Saturday, May 14, 2005

 

I Go "Exploring"........

I have always loved the tales of the great explorers; Marco Polo visiting Kublai Khan, Arctic explorer Martin Frobisher, Henry Hudson, whose name adorns a great "Bay" in Manitoba to this day, great globe circumnavigator Ferdinand Magellan, and my personal favourite, great Antarctic explorer Ernest Shackleton. The 800 mile journey in the small boat the James Caird from Elephant Island to South Georgia Island still amazes me to this day. Talk about tough, "iron" men in "wooden" ships! Anyways, camera in hand, I went exploring. Not 24,000 miles, like Magellan, but I did go a couple of hundred yards to look for archaeological specimens!


I hadn't gone far, when, lo and behold, a set of Edo 6470 small Norseman floats, made in 1943 by MacDonald Brothers of Winnipeg, showing their age......... Posted by Hello


I continued on, and came across an old Beech 18 "C" model, out to pasture............... Posted by Hello


I can just imagine the stories this airplane could tell............. Posted by Hello


"Unfitting" end for a grand old dame........ Posted by Hello


I continued on, and found the Beech 18 wings! Posted by Hello


Another ancient lady, Piper "Twin" Bonanza, with Lycoming IGSO (Injected, Geared, Supercharged, Opposed) 480 cubic inch engines......... Posted by Hello


A "rebuild" in progress.......... Posted by Hello


Then I came across a set of Edo 7170 floats that I recognized. They were off of an Otter that I flew for 9 years, C-FUKN. They were in pristine shape when I left them, and by the looks of the dents and the 15 patches I counted on them, the pilots that flew her after me certainly didn't have the care and respect that I had for her, like I have for any airplane I fly. I would have to put them all in the "ham-fisted" category............. Posted by Hello


Otter skis! Bury them, and let somebody find them in 2,000 years, and they would be scratching their heads................ Posted by Hello


Massive 9 cylinder radial engine removed from C-GBTU when she was converted to turbine. 1820 cubic inches of raw horsepower. Bury this and let someone find it in 2,000 years. Whoever found it would get an instant "hard-on".............. Posted by Hello


Anyway, made it to the highway, and found one last relic, although in beautiful shape. Posted by Hello


A lot of attention to detail went into the engineering of this aircraft. Posted by Hello


Stinson Voyager! Posted by Hello

Anyways, all sorts of "artifacts" around here. I just made a short stroll. Stay tuned, and maybe soon I will do an old vehicle, tractor, and heavy equipment archaeological expedition. Again, I shouldn't have to go too far. Until next time, hug your kids, and buy U.S. or Canadian-Made!!!!!!!!

# posted by Steve @ 5:58 PM
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