Thursday, January 27, 2005
BTU Gets A Nose Job!
Hello, good to be back. I have been in Dauphin, Manitoba. I am doing a Game Survey for moose and elk with Manitoba Natural Resources, and will be posting some info on the survey in the near future. I didn't have access to a computer while I was gone, and when I returned I received some nice pictures by e-mail, and they form the basis of my story for today.
The Otter I fly today is registered C-GBTU. It is a very solid machine and a workhorse. It is Serial # 209, and was delivered to the Indian Air Force on Nov. 27, 1957. The original registration was IM-1711. It gained a few thousand hours over many years, and then "languished in anguish" for another number of years. With a tremendous increase in worth over the past 25 years, Otters were sought out in countries they were originally delivered to for purchase and refurbishment. This is how I came to know the good ship C-GBTU.
C-GBTU was purchased from the Indian Air Force in the mid-90's and overhauled in Pine Falls, (actually up-river in Silver Falls) Manitoba. The work was accomplished by Winnipeg River Aircraft and Art and Don Gaffray. The old 600 HP Pratt and Whitney 1340 CI engine was removed and a 1000HP Pezetel 1820 CI engine was installed. The Pezetel engine gave yeoman service, but time and technology march on and the decision was made to convert C-GBTU to a turbine Otter, with the engine of choice being a Walter turbine.
During the last 3 months, old C-GBTU has had her paint and her modesty stripped away but in the end it will be well worth the humility she will have suffered. She has received new paint which looks marvelous, and the 1000 HP radial has been removed, and the new turbine is being installed. She is also getting a complete new instrument panel, and has also had a Baron STOL Kit installed.
In closing, some old-timers and aviation purists will say that airplanes such as Otters and Beavers should be left as is, but conversions and upgrades such as these will keep these fine DeHavillands operating for another 50 years.
For more pictures and the full story on good old C-GBTU and her conversion, click HERE!!!
C-GBTU tethered to the dock in Thompson, Manitoba, sporting her 11' (132") 4-bladed prop and Pezetel engine. She was soon to get a nose job...
C-GBTU scoffs at the surf at Munroe Lake Lodge, Manitoba, Sept. 2003...
With tools, finesse, and Kenny's unerring eye, C-GBTU's proboscis was sculpted from a pug-like appearance to a narrow thing of beauty....
New paint makes C-GBTU a proud ship...
The "new" look of the instrument panel....
A turbine engine is just a "stove pipe and a fan"......
Once the prop is installed, and a few more items completed, C-GBTU will soldier on in the Canadian skies for many more years to come.....
C-GBTU outside and ready to face the world, the elements, and any load or trip thrown her way. The humility of the surgery is gone, and she is going back to work with an attitude, albeit a good attitude.....
The Otter I fly today is registered C-GBTU. It is a very solid machine and a workhorse. It is Serial # 209, and was delivered to the Indian Air Force on Nov. 27, 1957. The original registration was IM-1711. It gained a few thousand hours over many years, and then "languished in anguish" for another number of years. With a tremendous increase in worth over the past 25 years, Otters were sought out in countries they were originally delivered to for purchase and refurbishment. This is how I came to know the good ship C-GBTU.
C-GBTU was purchased from the Indian Air Force in the mid-90's and overhauled in Pine Falls, (actually up-river in Silver Falls) Manitoba. The work was accomplished by Winnipeg River Aircraft and Art and Don Gaffray. The old 600 HP Pratt and Whitney 1340 CI engine was removed and a 1000HP Pezetel 1820 CI engine was installed. The Pezetel engine gave yeoman service, but time and technology march on and the decision was made to convert C-GBTU to a turbine Otter, with the engine of choice being a Walter turbine.
During the last 3 months, old C-GBTU has had her paint and her modesty stripped away but in the end it will be well worth the humility she will have suffered. She has received new paint which looks marvelous, and the 1000 HP radial has been removed, and the new turbine is being installed. She is also getting a complete new instrument panel, and has also had a Baron STOL Kit installed.
In closing, some old-timers and aviation purists will say that airplanes such as Otters and Beavers should be left as is, but conversions and upgrades such as these will keep these fine DeHavillands operating for another 50 years.
For more pictures and the full story on good old C-GBTU and her conversion, click HERE!!!
C-GBTU tethered to the dock in Thompson, Manitoba, sporting her 11' (132") 4-bladed prop and Pezetel engine. She was soon to get a nose job...
C-GBTU scoffs at the surf at Munroe Lake Lodge, Manitoba, Sept. 2003...
With tools, finesse, and Kenny's unerring eye, C-GBTU's proboscis was sculpted from a pug-like appearance to a narrow thing of beauty....
New paint makes C-GBTU a proud ship...
The "new" look of the instrument panel....
A turbine engine is just a "stove pipe and a fan"......
Once the prop is installed, and a few more items completed, C-GBTU will soldier on in the Canadian skies for many more years to come.....
C-GBTU outside and ready to face the world, the elements, and any load or trip thrown her way. The humility of the surgery is gone, and she is going back to work with an attitude, albeit a good attitude.....
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