs and landings 5 on pavement and 1 on the water.

Landing the beaver on amphibs is amazing; I made a really easy transition to it and greased it on each time. It is really weird taxiing around looking down on EVERBODY. Tower treats you so differently when your an beaver on amphibs as apposed to a C-152 guess it is the fact that to fly one of these you ether need a lot of money or luck.

After flying that airplane I must admit that all of the great things that has ever been written about that airplane is true, the sound of the grate Pratt and Whitney radial and the view from the cockpit and the way it fly’s there is nothing I would change. I am proud to say I have flown the great Canadian bush plane and hope that I will have the opportunity to do so again in the near future.

Schlem · Post by **Schlem** » Tue Aug 31, 2004 10:05 am

Very cool!!

I have no Beaver time but one day would like to do a float rating on one.

My "What a machine" story is getting some time, including aerobatics, in a Harvard when I was working on my PPL. Got a lot of stick time in it and the grin couldn't be wiped off my face all day!

Nark · Post by **Nark** » Tue Aug 31, 2004 1:57 pm

I have to agree with you on best machine ever built. I have a few hours in one, and loved every second in it.

Just a side note, I don't think you can do a rating in one, as you need dual controls.

Cheers.

LWhitman · Post by **LWhitman** » Tue Aug 31, 2004 3:30 pm

Sounds pretty damn good eh.

I also would love to get some time in one, maybe in a few years if im lucky

c_172pilot · Post by **c_172pilot** » Tue Aug 31, 2004 4:26 pm

To do a float rating the aircraft must be equipped with dual controls so the throw over yoke wouldn’t count. Most of the beavers rebuilt by Kenmore air seem to come with the dual yokes though.

Mitch Cronin · Post by **Mitch Cronin** » Tue Aug 31, 2004 4:27 pm

There's a bunch of young pilots that fly these things for a living, busily building hours, working towards that next gravy job...

I occasionally visit folks out west and take the Harbor Air (or whoever it happens to be) Beaver from "The Flying Beaver" out to Salt Spring Island, and then back when I'm done... Last time I did that return from SSI to "The South Terminal" at YVR, we had to pick up someone on some other island and toured amongst the islands for about 30 minutes or so at about 1000 ft.... It struck me then, that these kids don't know it, but they've already got the best flying job in the world!

It's just too damned bad they can't earn a decent living doing it.... man what a job!

scubasteve · Post by **scubasteve** » Tue Aug 31, 2004 9:21 pm

speaking of which...does anyone know what those vancouver/victoria/nanaimo/west coast companies require to do be hired? I know I"m not even close but just curious

LT · Post by LT » Tue Aug 31, 2004 9:35 pm

West Coast Air wants 2500TT and 500 Floats..