It is by far the LOUDEST fixed-wing aircraft I have ever been in. When I jumped it they had replaced the engine a few months before and they were babying it since those engines required a "break-in" period. It climbed slower than the 182 they had.
The flagship of Skydive Twincities is the beaver, but if your one of these people that likes to make alot of jumps in a hurry we also get a super otter from spaceland in the summer. J
Ralph Hatley owns one at his dz in Eagle Creek, OR. Although I don't how often it flies.
We actually got him to fire it up a couple years ago.. and make a jump....
Since then it has been sitting.. he did not annual it last year... and I do know he has a new engine there to put into it.. but I dont know if he will get a round to it any time soon.
Or maybe it was all the vibration that just made me THINK it was loud!
Those are pretty loud!
We've got 2 of those based at our DZ's airport. (along with a couple DC-3's. Used to fly cargo up north). I dont' think I've ever seen a plane flying at that low an airspeed than those c-46's.
I don't think i've seen a plane leak more oil than those either.
Pretty neat airplanes though. We've been trying to get a jump out of them for a few years - no luck yet unfortunatly
Or maybe it was all the vibration that just made me THINK it was loud!
Was that in Z-hills in the late 80's? Skydive City brought one in when they first opened during a Boogie. I made a few jumps out of it and it sure was loud. It sure had an awesome big door .
Yes, the C-46 was at Skydive City and I think around that time it either was on the cover of Parachutist or in a prominent location inside inside. The picture showed jumpers exiting both sides. The loudest aircraft I ever jumped, and I've jumped Twin Bonanzas, Beavers and Islanders, was a Caribou. God, my ears are still ringing.
slotperfect (D 13014)
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Nov 6, 2006, 6:54 PM
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The old Norseman at Elsinore was a real ear blaster ... especially when it backfired, which it did an inordinate number of times the last time I jumped out of it. It was permanently retired soon after that.
The old Norseman at Elsinore was a real ear blaster ... especially when it backfired, which it did an inordinate number of times the last time I jumped out of it. It was permanently retired soon after that.
Picture 853 bad shows it in its bad days at Elsinore. But there is life after skydiving. Picture 853 now shows it, lovingly restored. HW
Have no idea about nowadays, but I remember the Beaver we had at Seneca Falls, NY from 1976 'til beyond 1978, which was the last time I saw it on my way west. We usually didn't take it above 7500 ft very often, not with full loads anyway, though by '78 it was flying full loads to 8500 and that was mostly it. I remember it as a very loud plane, but in all fairness so are Skyvans.
I jumped the one your talking about back then .I still have the card from there with jump suits if the day on it. As the picture showed we went out the left front door. We got to jump Terry Wilds at our POPS meet at Croswell MI. He finally bolted a 2x12 across under the rear for anice jump step. If we got him to open the right front door window you could crawl two people over the strut and main gear and stand on the tire facing the rear. Now its to pretty and expensive to jump.Great memories though.
It is by far the LOUDEST fixed-wing aircraft I have ever been in. When I jumped it they had replaced the engine a few months before and they were babying it since those engines required a "break-in" period. It climbed slower than the 182 they had.
Yeah, that Beaver has a special place in my heart, too, as I did my first freefall out of it in SF in '76 (and many other jumps). Fun plane - no door, no seatbelts, just a loud ride up. Didn't it semi-crash on an aborted takeoff there once? I seem to recall it did.
Howie Martin ran Seneca Falls in the 1970's and in April of '76 my logbook shows my jump #'s 469 and 470 made outta a Dehavilland Beaver...It was dark blue.. We jumped it alot that summer and Howie brought it to other nearby DZ's for meets. I had my # 1 reserve ride at a meet in Wyoming County NY,,, from that aircraft... ( cutaway a french pap, with shot and a halfs,,,, minisystem container) It was used for S L students at Sen Falls, ( using direct bag/ T-10 gear... ) If i recall correctly, two students would SIT in the door,,,, side by side,,, The JM would send one, then the other... I got my SCR from that plane in June of '76 and we did lots of 8ways from it... Though we seldom went above 8,500 feet..... That plane was there into 1979,,, and then "the falls" shut down..... There was an incident which i witnessed during an accuracy meet, where the plane stalled on jumprun,, at 3,500 feet. !!!! i was on the ground... I think the plane was just going too slow and it fell off to one side... Some people near the door .. GOT OUT !... a few of them pulled their mains and some pulled their reserves....The plane did one or two quick turns, and the pilot somehow, got it squared away, and pulled out maybe 400 feet A G L ... a couple of people up in the cabin could not get to the door,,,,,, and good thing,, since they would have hopped out toooooo low... the pilot landed, the plane was checked out, and I think we finished the meet with the 182s... Another time a T-10 ripped the horizontal stabilizer off the tail and then cleared... The stabilizer fluttered to the ground and the plane was safely landed.... Another guy in the Syracuse NY area, ( bobby grandinetti) flew a yellow or orange beaver, hauling jumpers for a while as well, in the late 70's... had to get outta THAT one early one time,,,,, on John Kings' ( Finger Lakes Skydivers) 1000th jump,,, when it blew ALLL of it's oil onto the windshield @ 2,500 feet... hahahaha.... Only time I have ever had to make an " emergency exit..."
Yeah, that Beaver has a special place in my heart, too, as I did my first freefall out of it in SF in '76 (and many other jumps). Fun plane - no door, no seatbelts, just a loud ride up. Didn't it semi-crash on an aborted takeoff there once? I seem to recall it did.
Yup, January '77 it hit glare ice on the runway and skidded into the tetrahedron. I was onboard when it happened. By the grace of God, that was the ONE time we ever took off kneeling up and facing forward, usually we'd sit in each other's laps facing aft. That tetrahedron came through the side like a knife, tearing up the wooden deck and it cleaned the legs off my brand new jumpsuit and blue jeans underneath. I had light scratches on my shins. If I'd been sitting the usual way I'd have been cut in half. We had two first jump students onboard who STILL wanted to jump, so myself, the students, and a JM named Mary Todd, who was in the Air Force at the time got a Cessna load organized. We went up, Mary put the students out and we got a quick hookup & kiss pass from 3500 ft - with my shredded jeans flapping in the winter winds. The Beaver flew again after some structural repair to the airframe.
I don't know about the US, but this one is still jumped at Headcorn in the UK. At least I'm pretty sure it is - I haven't jumped there for about a year! It has a turbine engine not a Radial so its not too noisey!!!
(This post was edited by pjc on Dec 10, 2006, 6:46 AM)
I don't know about the US, but this one is still jumped at Headcorn in the UK. At least I'm pretty sure it is - I haven't jumped there for about a year! It has a turbine engine not a Radial so its not too noisey!!!
Yep, the Black Beaver is still at Headcorn - I jumped it on Sunday. More pictures here http://www.airliners.net/...;distinct_entry=true and here http://www.para-flite.dk/pics.htm for those interested. It's a good 40 years old, and has quite a history - apparently it started life as a passenger carrier in the Yukon, and there are photos of it fitted with skids and floats.
It's a great aircraft for the winter (we fly a Let 410 during the summer). It's got good STOL capability - handy when the dropzone is flooded, which it is at the moment - and once you pack 10 jumpers in there you can't fail to be warm! Shame about the tiny door, but the steps and rails allow us to put as many as 6 floaters out
Incidentally, this is the only non-radial Beaver I've seen (including the ones featured in movies and on TV) - it certainly makes a big difference to the look of the aeroplane. Does anyone know if they're a rarity?
curtiss c46.jpg
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