Vintage Wings of Canada - DeHavilland DHC-2 Beaver
Bill Maloney
7/29/2009

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01DeHavillandBeaver 02BeaverTail 03BeaverTail 04DH2CCargoDoor
01 DeHavilland Beaver 02 Beaver Tail 03 Beaver Tail 04 DHC-2 Cargo Door
05DHC2CabinDoor 06BeaverPaddle 07CabinBoardingSteps 08DHC2Wing
05 DHC-2 Cabin Door 06 Beaver Paddle 07Cabin Boarding Steps 08 DHC-2 Wing
09CabinHeaterHeatExchanger 10BeaverMainGear 11BeaverNoseGear 12NoseGearRetractionSlot
09 Cabin Heater Heat Exchanger 10 Beaver Main Gear 11 Beaver Nose Gear 12 Nose Gear Retraction Slot
13DHC2Float 14DeHavillandBeaverNose 15PrattWhitneyWaspJr 16BeaverWindscreen
13 DHC-2 Float 14 DeHavilland Beaver Nose 15 Pratt & Whitney Wasp Jr 16 Beaver Windscreen

DeHavilland DHC-2 Beaver Specifications:

DeHavilland DHC-2 Beavers at other Aviation Museums in the Northeast
DeHavilland DHC-2 Beaver DeHavilland Beaver
Another DeHavilland Beaver can be found at the Canada Aviation Museum in Ottawa, Ontario A DeHavilland Beaver at the New England Air Museum in Windsor, Locks, Ontario

Length: 30 feet 4 inches
Wingspan:
48 feet, 0 inches
Height:
9 feet, 0 inches
Crew:
1+5
Weight:
Empty 2,860 Max Takeoff - 5,600bs
Max Speed: 140mph
Cruise Speed: 100mph
Range: 760 miles
Service Ceiling: 18,000 feet
Fuel Capacity: 139 gallons
Powerplant: R985 Pratt & Whitney Wasp Junior Air Cooled 9 Cylinder Radial Engine 450hp
Armament:
 None
First Flight : 1947
Cost: $45,000

I've always thought the DeHavilland Beaver was such a cool aircraft. When I was going to school at Parks Air College in Missouri we had one that was donated by the USAF for training purposes. I remember how neat it sounded as it coughed to life and the lumpy idle as we got it up to temperature for mag checks.

Harrison Ford owns and flys one, and on James Lipton's Inside the Actor's Studio show he said the sound of its Pratt & Whitney R985 was his favorite sound. A grainy Youtube video of Harrison Ford in his DeHavilland Beaver set to music can be seen here. I think I'd rather have seen it without the music.

Here's a Youtube video of a Beaver on floats warming up its engine while taxiing and taking off from an inlet.

A Beaver starting up with a cockpit view of of the controls set and instrument readings. I really like this one.

A very cranky DeHavilland Beaver starting up. The passenger looks inpired with confidence.

Oh, and you notice that the gear is extended on this Vintage Wing's Beaver floatplane? Well, all that stuff needs to be tucked away when you're coming down over water or your float plane will have a rough landing (OK, so it's not a DHC-2, but you get the idea).

Another Youtube DeHavilland Beaver video of a Beaver ALMOST taking off...

Hey, there's even a DeHavilland Beaver Music Video!

And lastly, here's a video of Vintage Wings of Canada's DHC-2 Beaver taking off from tarmac (this time without the floats).

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