de Havilland Canada DHC-2 Beaver
| DHC-2 Beaver | |
|---|---|
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| |
| An Adlair Aviation Ltd. Beaver Mk.I on floats. | |
| Role | STOL utility transport |
| Manufacturer | de Havilland Canada |
| Designer | Fred Buller and R.D. "Dick" Hiscocks |
| First flight | August 16, 1947 |
| Introduction | 1948 |
| Primary users | regional and remote air carriers U.S. Army Kenmore Air Civil Air Patrol |
| Produced | 1947–1967, 2008- |
| Number built | 1,657 |
The de Havilland Canada DHC-2 Beaver is a single engined, high wing, propeller-driven, STOL aircraft developed by de Havilland Canada, primarily known as a bush plane. It is used for cargo and passenger hauling, aerial application (crop dusting and aerial topdressing), and has been widely adopted by armed forces as a utility aircraft. The U.S. Army Air Corps purchased several hundred; nine DHC-2s are still in service with the U.S. Air Force Auxiliary (Civil Air Patrol) for search and rescue. A Royal New Zealand Air Force Beaver supported Sir Edmund Hillary's expedition to the South Pole. Over 1,600 Beavers were produced until 1967 when the original line shut down.[1]
Due to its success, the Royal Canadian Mint commemorated the Beaver on a special edition Canadian quarter in November 1999.
Design and development
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In the immediate post-war era, de Havilland Canada management turned to the civilian market for continued work, aware that military contracts were unlikely to guarantee business. The company had recently hired Punch Dickins, a famous bush pilot, as Director of Sales, and he began an extensive program of collecting requests from other pilots in order to understand what they needed in a new aircraft. Almost without variation, the pilots asked for tremendous extra power and STOL performance in a design that could be easily fitted with wheels, skis, or floats. When de Havilland engineers noted that this would result in poor cruise performance, one pilot replied "You only have to be faster than a dog sled". Other suggestions were seemingly mundane but important in the bush plane world; for instance, full-sized doors were installed on both sides of the aircraft so it could be easily loaded no matter which side of a dock it tied up on.
de Havilland officially put together a design team on September 17, 1946, consisting of Fred Buller, Dick Hiscocks, Jim Houston and W. Jakimiuk, lead by Phil Garratt. The new aircraft was specifically designed to be all-metal, unlike older designs like the famous Noorduyn Norseman, using “steel from the engine to the firewall, heavy aluminum truss frames with panels and doors throughout the front seat area, lighter trusses toward the rear and all monocoque construction aft”. At the time de Havilland Canada was still a British company, and there were plans to fit the evolving design with a British engine. This limited power, so the wing area was greatly increased in order to maintain STOL performance. When Pratt & Whitney Canada offered to supply war-surplus 450 hp (340 kW) Wasp Jr engines at a low price, the aircraft ended up with extra power as well as the original long wing. The result was unbeatable STOL performance for an aircraft of its size.
After much testing, and with adjustments and improvements, the innovative airplane was ready for the sales circuit. It just needed a proper name. Since de Havilland Canada airplanes were all named after animals, it was decided that the new bush plane was much like the hard-working beaver. The first flight of the DHC-2 Beaver was in Downsview, Ontario by Second World War flying ace Russell Bannock on August 16, 1947. The first production aircraft was delivered to the Ontario Department of Lands and Forests, a design partner, in April 1948.
Initial sales were slow, perhaps two or three a month, but as the plane was demonstrated sales started to improve. A key event in the Beaver's history occurred the next year when the US Army started looking for a new utility aircraft to replace their Cessnas. The competition quickly boiled down to the Beaver and the Cessna 195, but the Beaver completely outperformed the 195 and led to orders for hundreds of aircraft. Soon orders increased from around the world. When production finally ceased in 1967, 1,657 DHC-2 Beavers had been built.
The Beaver was designed for flight in rugged and remote areas of the world. Its short takeoff and landing capability made it ideal for areas normally only accessible by canoe or foot. Because it often flies to remote locations, often in cold climates, its oil reservoir filler is located in the cockpit and oil can be filled in flight. A series of upgrades to the basic design were incorporated into the design to further improve it. One major customer introduced the use of flat steps replacing the earlier tubes, a feature that is now almost universal.
In 1987, the Canadian Engineering Centennial Board named the DHC-2 one of the top ten Canadian engineering achievements of the 20th century.[2]
Recent developments
At one point in its production, plans to license and build the type in New Zealand were proposed. The remaining tooling was purchased by Viking Air of Victoria, Canada, which manufactures replacement parts for most of the early de Havilland line. On February 24, 2006, Viking purchased the type certificates from Bombardier Aerospace for all the original de Havilland designs.[3] The ownership of the certificates gives Viking the exclusive right to manufacture new Beavers. Viking now sells an improved Beaver called the DHC-2T Turbo Beaver, with a maximum gross takeoff weight increased to 6,000 lb (2,722 kg). The Turbo Beaver can carry 2,450 lb (1,111 kg) of freight.[4]
Operational history
Despite the fact that production ceased in 1967, hundreds of Beavers are still flying—many of them heavily modified to adapt to changes in technology and needs. Kenmore Air of Kenmore, Washington provides Beaver and Otter airframes with zero-hour fatigue-life ratings, and owns dozens of supplemental type certificates (STCs) for aircraft modifications. These modifications are so well-known and desirable in the aviation community, rebuilt Beavers are often called "Kenmore Beavers" or listed as having "Kenmore mods" installed.[5]
The original Pratt & Whitney Wasp radial engine of the Beaver is now out of production, so repair parts are getting harder to find. Some aircraft conversion stations have addressed this problem by replacing the piston engine with a turboprop engine such as the PT6. The added power and lighter installed weight, together with greater availability of kerosene fuel instead of high-octane aviation gasoline, make this a desirable modification, but at a high financial cost.
Operators of significant numbers of piston-Beavers in early 2008 include Air Saguenay and Harbor Air (Canada) and Kenmore Air (USA).[6]
Harrison Ford owns a DHC-2 Beaver and has called it his favourite among his entire fleet of private aircraft.[7] The United States military continues to operate two DHC-2s at the United States Naval Test Pilot School, where they are used to instruct students in the evaluation of lateral-directional flying qualities and to tow gliders.
The DHC-2 Beaver is sometimes used by skydiving operators due to its good climb rate. When fitted with a roller door that can be opened in flight, it can quickly ferry eight skydivers to 13,000 ft (3,962 m).
Variants
- Beaver I : Single-engined STOL utility transport aircraft.
- Beaver AL Mk 1 : STOL utility transport aircraft for the British Army.
- YL-20 : Test and evaluation aircraft for the US military.
- L-20A Beaver : STOL utility transport aircraft for the U.S. Army, later redesignated U-6A in 1962, 968 built.
- L-20B Beaver : Basically similar to the L-20A, but with minor equipment changes. Six were sold to the US Army. Later redesignated U-6B in 1962.
- Beaver II : One aircraft was fitted with an Alvis Leonides radial piston engine.
- Turbo-Beaver III : Powered by a 431-kW (578-ehp) Pratt & Whitney PT6A-6 or -20 turboprop engine.
- DHC-2/PZL-3S: After-market conversion by Airtech Canada in the 1980s, using current-production PZL-3S radial engines of 600 hp (450 kW)
Operators
Civil
- Harbour Air
- Seair Seaplanes
- Ministry of Natural Resources (Ontario) - Mark III Turbo Beaver
Military operators
- Royal Australian Air Force - Five in service 1955-1964.
- Antarctic Flight RAAF
- No. 1 Air Trials Unit
Austria
Cambodia
Chile
Colombia
Cuba
Dominican Republic
Finland
France
Ghana
Greece
Haiti
Indonesia
Iran
Kenya
- Kenya Air Force (in operation 1964-83)
- Paraguayan Air Force 4 U-6A donated by MAP in 1975
- Army Air Corps
- Aden Protectorate, 15 Flight A.A.C (7 Beavers operating from Falaise airfield Little Aden)
Accidents and incidents
There have been 166 incidents involving the DHC-2 and 375 deaths[8]
On December 3rd, 2009 a DHC-2 beaver on floats, crashed after takeoff in the waters off Gulf Island, about 50 kilometres south of Vancouver, Canada. Of the the 6 passengers on board, only the pilot and one passenger survived. [9]
Famous Owners
Actor Harrison Ford is a long time owner and pilot of a DHC-2 Beaver on floats. Before Ford purchased the aircraft, it was flown in Vietnam as part of Air America and was shot at several times. Ford discussed his airplane flying with David Letterman on his TV show, in 2008. [10]
Specifications (DHC-2)
Data from Donald 1997, p. 328.
General characteristics
- Crew: 1
- Capacity: 6 passengers, 2,100 lb (953 kg) useful payload
Performance
See also
Related development
Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era
- Fairchild F-11 Husky
- Gippsland GA8
- Helio Courier
- Max Holste M.H. 1521 Broussard
- Murphy Moose
- Noorduyn Norseman
- PAC Cresco
References
- Notes
- ^ "de Havilland Canada DHC-2 Beaver." Canada Aviation Museum. Retrieved: November 20, 2009.
- ^ Cooper, Russ. "Winged Workhorse." Canadian Geographic magazine, July/August 2007, p. 26.
- ^ "Viking acquires DeHavilland type certificates." Viking Press Release, 24 February 24, 2006.
- ^ "DHC-2T Turbo Beaver: The Legend Continues." vikingair.com. Retrieved: November 20, 2009.
- ^ "Beaver Rebuild Program." Kenmore Air , May 21, 2007. Retrieved: November 20, 2009.
- ^ Pither 2008, pp. 57, 79, 382.
- ^ "Harrison Ford Discusses Piloting His Beaver Into The Bush." Huffington Post, May 2008. Retrieved: November 20, 2009.
- ^ De Havilland DHC-2 Beaver
- ^ De Havilland The Globe and Mail
- ^ Harrison Ford on David Letterman Show
- Bibliography
- Donald, David, ed. The Encyclopedia of World Aircraft. Etobicoke, Ontario: Prospero Books, 1997. ISBN 1-85605-375-X.
- Hotson, Fred W. The de Havilland Canada Story. Toronto: CANAV Books, 1983. ISBN 0-07-549483-3.
- Pither, Tony. Airline Fleets 2008. Staplefield, West Sussex, UK: Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd, 2008. ISBN 0-85130-390-1.
- Rossiter, Sean. The Immortal Beaver: The World's Greatest Bush Plane. Vancouver: Douglas & McIntyre, 1999. ISBN 1-55054-724-0.
External links
- de Havilland Canada DHC-2 Beaver at the Canada Aviation Museum