For anyone with experience on both.

Differences?...Similarities.?....Preferences?.....Quirks of the Norseman?

Thanks.

One flies the other doesn't!!

Is that to say the the Norseman is a dawg?

They call the Norseman "the fastest boat on the lake"...also "the crowd killer", oh yes, and the "barf wagon"

Who knew?...

The good old DHC-2 would definately win the popularity race in this one. The most fun I have had in the bush was in a beaver and loved every minute of it.
The Norseman was kind of like a love hate relationship ie/ you loved what you were doing but as soon as you got on the float at o dark early you started the hate portion of the day, you climb upon the wing dragging a 50' fuel hose and start fueling you start down from your perch almost slip off the worn step holds grab something for dear life, down to the float almost fall in the lake trying to slip under the old gear leg, try to wash the oil off the winshield from yesturdays' 17 hour day!!! Oh the fuel check the sight glass hanging from the bottom of the wing that always dripps alittle, jump inside the cabin to check the cockpit hit your head on the flap wheel on the roof between the seats.
Load her up the gross ++ a little glassy water taxi out for take off, do the morning checks coffee cup still in place five cranks of flap set 36" check RPM work the old girl onto the step giver' a few more cranks retrim find the sweet spot and hope like hell that she gets 60 before the reef, Oh don't start to rotate to early or all the speed you've worked so hard to get will decay, ah the moment of truth slowly roll one float out of the water keep your eye on the reef come fast at 60 and rotate curse alittle,,,,,,,,
and then airborne take a few cranks off pull her back as the 1340 drones along happily and once again you look around and forget the hate portion of the relationship and love every moment of it !!!!!!!!!!!!

The beaver, take out the cursing and love every moment !!!!! l

Shows how much I know.... didn't even realize it was a 1340 making noise on that thing...

I have yet to meet a Beaver I don't like...sounds like the NorseHog can be a little more selfish at that "now I'm screaming down the lake with the trees coming and REALLY need to start flying soon" stage. (how many times have you said out loud...very nicely...c'mon baby...anytime now...)

If I understand things, sounds like every trip in a Norseman is like with 4 guys from Buffalo who have 68 lbs of Bratwurst, 28 cases of Schlitz in bottles, 4 folding deck chairs, a cooler of ice that weighs 112 lbs and a tripod mounted deep fryer, with 4 gallons of crisco and the "little guy" is a trim 245.

The Norseman makes alot more noise. As loud as a teenagers car stereo but a wonderful tune. Certainly has character. The owners seem to love them. Apparently on short hops they can't be beat. Apparently they were also designed for easy serviceability in the field. Like panels that can be remove to access hard to work on areas.
You should consider going to the Norseman Festival at Red Lake, On. in late July. You can see 1/2 the fleet at one time. http://www.norsemanfestival.on.ca/
Or contact Mr. Gordon Hughes. A bonafide Norseman expert / rebuilder / owner at Northland Aircraft Service in Ignace, ON.
There's a reason they still keep them flying other than nostalgia.

Great airplane if you like to fly... A good nordyne day is about 30 kts wind or so...so you don't have to use the whole lake to get off.. One other thing to remember, don't count on climbing too fast... Cause it won't...

You are not a real pilot unitl you have hand cranked a Norseman with an inertia starter early in the morning with a home brew headache and worrying if you picked up a dose of clap from the creature you spent the night with.

Yeh, the days of the iron men and the fabric ships are long gone.

Cat

Sounds like a lot of nostalgia and mediocre performance ..??..

On another note...any of you gents ever seen an AN-2 on floats?
They must perform like hell. There's a real beauty for sale.

http://www.flyboytrader.com/boardview.c ... atCode=SAA

If I can remember right, isn't it;

"takes off at 60.....flies at 60.....lands at 60"

An old bush pilot told me this one

Q: If you have an engine failure in flight in a Norsman, how can you tell where you will land?

A: Look straight down and a little bit back.

I just quit my Beaver/Caravan job to go fly a Norseman again

Anyone can fly a Beaver. The Norseman takes finess, a true love for flying, to fly.
It rattles the fillings out of your teeth.
It makes you and your pax. go deaf
You'll hate hand fuel pumps if fuelling from drums
You'll cherish every second you spend in the air, cause of the work it took to get off!!!
But, if you can fly a Norseman, you can fly anything.
It really does seperate the men from the boys.

185_Guy wrote:I just quit my Beaver/Caravan job to go fly a Norseman again

The Norseman takes finess

But, if you can fly a Norseman, you can fly anything.
It really does seperate the men from the boys

No really, all modesty aside , are you good or what?

cloudrunner, the AN-2 is a great plane. I got to fly one a while back and yes all you need to remember is 60. But the down side is that they are not certified in Canada and can only be flown with 4 ppl including the pilot. Now if you and 3 friends want to go on a 3 month vacation you could take everything and the kitchen sink.

what do I put here??? wrote:cloudrunner, the AN-2 is a great plane. I got to fly one a while back and yes all you need to remember is 60. But the down side is that they are not certified in Canada and can only be flown with 4 ppl including the pilot. Now if you and 3 friends want to go on a 3 month vacation you could take everything and the kitchen sink

So I say this....

Why in the Universe, can I not put an AN-2 Colt on floats and run it commercially in Canada ?? Would it fall out of the sky? Is it likely that the PZL 1000HP is gonna quit?

It's a good aeroplane with a lot of potential in Canada.

W....T.....F ??

cloudrunner, It is not a matter that the a/c or engine can't handel the load but the fact that these aircraft are not certified in North America. Therefore they can only fly with 4 ppl in the aircraft and can not be used commerically. There are a few in the Toronto Area and the guy I had the joy to fly with has been after TC to certify the a/c for the last almost 10 years or so. TC has no intrest due to the fact that the company has very little interest in certifing the piston bird in North America, but there is plans to get the Turbine version certified.

A turbine version eh? Now that would be a machine. Where did you fly out of?

Sorry floatman, i wasent trying to bragg myself up, just trying to say that sure, its a challenge to fly the ole thunder chicken, but once you fly it, and start to figure her out, she's a great ship. And i know have lots to figure out, i've done a few boat shows, had 3 for the price of 1 landings, and the like. But you do learn the finer points of airmanship from flying a norseman.

No worries 185, just bustin yer nuts.

Have a good season and get yourself some DC ANC's.

No really, all modesty aside , are you good or what?

Well actually, if he's a reasonable Norseman driver, then yeah. It doesn't exactly leap into the air. It takes off more because the earth is curved. It climbs like a grand piano climbs. If he can deal with that for a season, and survive, then a Beaver would be boring. Easier on the nerves and back, but boring.

Canada is supposed to have a bilateral with Poland and other spots within the EU JAA sphere. I would think it possible to get an AN-2 certified for commercial use in Canada if you got one with the right paper trail and country of origin.. maybe... I have seen them fly in Cuba dropping parachutists they are a sweet looking but slow flying bird. How about mountain fly-in skiing on wheel ski's ?? Cheaper than a hellish-copter and slow and big would be an advantage.

Hey 185 guy you comin back to NWO?

The Beaver is easier to fly. The norseman is a true bush pilots plane. Lets just say, comercialy speaking, you can do your paperwork in the air in a DHC2, in a norseman, you have to do it before or after.