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keithbar

single engine otter jumps.

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sweet i would think the floats make a step that is fun but challenging to exit fromB|



I think the floats would make that plane an incredible jungle gym to climb all over. Lots of fun! I would love to get to jump a plane like that (or a Beaver) with floats.
--"When I die, may I be surrounded by scattered chrome and burning gasoline."

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In 1995, I jumped a turbine Single Otter at Flagler Beach in Florida. My logbook comment about it was “EXCELLENT AIRCRAFT!” I think that the operator while as a jump plane was Trey Johnson (?). N84SF at the time but a search for C-GHAS will find some recent photos of it.

Here is some info from a DHC-3 website. http://www.ruudleeuw.com/canada10.htm

De Havilland DHC-3T C-GHAS

DHC-3 Otter c/n 284 was delivered to the United States Army on 05Sep1958 with serial 57-6136 (tail number 76136). It was delivered from Downsview to Fort Hood, TX, one of 4 Otters delivered around this time to the 2nd Missile Command, which subsequently moved to Fort Carson, Colorado.
The Otter served there until Sep59, then being re-assigned to the 57th Aviation Company at Fort Sill, OK.
By Jan62 it was attached to the Headquarters Company, 15th Military Intelligence Battalion at Fort Bragg, but spent some of its time at Fort Huachuca, AZ. In Oct63 it joined the Aviation Section at Fort Ord, CA and the following month it joined the 17th Aviation Company at Fort Ord and then in June 1964 the Otter Transition School at Fort Ord.
It continued to serve there until the School was closed and in Aug71 transferred to the US Army Aviation School at Fort Rucker, AL. The School came under the United States Army Aviation School Command (USAASC) and was based at Cairns AAF, Fort Rucker and as well as the Otter also flew the Beaver, Beech U-21A and T-42 Baron. The Otter continued in service with the School until 29th March 1972, on which date it was handed over to the US Army Aviation Museum at Fort Rucker.
76136 was put on display at the Museum and remained as an exhibit until 1993, when it was decided to sell the aircraft, and replace it as the museum exhibit with Otter 76135 (c/n 283), which was then in storage at Fort Rucker. 76136 was advertised for sale, and sold to Sound Flight Inc of Renton Airport, Seattle, WA to whom it was registered N84SF in June, 1994.
It was converted to a Vazar turbine Otter and modified with large panoramic windows, the first such conversion. For the next 8 years, it flew from Renton as a floatplane, on scheduled and charter work along the Pacific coast. Sound Flight Inc operated scheduled services to Victoria on Vancouver Island, to the San Juan Islands and to points along the Inside Passage, during the summer months, using either the Otter or one of its Beavers. It also flew charters in those areas. During the summer months, the Otter was heavily tasked, flying fishermen to lodges. During the first few years of its operation by Sound Flight, the Otter deployed to DeLand, FL during the winter, where it was used for skydiving, which helped pay for its keep. In more recent years, it was stored at Renton each winter.
In 2001, the owners of Sound Flight Inc decided to close down the business and instead lease out their aircraft. The Otter was transferred to Airlease Inc, Renton on 05Mar02 and then leased to Transwest Air for the summer of 2002, being registered C-FADW to Transwest Air Ltd Partnership, Prince Albert, SASK on 30May02.
It remained in Sound Flight colours during this lease, and was based at Hatchet Lake in the north-east of Saskatchewan, serving a fishing lodge.
It passed through Vancouver on 14Oct02 returning to the lessor.
It was then reregistered to Airlease Inc as N84SF on 19Feb03, being sold on the following month to Harbour Air Ltd of Vancouver, registered C-GHAS on 24Mar03. It was re-painted into the Harbour Air colour scheme and entered service as part of their large fleet of turbine Otters on their commuter services.
www.SkydiveLostPrairie.com

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"a jungle gym to climb all over"

Yeah , I know what you mean.

So, here we are in the summer of '82 on one of our " Chisel Charter Flightseeing Tours" of Prince Rupert BC.

Our pilot had just the right combination of pitch, throttle and mixture to maintain heading and level flight for us to climb-out.. well, it was a breeze. I used an Olympus OM1 with a 16mm lens handheld and manual film advance for the shots. After everyone had gone I ran down the full length of the float and dove off.

Ralph Goddard is our super-hero; Peter Irvin is the happy jumper

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