Kenora
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Kenora
We picked up our rental car at Winnipeg International airport and headed east. After passing endless miles of farmlands, we arrived at our first port of call, the small town of Kenora. The city, originally named Rat Portage, is a small city situated on the Lake of the Woods near the Manitoba border and about 200 kilometers east of Winnipeg. Kenora's future site was in the territory of the Ojibway Indians when the first Europeans sighted Lake of the Woods in 1688. The community kept the name Rat Portage until 1905, when it was renamed Kenora. Kenora's name was coined by combining the first two letters of Keewatin, Norman (two nearby communities), and Rat Portage. The town sits on the northern tip of Lake of the Woods and is well known for its forestry, mining, and tourism. Kenora is also the starting point of numerous fishing, hunting, and camping trips, which start from the harbor front floatplane base. Two companies, River Air and Kenora Flying Services, operate from these docks. CF-CBA DHC-3 Kenora Air Service C-FJEI DHC-2 Kenora Air Service C-FWDB Cessna185 Kenora Air Service C-FFHO DHC-2 Kenora Air Service C-FMAQ DHC-2 River Air C-FFYC Cessna208 River Air C-GIAT Cessna185 River Air C-GYKO DHC-3T River Air C-GYJY Cessna185F Walsten Outposts C-GULT Eagel180 Pickerel Lake Outfitters C-FKBH Piper-11 private Kenora Air Service As we drove into town we immediately noticed the floatplane base along the waterfront. After parking our car at a nearby parking area we walked our way to the busy docks. The atmosphere was relaxed and informal. We introduced ourselves as aviation enthusiasts, interested in the old floatplanes. Louie, one of the Kenora Air Service pilots showed us their immaculate DHC-3 Otter and the rest of their fleet. Kenora Air Service Ltd., formerly OCA and Parsons Airways, has a long and rich history in the annals of Canadian bush plane aviation. Their traditional Heritage Bush plane fleet of Otters, Beavers, C-185’s are manned by experienced bush pilots who are professional, courteous and knowledgeable. According their website they offer world class Walleye and Northern fishing from a series of seldom fished waters bordering Woodland Caribou Provincial Park in Ontario and Atikaki Wilderness Park in Manitoba. Their northern outposts are located in areas so remote there are no roads, not even logging roads! You can only get to these waters by float plane or canoe. Very few anglers have ever fished these fast moving waters and pristine lakes where the feed and structure produce World Class Walleyes and Northern in a truly remote setting. The fishing is incredible. Your journey starts here in their historic log cabin on the 2nd St. Dock in downtown Kenora. DeHavilland Canada DHC-3 Otter The de Havilland Canada DHC-3 Otter was designed in 1950 as the ‘big brother’ to the ubiquitous DHC-2 Beaver. With a total of 466 Otters having been built when production ceased in 1967. The high-wing construction of the Otter offers the bush operator a great advantage in being able to move alongside docks or swing-in over shorelines. The shallow float draught allows the aircraft to be taxied in close to the shore, facilitating the handling of cargo and/or passengers. This Otter was delivered to the United States Army in 1958. It was assigned for duty in Europe and based at Coleman Barracks, Mannheim, Germany. During 1970 she was placed in storage at Coleman Barracks and put up for sale. She was sold to Ferrer Aviation Inc of Miami, Florida for $41,600 and she had only 3,123 hours on the airframe at the time of sale. The Otter was soon ferried to Canada where she was overhauled and civilianized by Perimeter Aviation at Winnipeg. She was sold to Parsons Airways Ltd. of Kenora and joined their fleet in 1973 registered CF-CBA. She served with them until sold to Kenora Air Service Ltd. in June 1982 with whom it has served till today. Video
Exterior inspection: Starting at the cockpit door, port side, make the following checks: Cockpit and servicing points. Ignition and Master switches off. Fuel filler caps, oil tank access panel and hydraulic reservoir caps secured. Floats. Drain the compartments and check for damage. Power plant section. Check the propeller blades for nicks, governor unit for oil leaks. Cowls and fairings for damage and security. Carburetor and oil cooler intakes clear. Exhaust augmentor tubes for condition. Starboard wing. All hinges clear. Aileron trim tab neutral. Wing tip and navigation light assembly for dents or damage. Starboard fuselage side. Check fuselage side for dents or wrinkles. Underside for fuel leaks. Cabin access ladder stowed and secure. Cabin entrance door closed. Wing and fuselage aerials, lied-ins and loop housing for damage. Empennage. Check all hinges clear. Access panels secure. Tailplane incidence and rudder trim tab neutral. Control surfaces for wrinkles, dents and damage. Lower rudder hinge assembly (brackets, bolt and control rod) for condition. Servo-tabs for operation. Navigation light assembly for damage. Port fuselage side. Check fuselage side for damage or wrinkles. Underside for fuel leaks. Hand fire-extinguisher in rear cargo door secure. Cargo doors closed. Wing and fuselage aerials and lead-ins for damage. Port wing. Check all hinges clear. Aileron trim tab neutral. Wing tip and navigation light assembly for damage. Landing light assembly for damage. Pitot head removed. Before starting the engine: Fire guard posted and propeller area clear. Throttle - ¼ inch to ½ inch open. Hydromatic propeller - FULL INCREASE RPM. Mixture control - FULL RICH. Carburetor hot air control - COLD . Ignition switch – OFF. Have ground crew turn propeller over four revolutions to check for hydraulic lock. If ground crew is not available, check by starting the engine with ignition switch OFF through as least six blades and watch for tendency to stall during propeller rotation. If an hydraulic lock is suspected, do not attempt to clear by rocking the propeller manually or through the starter. Have the lower cylinders drained by removal of spark plugs. Starting engine: Propeller area – clear. Battery master switch – ON. Booster pump – ON. Prime cylinders four or five strokes for a cold engine. Zero to three strokes for a warm engine. Pull slowly to full charge. Push rapidly to atomize the fuel. Booster pump – OFF. After priming make sure primer valve has been shut-off completely, or booster pump will inject raw fuel into cylinders. Ignition switch – BOTH. Energize starter with starter switch held to STARTER position until starter whine ceases to rise in pitch. Release switch. Simultaneously, hold clutch engagement switch to CLUTCH position, Ignition Booster switch to BOOST COIL until engine is firing evenly. As soon as engine fires, throttle back to about 500 to 800 rpm. Do not use throttle to catch a ‘dying’ engine. If oil pressure does not register on gage within 30 seconds stop engine and investigate. |
The R-1340 is a nine-cylinder, air-cooled radial and was Francis Pratt and Amos Whitney’s first designed engine which established Pratt & Whitney firm as a leading builder of aircraft engines. The first prototype of the R-1340 was completed in December, 1925. That almost a century ago!
Glenn commenced the descent and we flew by the historic town prior to alighting in the harbor with a gentle ‘splash’. Having navigated our way towards the jetty, the engine was shut down and the Otter drifted towards the Kenora Air Service ground crew, who were waiting to moor the Otter.
When checking the net,
I found this Otter for sale on the site of Lauriault Aviation for CAD 710.000,- Her total time since new is 14.477 hours.
Otter driver Glenn Cranston, Servaas and myself being portrayed in-front of ‘Bravo-Alpha
“We could sit and watch these airplanes come and go all day long”
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DeHavilland Aircraft Company
The De Havilland Aircraft Company was a British aviation manufacturer founded in 1920 of which Geoffrey de Havilland had been chief designer. He proposed the continuing to name the DHC line of aircraft after Canadian mammals. In September, 1946, de Havilland put together a design team. The new aircraft was specifically designed to be all-metal, unlike older designs like the famous Noorduyn Norseman. He used steel from the engine to the firewall, heavy aluminum truss frames with panels and doors throughout the front seat area, lighter trusses toward the rear and all monocoque construction aft. At the time de Havilland Canada was still a British company and there were plans to fit the evolving design with a British engine. This limited power, so the wing area was greatly increased in order to maintain STOL performance. When Pratt & Whitney Canada could buy war-surplus 450 hp (340 kW) Wasp Jr. engines at a low price, the aircraft ended up with extra power as well as the original long wing. The result was unbeatable STOL performance for an aircraft of its size. C-FJEI Note the ventral fin has been removed and seaplane fins installed for lateral stability. Manufactured in 1957, ‘Echo-India’, came off the line as a civil Beaver. Kenora Air Service is operating this Beaver since 1979 to access its outposts on the lakes and rivers north of Kenora C-FFHO Manufactured in 1949, C-FFHO, came off the line before the introduction of the porthole window. ‘Hotel-Oscar’ has spent a good part of its lifetime working as a sky-truck for the Canadian mining industry. Kenora Air Service purchased it last year (Sept. 2012) and is operating her every day since. As a civilian version, this stock Beaver has lower air induction, the original-style ventral fin and no porthole window aft of the cargo door, typical of early build Beavers. This Beaver wears the traditional de Havilland paint scheme of horizontal front-to-back speed stripe and registration letters in the tail band. C-FFHO is one of the few Beavers remaining without the porthole window. It still has the original ventral fin. She could easely hit obstacles as she swings around to taxi in en out. For this reason, seaplane fins on the horizontal stabilizers often replace the ventral fin. Next to this the smaller overall surface of the fins helps reduce the airplane's weathervaning tendency in a crosswind. Description of the De Havilland DHC-2 Beaver Normal Flight Procedures as describe in the Flight Manual of 1957
Engine warm-up: Throttle to give 1000 rpm. Move propeller lever fully forward to INCREASE RPM, as soon as oil pressure reaches 50 psi. After oil temperature has reached 40 degrees Celsius (100 dgr. F), adjust to smoothest engine speed between 1000 to 1400 rpm. Mixture lever FULL RICH. Select propeller lever to coarser pitch at 1000 rpm, to circulate the oil in the constant speed unit and propeller cylinder. Then return to INCREASE RPM. Never rush engine warm-up. Check oil pressure, fuel pressure and temperature. Tank feeds – check by rotating fuel selector to each tank. |
Notice the strobe light at the tip of the rudder of C-FJEI, which is not common with Beavers. The ventral fin has been removed and seaplane fins installed for lateral stability. Manufactured in 1957, ‘Echo-India’, came off the line at de Havilland as a civil Beaver. Kenora Air Service is operating this Beaver since 1979 to access its outposts on the lakes and rivers North of Kenora
The instrument panel of C-FFHO. Control levers are in military arrangement, from left to right, throttle, propeller and mixture.
When checking the net I found her for sale by NorthernPlanes.com with a total time since new of only 2272 hours
The pontoons have several compartments, which contributed to the sea plane staying afloat! Unfortunately they always seems to leak at bit and every morning Louie has to pump them empty
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Bubble Cabin Door Windows. Sightseeing zooms with installation of bubble-type windows in the cabin doors so passengers can view surface objects normally invisible through flat windows. Bubble windows also provide extra shoulder room when three passengers sit abreast in the center seat
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Kenora Air Service C-FWDB on short final.
In the capable hands of Glenn Cranston she flew a freight run to the company’s lodge a Chase Lake. Kenora Air Service acquired this 1967 build Cessna 185E in 1979. 
Preflight Inspection of the Cessna 180K Visually check the airplane for general condition during the walk-around inspection. In cold weather, remove even small accumulations of frost, ice or snow from wing, tail and control surfaces. Also, make sure that control surfaces contain no internal accumulations of ice or debris. Prior to flight, check that pitot heater (if installed) is warm to touch within 30 seconds, with battery and pitot heat switches on. If a night flight is planned, check operation of all lights and make sure a flashlight is available. Cabin Pilot’s Operating Handbook – Available in the airplane. Control Wheel Lock – REMOVE. Ignition Switch – OFF. Avionics Power Switch – OFF. Master Switch – ON. Fuel Quantity Indicators – CHECK QUANTITY. Master Switch – OFF. Static Pressure Alternate Source Valve – OFF. Fuel Selector Valve – BOTH ON. Baggage Door – CHECK securely locked. Empennage Rudder Gust Lock – REMOVE. Floats – Drained and Check for damage. Control Surface – CHECK freedom of movement and security. Right wing trailing edge Aileron – CHECK freedom of movement and security. Right Wing Wing Tie-Down – DISCONNECT. Fuel Tank Vent Opening – CHECK for stoppage. Before first flight of the day and after each refueling, use sampler cur and drain small quantity of fuel from fuel tank sump quick-drain valve and fuel line quick-drain valve (located on bottom of fuselage below the cabin door) to check for water, sediment and proper fuel grade. Fuel Quantity – CHECK VISUALLY for desired level. Fuel Filler Cap – SECURE and vent unobstructed. Nose Static Source Openings (both sides of fuselage) – CHECK for stoppage. Propeller and Spinner – CHECK for nicks, security and oil leaks. Carburetor Air Filter – CHECK for restrictions by dust or other foreign matter. Engine Oil Level – CHECK. Do not operate with less than nine quarts. Fill to twelve quarts for extended flight. Left wing Fuel Quantity – CHECK VISUALLY for desired level. Fuel Filler Cap – SECURE and vent unobstructed. Left wing leading edge Pitot Tube Cover – REMOVE and check opening for stoppage. Stall Warning Opening – CHECK for stoppage. To check the system, place a clean handkerchief over the vent opening and apply suction; a sound from the warning horn will confirm system operation. Fuel Tank Vent Opening – CHECK for stoppage. Wing Tie-Down – DISCONNECT. Aileron – CHECK freedom of movement and security. 
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C-GYJY Cessna 185F rolled of the Wichita production line in 1974 and is presently owned and operated by Walsten Outposts
Basic Beaver as it was built by De Havilland 64 years ago. As a civilian version, this Beaver has lower air induction, the original-style ventral fin and no porthole window aft of the cargo door. Typical of the early build Beaver
Beautiful C-FPEG is 1963 Cessna 185B and is operated by Walsten Outposts
C-FKBH is a privately owned Piper 11 from 1947
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The skyline of Kenora provides a historic backdrop for C-FWDB. The building with the clock is the Kenora Town Office. It was built in 1897 to serve as the town’s post office
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River Air
River Air has two strategically located offices. Their main seaplane base is located near the town of Minaki, Ontario. Their sub-base is located on the Second Street Docks, on the harbor front of downtown Kenora. C-FMAQ De Havilland DHC-2 Beaver C-FMAQ has early construction number 14. This Beaver was built by de Havilland 65 years ago, in 1948 and delivered as CF-MAQ to the Province of Manitoba. During her long career this veteran workhorse served several bush plane outfits and finally ended up with River Air Ltd. in May 2007. View of the cargo door, wide enough to roll in a 45 gallon fuel drum. Its design makes the door removable for unimpeded loading, or it can be hooked to the wing strut, holding it open and out of the way as needed. 
C-GYKO Turbine-engine workhorse DHC-3 Otter C-GYKO was registered on in 1996 to River Air Ltd. This Otter was delivered to the United States Army in 1958. The Otter was allocated to the US Army Military Academy at WestPoint, New York, where it was to spend the entire of its military career. The mission of the Detachment was the support of training of the WestPoint cadets. The Otter continued in service until April 1973. The same year it entered the storage compounds of the Military Aircraft Storage and Disposition Centre (MASDC) at Davis-Monthan AFB. Within a year the Otter was sold to a private operator. She substantially damage in a crash at Franklin County Airport, Winchester, Tennessee, on March 17, 1975. In the course of a short field take off, during the initial climb in a left turn, the left wing dropped, the aircraft stalled and crashed back to the ground. The Otter was purchased by Ontario Central Airlines of Winnipeg, who brought the wreck to Winnipeg and rebuilt it with registration C-GYKO. Over the years that followed, ‘Kilo-Oscar’ has been operated by quite a number of Canadian bush carriers. In June 1996 she was finally sold to River Air Ltd of Pistol Lake, Minaki, Ontario. During 2002, the Otter flew down to Salina, Texas where it was converted to turbine power with a Garrett TPE-331 engine. 
Video
STARTING ENGINE Mixture – RICH. Propeller – HIGH RPM. Carburetor Heat – COLD. Throttle – OPEN ½ inch. Prime – AS REQUIRED. Master Switch – ON. Propeller Area – CLEAR. Ignition Switch – START (release when engine starts). Oil Pressure – CHECK. TAKE-OFF Wing Flaps – 0° or 20°. Cowl Flaps – OPEN. Carburetor Heat – COLD. Power – FULL THROTTLE and 2400 RPM Elevator Control – MODERATE TAIL LOW. Climb Speed – 85 KIAS. Wing Flaps – UP after obstacles are cleared. |
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Walsten Outpost
Lizzy & Kevin Walsten offer a wide variety of fishing at their Outposts located on Separation Lake, which is part of the English River System. The outposts offer excellent lake trout and northern pike fishing with several portage lakes offering walleye fishing. 
C-GULT is an Eagle 18D of Pickerel Lake Outfitters and build in 1988
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The Walsten’s acquired this 1974 Cessna 185F in 2009
After a splendid lunch, washed down with two bottles Canadian beer, at Borrelli’s Italian restaurant, which is just across the street of the floatplane base, we went to visit Kuby’s maintenance facility which is just a 5 minutes drive from the floatplane base.
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The cowling is off and all nine cylinders are visible. The mighty P&W 985 is burning 22 Imp gallons per hour. Note the exhaust tailpipe extension, with heat exchanger, which provides cabin heat for cold-weather flying. Hot air for heating the interior of the cabin is supplied by ram air passing through a heat exchanger tube in the engine exhaust system. From a four-way outlet at the center of the cockpit floor, the heated air is ducted to the pilot’s seat and front passengers feet and to two outlet grills in the cabin floor
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Kuby’s Aircraft Ltd.
This area is just a 5 minute drive from the center of Kenora town and is located along 4th Avenue. Maintenance is done by Mr. Kuby jr. His old father is also still working in the shop and is doing the administration. Mr. Kuby jr. is a friendly fellow and he was so kind to show us around. Meanwhile we had a very interesting conversation about the maintenance of the bush plane. Fortunately men like the Kuby’s continue to keep venerable Beavers, Otters, Beech18’s and Cessna Skywagons flying strong. Several aircraft and wrecks lay around the yard. We noted the following: C-FTBX Beech 18 Kenora Air Service C-GEHX Beech 18 Kenora Air Service C-FJEI DHC-2 Kenora Air Service C-GAQJ DHC-2 Kenora Air Service CF-QWM Stinson 108-3 Voyager private C-FWMM Cessna185K Kenora Air Service C-GOTD Cessna185F Kenora Air Service C-GOTD Cessna185F Kenora Air Service C-GIUU Cessna180K private C-GYXY Cessna185F private C-FNOT DHC-2 restoration project No reg. DHC-2 restoration project CF-OCX C-FBCC Beech 18 WildCountry wreck C-FKEL Beech 18 WildCountry wreck No reg. Beech 18 wreck CF-OII Beech 18 Ignace Air Ltd. wreck C-FMAT DHC-2 wreck No reg. DHC-2 wreck No reg. Norseman frame only No reg. Norseman “Snowwater” artist wreck C-FJEP ?????? wing only C-FHKA ?????? wing only CF-GKJ Cessna185 wreck C-GAQJ The instrument panel of C-GAQJ still showing De Havilland on the lower chrome trim of the power lever console. Control levers are in military arrangement, from left to right, throttle, propeller and mixture. A shock-mounted flight instrument panel is provided for the pilot and incorporates and altimeter, turn-and-bank indicator, rate-of-climb indicator, air speed indicator, directional gyro and artificial horizon. Just partly visible to the right of the control column, is the cap of the oil filler. The oil tank is located aft of the fire-wall and is serviced from inside the cockpit through a filler at the base of the pedestal. The capacity is 5 ¼ imperial gallons. Geoffrey de Havilland The De Havilland Aircraft Company was a British aviation manufacturer founded in 1920 of which Geoffrey de Havilland had been chief designer. He proposed the continuing to name the DHC line of aircraft after Canadian mammals. In September, 1946, de Havilland put together a design team. The new aircraft was specifically designed to be all-metal, unlike older designs like the famous Noorduyn Norseman, using steel from the engine to the firewall, heavy aluminum truss frames with panels and doors throughout the front seat area, lighter trusses toward the rear and all monocoque construction aft. At the time de Havilland Canada was still a British company and there were plans to fit the evolving design with a British engine. This limited power, so the wing area was greatly increased in order to maintain STOL performance. When Pratt & Whitney Canada offered to supply war-surplus 450 hp (340 kW) Wasp Jr. engines at a low price, the aircraft ended up with extra power as well as the original long wing. The result was unbeatable STOL performance for an aircraft of its size. 
C-FMAT is a DHC-2 Mk. 1 Beaver and build in 1954. According TSB file A77C0096 this Beaver had an accident involving external laods. It was stalled during take off in 1977 while transporting a canoe on a government charter
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HC-2 C-GAQJ sitting on EDO 4930 floats and in the sparkling colors of Kenora Air Service. When checking the net, I found her for sale on the site of Lauriault Aviation for CAD 275.000,-. Her total time since new is 11.916 hours
Mr. Kuby jr. surrounded by ‘his’ vintage bush planes. Kuby's Aircraft is a well known place in the floatplane community. They do complete rebuilds and service on many different floatplane types
Note the ventral fin has been removed and seaplane fins installed for lateral stability. Manufactured in 1957, ‘Echo-India’, came off the line as a civil Beaver. Kenora Air Service is operating this Beaver since 1979 to access its outposts on the lakes and rivers north of Kenora
C-FNOT, a Mk. 1 Beaver of 1957, is in many pieces and undergoing a complete rebuild during the summer of 2013. If she will be back in the air for the 2014 season remains a question!
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Kuby’s Aircraft Ltd. In January, 1937, the Beechcraft Model 18 made its first demonstration flight at the factory in Wichita, Kansas and it continued in production for thirty-two years. This low-wing, all-metal, twin-engine monoplane was originally intended as a six-to-eight-passenger executive or feeder airline transport. When production began on the Model 18 in 1937, there was virtually no market for this airplane in the United States. At the time, air transportation in the United States was a trunk line operation and few feeder lines existed. Acceptance of the Model 18 by foreign and charter lines was immediate, however. Also, businessmen were favorably impressed with the performance of the Model 18 as an executive transport. In 1939, Beech began negotiations with the U.S. government and later that year, he also started negotiations with the Chinese government for a bomber trainer. This version had a clear plastic nose, a single gun turret on the upper fuselage and a machine gun in a tunnel in the rear floor. It also had internal bomb racks, which carried up to twenty 25-pound bombs. World War II brought more orders for military versions of the Beech 18S (C-45) from the United States and foreign governments for a wide range of uses. About 90 percent of the U.S. Air Force's navigators and bombardiers received their training on Beech 18’s. With the end of the war came the end of military production. By October 1945 Beechcraft corp. was back into full commercial aircraft production. The first aircraft off the line was the newest model, the D18S, which incorporated a number of improvements. Structural modifications allowed for an increase in maximum weight and a new landing gear, brakes and tires were installed. Two 450-hp Pratt & Whitney Wasp, Jr., engines with Hamilton Standard constant speed propellers powered the D18S. It was the premier executive transport among businessmen and it was also used by the new local service airlines that emerged after the end of World War II. In December, 1953, the prototype of the Super 18, the last version of the Beech 18, made its first flight. The last three production aircraft were delivered in November 1969. More than 9,000 Model 18s were produced. There are now few commercial operators left anywhere flying the Beech 18 and certainly only a handful still operating the “Twin Beech” on floats. Nestor Falls and Ear Falls in Ontario are two of the few places left where you can still enjoy the distinctive sight and sounds of the venerable Beech 18 floatplanes in regular operation. C-FTBX Beech-18 C-FTBX has been pulled out of the water a long time ago and is seen here on her EDO 7850 floats in Kuby’s storage yard. This 1949 built Beech 18 is still operational according Mr. Kuby Jr. but her chances of it returning to bush plane service is flickering like a dying ember. ‘Bravo-Xray’ is advertised for sale for CAD 150.000,- and it has an airframe TTSN of only 8368 hours. C-GEHX Unfortunately out of service and resting on her EDO 7850 floats is Beech 18 C-GEHX. Beside the missing engine the plane still looks good. This was one of 1,035 model D18S produced after WW II. The RCAF bought 280 of them designated as Expeditor Mk.3. C-GEHX was delivered to the RCAF as a Mk.3NM in 1952 and was struck off charge in 1970. It was subsequently sold to a Canadian bush plane operator and registered C-GEHX. During her civil career she changed hands many times. The final sale was registered in 2006 to Kenora Air Service. This beech is advertised for sale by Henri Lauriault for CAD 199.900,- and it has an airframe TTSN of 12,488 hours. In 2019 the Beech was owned by Todd Longheed who had restored her to flying condition! C-FBCC Beechcraft 18-wreck! ‘Northern Spirit’ C-FBCC still with Wildcountry titles was at Kuby's Aircraft storage yard. Starting as the 3rd Expeditor acquired by the RCAF in 1951, ‘Charlie-Charlie’ was once owned by the Province of BC and used in mapping surveys of the province. C-FKEL This 1960 Beech model G18S was operated by Wildcountry Airways and registered C-FKEL C-FWYR Two derelict Beech 18's awaiting their fate at Kuby's yard. The Pipestone Air Inc. Beech 18 (C-FWYR) was on a VFR flight to Prospect Bay on Rainy Lake, about 7 miles east of Fort Frances Municipal Airport. On approach for landing, the aircraft hit power lines and crashed into the water. The pilot escaped with minor injuries. The aircraft was submerged in eight feet of water. CF-OII Beech 18, CF-OII, of Newfoundland Air Transport Ltd was bought from Laurentian Airways in 1963. During these days it was used extensively on charters for the mining industry and the executives preferred to fly in twin engine aircraft for safety. Aside from that work (flying people between the mine site and Gander, plus flying their customers and executives between the mine and their remote fishing lodge), ‘India-India’ was also used for transporting tourists to various hunting camps. It had a huge cargo door, so this facilitated moving construction materials, fuel drums, plywood, etc. It would carry six passengers and luggage, somewhat more than the Beaver but not as much as the Otter. However it was much faster, so a lot of work could be done in a day. With differential throttles, it was very maneuverable on the water. Newfoundland Air Transport finally sold the Beech 18 to a tourist operator in Red Lake, Ontario in 1972. CF-OII spent its final days with Ignace Airways in Northwestern Ontario and ended up in Kuby’s scrap yard, where it is being slowly overtaken by the vegetation. |
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Kuby’s Aircraft Ltd.
C-GOTD Skywagon C-GOTD is owned by Kenora Air Services. This 185F was constructed in 1974. CF-GTP The Norseman frame on wheels in Kuby’s scrap yard is CF-GTP. This Norseman has been delivered to the US military in 1944. After the war she did operate for several bush plane operators. It is reported that this Norseman has crashed while in service with Sioux Narrows Airways. The fuselage has been at Kuby’s Aircraft Service facility since 1992. C-FGYY Noorduyn Norseman, C-FGYY played a starring role in the movie The Snow Walker. The film is about a Canadian bush pilot whose life is changed through an encounter with a young Inuit woman and their challenge to survive the harsh conditions of the Northwest Territories following an airplane crash. This Norseman was delivered to the US military in 1944. After the war she was sold to a private company and registered as CF-GYY in 1951. In the following years she served many Canadian bush plane operators. On June 25, 1985 the floats buckled on take off at Bishop Lake, Ontario in high winds and the aircraft overturned. Finally the damaged airframe appeared at Kuby’s Aircraft Repair facility in 1992, where she remains since. 
Jim Charlton let me know in November 2017 that Norseman C-FGYY is no longer wasting away at Kuby's Aircraft Repair. It has been moved to the Montréal Aviation Museum where a restoration to static display has begun.
Jim many thanks for the update. C-FWMM
Build in 1973, Cessna 185K C-FWMM is undergoing reconditioning at Kuby’s maintenance. Facilities such as Kuby’s continue to keep the Bush planes flying strong. 
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C-FWMM is powered by a Continental IO-520-D flat engine
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Moored next to Kuby’s was this Stinson 108-3Voyager CF-QWM. The Stinson 108 was a popular general aviation aircraft produced by the Stinson division of the American airplane company Consolidated Vultee. Stinson was bought byPiper Aircraft in 1949. All Stinson model 108, 108-1, 108-2, 108-3 and 108-4 aircraft were built by Stinson at Wayne, Michigan. When Stinson sold the type certificate to Piper in 1949, approximately 325 airplanes of the 5,260 model 108s built by Stinson were complete but unsold. These 325 model 108s went to Piper as part of the sale. Piper then sold that inventory as the Piper-Stinson over the next few years. The fuselage was of fabric-covered steel tube. Aftermarket modifiers have obtained supplemental type certificates (STC) allowing conversion to an aluminum covering, like CF-QWM. Many different engines have been installed in the 108 by STC such as the Lycoming O-360,Franklin 220/220, Continental O-470. Total new production of the Stinson Model 108, by Stinson, was 5,260
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