Sunday, April 15, 2007
Steve's "Otter Of The Week"!......by Karl E. Hayes
The Otter is a tremendously "robust" airframe, and I have previously profiled Otters that have had "long, exciting lives". What about Otters that "expired in infancy", though? There have been some. I thought today I would profile one that had a very "short" life, and unfortunately is "no more".
All information is from Karl Hayes' "masterful" CD entitled:
De Havilland Canada
DHC-3 OTTER
A HISTORY
CONTACT KARL, CD PRICING and ORDERING INFO - De Havilland DHC-3 OTTER - A HISTORY by Karl E. Hayes
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Otter 27
Otter number 27 was delivered to the RCAF on 13th January 1954 with serial 3672, and allocated to the Fort Churchill, Manitoba Station Flight, as a replacement for Otter 3661. The Station Diary records the arrival of 3672 at Churchill on 29th March '54. Its period of service was unfortunately brief, and only one mission is recorded in the Diary, to South Knife on 13th April.
On 26th April '54 the Otter was taking off from Churchill en route to Chesterfield with seven souls on board. Just after it became airborne, the tail began to drop and the pilot pushed forward on the control column and applied power. The nose continued to rise and the Otter stalled in from fifty feet. Fortunately no one was injured, apart from the Otter, which was a complete write-off. It was formally deleted from the inventory on 19th August 1954. Investigation into the crash revealed that the Otter was overloaded by 1,673 pounds and had a Centre of Gravity six inches aft of the rear limit.
- by Karl E. Hayes
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Four months, and the Otter was destroyed. 1,673 pounds "over gross"! So much "history" to be experienced and written, that never was. Certainly not comparable to the "tragic, soul-wrenching magnitude" of losing a child in infancy, but a premature end to a "fine girl".
"Thanks, Karl"!
CONTACT KARL, CD PRICING and ORDERING INFO - De Havilland DHC-3 OTTER - A HISTORY by Karl E. Hayes
All information is from Karl Hayes' "masterful" CD entitled:
De Havilland Canada
DHC-3 OTTER
A HISTORY
CONTACT KARL, CD PRICING and ORDERING INFO - De Havilland DHC-3 OTTER - A HISTORY by Karl E. Hayes
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Otter 27
Otter number 27 was delivered to the RCAF on 13th January 1954 with serial 3672, and allocated to the Fort Churchill, Manitoba Station Flight, as a replacement for Otter 3661. The Station Diary records the arrival of 3672 at Churchill on 29th March '54. Its period of service was unfortunately brief, and only one mission is recorded in the Diary, to South Knife on 13th April.
On 26th April '54 the Otter was taking off from Churchill en route to Chesterfield with seven souls on board. Just after it became airborne, the tail began to drop and the pilot pushed forward on the control column and applied power. The nose continued to rise and the Otter stalled in from fifty feet. Fortunately no one was injured, apart from the Otter, which was a complete write-off. It was formally deleted from the inventory on 19th August 1954. Investigation into the crash revealed that the Otter was overloaded by 1,673 pounds and had a Centre of Gravity six inches aft of the rear limit.
- by Karl E. Hayes
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Four months, and the Otter was destroyed. 1,673 pounds "over gross"! So much "history" to be experienced and written, that never was. Certainly not comparable to the "tragic, soul-wrenching magnitude" of losing a child in infancy, but a premature end to a "fine girl".
"Thanks, Karl"!
CONTACT KARL, CD PRICING and ORDERING INFO - De Havilland DHC-3 OTTER - A HISTORY by Karl E. Hayes
