Jan – December
2007
Dec 05 – June 2006 | June – December 2006
2003 | 2004
| 2005
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We start this update with a Vancouver Island
special from a busy New contributor Rod
Hall starts this update with a series of shots taken at the famous Tyee Spit, And John Caswell has
sent in a series of shots of various Otters
that have passed through Here are the final shots
from Chip Porter’s Misty Fjord shoot. You
can have too much of a good thing you know – then again…… John Olafson has been going Otter crazy again
and will provide a number of new shots in the next update so do check back.
Thanks for all your continuing contributions. Best wishes. Ian |
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August |
16 |
Hi All. Apologies for the delay this month.
Rather an exciting time economically in UK, which encouraged my parent Co to
activate ‘Transform’ – a euphemism for job cuts! My mind had therefore been
rather focussed on keeping the buggie out of the
frying pan. It survived somehow, so back to more enlightening activities. Many of you will be aware of
the sad loss of a Grumman Goose recently including the young pilot. John
Olafson sent some Goose shots back in April which I display HERE in memory of Simon Lawrence. Fred Barnes provides a great
shot of Kenmore Air T/Otter N606KA
at their Chip Porter has forwarded
several more shots from his Misty Fjords shoot. Do we want to see them? You
bet. Here’s another one then. Enjoy! John Olafson has been out and
about and reports from Vancouver South.
I was at Vancouver South recently and noticed
some additions to the HA livery. All in the fleet are wearing the carbon
neutral logo, and the 150 year logo on the fuselage.
I was told LCP is the only one with the change to the vertical tail. I
couldn't find Capt Bill Hann that day, but a
friendly HA pilot took me down for some
close-ups of LCP. Otter
C-FITS of Tofino Air was also at Vancouver
South on June 14. I have been looking for this one for a while now because I
remember it as being the last Otter converted to the Walter turbine by AOG
Air Support before they went into receivership a few years ago. It wasn't
quite completed when the receiver took over the assets of the company but it
was released finally and it went over to Kelowna Flightcraft
who finished the work. This Otter needs a bath as it has a lot of exhaust
residue on it, unlike the Harbour Air Otters. Cheers, John That’s all for now folks. More soon. |
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July |
1 |
Jeff Woodbeck is keen to get your expertise on a modelling
matter. Jeff says: “I am a model builder researching the Otter for
a full detail kit I am embarking on. I am using a low cost base kit that
measures the Otter well in scale, but I will be scratch building all the
detail inside, nose to tail. I need
help with references pertaining to the engine and engine mount, the Cockpit
and cabin areas back to the last bulkhead if possible. Would you have at your
disposal and clear photographs of this that are available to be used as
reference, this being printed by myself for this project only. I see you have
a resource to the manuals but due to cost this is not a good option at the
moment but will be in the near future, but I need something to get me
started”. Well Jeff, a flick through the past Otter
News pages should throw up a number of photo’s of
Turbine engine mounts etc but may be less helpful on the radial front.
Anybody out there with some detail photo’s? email Jeff on jcwoodbeck@adelphia.net After a winter
overhaul, C-FCZP has finally joined Rich Hulina’s
fleet last night! Rich says, “It's
been a long time coming and I'm sure glad it's here along with my 206 which
also arrived last week from overhaul!” See Rich’s photos HERE including shots of the Fleet at
rest. Looking good to me Rich. And You will probably
have already realised that the selection of shot of the month was extremely
difficult. With so many great photographs coming in during the last month or
so we have been spoilt for choice. However, I am delighted to produce a special
for the mid-point of the year with two shots from noted Alaskan photographer
Chip Porter. Some of you may know his work on the Misty Fjords. www.chipporteralaska.com Chip has
captured ProMech
Air’s Turbine Otter N3952B over Very many
thanks Chip and welcome to the Otter Hounds. Time to go
and lie down in a darkened room after all that excellent photography. Thanks to
all. Ian |
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And so, to round out the month, a report first
from John Olafson about an interesting excursion in an Otter - Last Thursday (15th May) I was
given a ride in Max Ward's Otter on a flight which would take us from As you can imagine, I sure enjoyed the flying
and also watching the chaps from Kal Air Repair do
their work with the changeover. It made up for my missing Otter N753AK, the
Bond Otter (c/n 007) leave Vernon/Kelowna the previous week. Cheers, John See John’s photo’s
HERE. Ok. Hands up all those who are now extremely
envious! Nice one John. What a trip. And, as if by magic, new
‘Otter Hound’ John Caswell contacted me just after John O. He is a retired
pilot living in Jacques Habert
has written in seeking advice and help concerning the P & W R1340 and I
know you guys out there will be able to help. Jacques says:- Hello, We have rebuilt à Zéro
repliqua from à NA T6, with a PW R1340 AN-2 engine.
We are now looking for the flight manual of a DH3C, to have good parameters
for the engine, but we cannot find it in Now we used it with: 36' 2200 RPM for take off 30' 2000 RPM for max continues power 26' 1850 RPM in cruise but we are not sure
that's good. Can you help us and send the parameters used on the DH3C with
this same engine to http://www.ajbs.fr/ajbs.php
Best Regards and many thanks Jacques Habert AJBS tél. 02 38 75 60 01 mob. 06 80 11 20 58 jacques.habert@orange-ftgroup.com
All responses to Jacques please but do let me
know the answers. Never fear, Rich Hulina and Chip Porter
coming up very shortly. All the best. Ian |
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Marcel FLUET-LECERF kicks off this update with
three radial shots. DHC-3 C-GLJI (150) of
Labrador Air Safari taken at Baie Comeau Québec on
08-26-1999; DHC-3 C-GQEI (397) of Air Nootka taken at gold river BC on
06-20-2005 and DHC-3 C-GBQC (401) of N.W.O Ltd taken at Fort Frances on June
1990 by the late Ralph Evans. Many thanks Marcel. Fred Barnes has been
on his travels to BC recently and has forwarded several
shots of N6868B c/n 274 of Misty Fjords Air which was overhauled by Aeroflite in Fred also reports that
in the Aeroflite hangar was N79JJ (privately
owned) in camouflage (complete). There was c/n 393 (ex 4R-ARB)
(fuselage) which is to be refurbished for Harbour Air as C-FJHA. The
wings and floats were on the ramp outside. C/n 214 (ex 4R-ARA) is already
with Harbour Air as C-GHAG. Fuselage of c/n 405 C-GUTW of Harbour
Air was in for refurbishment and there was another fuselage with turbine
conversion but he could not get any further information. Also present was C-FHAD c/n 315 Harbour Air without tail
markings. Much envy Fred. Glad the trip wen’t well and some excellent shots. Next time we have further updates and photos
from John Olafson, Rich Hulina’s fleet expands and
a Promech surprise from Alaskan photographer Chip
Porter. Do check back. Ian |
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June |
1 |
Wow. Where did May go? All those best
endeavours to keep up to date and another month dashes by. Almost the longest
day too. OK. Lets get going. First up is Jon Boychuk of Venture Air who provides a shot of RHW (445), now fitted with a Garrett 950 H.P. Turbine. Thanks for the useful update John. Luke St.Maur-Windle provides an interesting set of Otter C-FHAS (382), formerly N382BH of Taquan Air, in And now, for all you
modellers out, there take a look at this
set of pictures from It was nice to see the airplane was still
there when I woke up and that the winds had died down from Warp Factor 9”. Nice one Well, I’m off to bed so that’s enough for the
time being. Thanks for all your contributions and more again soon. |
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A bumper crop of
correspondence so far this month with plenty to enjoy. This post concentrates
on just one aircraft 007. Ever active John Olafson reports: The James Bond Otter emerged from the hangar today and it
looks like she is ready for flight testing. Another great paint job by the Kal Air Repair crew too. There is a pair of
remanufactured straight floats inside the hangar and they will probably be
fitted to this Otter. Otter #7 was test flown last Friday and then
immediately went to John also sent a ‘before shot
of the Bond Otter for comparison. Mike Stedman the Director of Operations of Wings Airways then
sent in photos of the newest addition to their fleet; Mike says: we now have five Super Otters.
Otter N753AK serial #007 with 7,700 total airframe hrs. (formerly C-GPPL) was purchased a year ago at This is a big file so may take a
while to download. Very many thanks to John and Mike for recording the
re-birth of this aircraft in what can only be described as a superb new
colour scheme. We hope you have many years of flying from 007 Mike and do
keep us posted. |
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15 |
The FAA recorded an accident on the 28th
April 2008 at |
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12 |
Just a quick question folks. Is anyone having
difficulty seeing photos or are they taking time to download. My technical
abilities are limited but I may be able to speed things up if people are having
problems. Don’t be shy. Fess up. Your operating system and browser details
would be helpful. Thanks. Ian |
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May |
11 |
Lars Opland took some
photos around Thanks Lars. Good Intel’ and good photos. John Olafson provides
some shots of Otter C-FHAD #119
as it looks today. One of the few Harbour Air Otters without the panorama
windows. He remembers seeing this one as a piston Otter with reg N81FW at Now then. All you
faithful Otter Hounds out there may be able to help in the search for Otters
(and Beavers) for reconstruction. Roy Leuenberger,
the President of Recon Air Corporation in Hello Ian I am the owner of recon air corporation
in Geraldton Thanks, Well Duncan Grant from
here in the UK has forwarded a photo of 9H-AFA Harbour
Air Malta C/N 406 taken at Gozo on 15 March
2008 after (he reports) a very pleasant 10min flight from the Grand Harbour
in Valletta where it is based and operates frequent services to the
smaller island (Gozo). It has replaced a helicopter
providing island service since the middle of last year. They are hoping to
start a service to Exceptional devotion to duty More to come later in the Month with a special update of 007 from John
Olafson. Enjoy. |
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27 |
Marcel FLUET-LECERF has sent a further three excellent and interesting shots from his
collection:- DHC-3T N9758N c/n
440 taken on 04/28/2000 in the DHC-3 C-GVNL
c/n 105 Cepal/Air Bellevue taken on 08/20/1999
at Saint Félicien /Lac Saint Jean Pr of Québec DHC-3 C-GPHD
c/n 113 Sabourin? taken on 08/26/1999 at
Baie Comeau Pr of Québec Merci beaucoup Marcel John Olafson has turned journalist and written an
article with photos which was recently published in Canadian Aviator
Magazine. It’s about a deHavilland Otter which was
acquired by the legendary Canadian aviation pioneer, Max Ward, the former
owner of Ward Air. Nice one John. I will have a word with the Magazine and see if we can
reproduce it here in due course. And John also reports
on another Super Otter N753AK which is
nearing completion. They have kept the old 007 logo. And finally the Shot of the Month for May goes to Fred
Barnes for a wonderful shot of Ketchum Air Service Otter N234KA on |
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April |
15 |
Marcel FLUET-LECERF who lives near For those of you interested in
modelling Lars Opland has sent in the following:- Hi Ian, I notice that 'way back in July of 2005, I sent a photo of
my little 1/72 Otter along with some other pics.
You asked there in the blog where this kit can be found & I don't recall if
you ever got an answer. Hobbycraft Best Regards, -Lars P.S. Been busy producing kits of the Bellanca
Pacemaker & Waco YKS...& associated Edo K-4650 & P-3300 floats ( www.mtaonline.net/~zdk )...& have lost
track of what photos I've already sent or when...... P.P.S. Gordon Parker of Whiskey Jack Decals is
"semi-retired" & one may have difficulty getting decals from
that source. The markings on my Lake Clark Air Service Otter were masked
& airbrushed with hand-cut stencils. Thanks Lars. I have the Beaver kit still in
the box awaiting the right moment but really must track down the Otter.
Thanks for the useful information. Jason Pineau from I
just thought I would contribute a couple
of photos to your excellent site. [ too kind sir] C-FZDV
(cn349) has been with Air Tindi since
June 2006. It recently had an upgross kit
installed, and due to paperwork delays I haven't seen it flying since I came
to I
also have a photo of Whistler Air's Otter, C-GEND on skis which was taken on
April 1st, 2007 at Vancouver Int'l airport. Cheers
Jason Thanks Jason. Good to hear from the northern
lands and some great shots. Interesting to see C-GEND with wheels. And finally for this update our regular stringer
from BC John Olafson reports:- Hello Ian, I heard this week from STOLairus in CF-UKN c/n 456 will be converted to Walter turbine in N103SY c/n 296 This one has been in From pictures I have seen, both of these are beautifully painted
Otters. Cheers, John We look forward to the pictures John and as
ever many thanks. |
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25 |
CAN YOU HELP? Barry Lightening is the Flight Operations Manager of Harbour Air At present they are employing Canadian pilots using the facility of a
JAR validation scheme for each license. This facility may well be withdrawn in July when EASA comes into full
force, and as such he is trying to find an FTO with the capability to convert
JAR licensed pilots onto the aircraft. If anyone has any bright ideas then do please email me and I will pass
on the information. ianbutter@btinternet.com
The Scottish and Irish seaplane operations have already been passed
on. |
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March |
21 |
HAPPY EASTER TO YOU ALL (There has to be something wrong with Easter in mid March!) Firstly my apologies for the apparent silence
for a month or so. Pressure of work and requirements of a new laptop
(necessitating all the usual reconfig) provided
little time for updates, but I’m pleased to offer an early Easter Bumper
Special to keep you all on the straight and narrow. John Olafson reports
the latest from Hi Guys, Otter 338 arrived here
in Thanks to Karl Hayes and
his detailed history on Otters, I discovered that I had flown in this Otter
in the early seventies when it was operated by Northern Thunderbird Air in
BC. I chartered it several times to go from Sorry for the lousy shot
of the identity plate, which is mounted in an unusual location. It has been
scratched up pretty bad, but it’s interesting to see the additions made to
it. I will be keeping my eye on this one for sure. By the way, Otter 007 is
still in the jig and looking pretty good now. They had to replace a
lot of skin on it. Cheers, John As ever John many thanks and here are the photos to go with the report. A new contributor
David Mathew provides a number of photos from his collection which are aircraft
he actually maintains at Northern Aviation Maint. & Repair, LLC. [SET
1] [SET 2] My name is David Mathew, and I
think Otters are one of the best airplanes ever built, and I’m glad someone
decided to make a website to give them a home. Great job! I was looking for a
few of the airplanes I maintain, and found either no information or really
old pictures of them, so I thought that you would like to have updated
information. N362TT (s/n 362) , N361TT (s/n 361)
and N197TT (s/n 197) are all owned by R&J Aircraft Leasing in Anchorage,
AK, and have been for a number of years. I’ve included a few recent photos of
them for the website. N197TT crashed August 2004 due to weather west of N252TA (s/n 252) is owned and
operated by Talon Air Service in N205RC (s/n 201) Is owned and
operated by Rapids Camp Lodge in King Salmon, AK If you have any questions, feel free
to email me back. I hope that all helps! -David Mathew (Northern Aviation Maint. & Repair, LLC) Great to hear from you David and keep up the good work keeping the
Otters flying. Very many thanks for the excellent contribution to the site. Marshall Menifee of
Hi Ian just
to let you know GTL is in Geraldton Good to hear from you
Marshall and do keep us posted on progress if you can. John Olafson has
also been busy away from home and “thought you would like this sequence of shots I took of
Otter C-FRNO as it arrived and shortly after departed at Seems like only
yesterday I was there myself John. Many thanks. Hi Ian, I just got
back from a trip up north with the Water Survey Branch of Environment Canada.
This picture was taken on the Best
regards, The things you
Otter pilots get up to eh!! They’ve just
screened a series on TV here in the And not only is Kent clearly a glutton for aviation punishment,
but I think all you Otter Hounds out there will really appreciate his
excellent photograph which makes the April
Shot of the Month (just that little bit early this year). Nice one Finally, for all of you who subscribe to ‘Propliner’
(and for those who don’t, but really ought to!) I note Fred Barnes has been
at it again in northern I look forward to a positive deluge of new
material during the year and my grateful thanks to all contributors both new
and old and, of course, for all of you for tuning in, as they say. Ian |
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February |
2 |
Kicking off this month Thor Johnson has been
rifling through his drawers so to speak and found the Shot of the Month – N11250 (red) and N511BW
(yellow) – a formation landing in the harbour in And finally Fred Barnes good friend Fred
Froude has been doing some experiments with scanning some of his old slides
and as a starter for ten Fred send us a slide of Otter
C-FRHW (445) of Trans Provincial Airlines taken at Seal Cove, |
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16 |
OtterMeister Karl Hayes has
produced an update for his CD (see below) which can be downloaded from here http://www.oldwings.nl/content/dhc3/dhc3.htm
. Scroll to the bottom of the page. |
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January |
12 |
Welcome to 2008 and a Happy New Year to you all. A quiet Christmas provided useful time to
review the website and commence the installation of Aircraft Histories to
each aircraft page, based on Karl Hayes excellent work. He very kindly
suggested I do this some time ago, but I felt that this would be to take away
from his extensive CD and even now there is more to that disc than I can hope
to cope with for the foreseeable future. I have uploaded the first 10 (c/n’s 1-10) and will continue to add histories throughout
the year as time permits. So if you don’t have a copy yet here are the
details again for Karls’ excellent work – Go on,
you know you want to!
And now, for all you Otter Hounds who are gearing
up for another year of Otter spotting, don’t forget to send in those shots –
all are gratefully received and will be used. Spread the word too. If you
know people who would like to be included on the email update then let me
know. I look forward to hearing from you. Ian |
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