They're actually a cool looking plane from a quartering rear view. Still remember a bunch of them taking off from Crystal (Minneapolis) one morning in the early 1980's.

Yeah, 94U definitely had the old brush coat... as well as a bunch of kid's handprints on both sides when I flew her. I'm not sure how many of the Yute birds the new Yute Commuter Service (Renfro) operation absorbed. I know Ravn got a several of them, at least one is with Penobscot Island Air in Maine, and a few of them sit derelict. (Although we all know, there are few enough 207 airframes out there that they won't go that way for long!)

As for looking cool - believe me, ugly though they may be in some eyes, when you're *ahem* hypothetically in tight formation, it's a pretty cool looking bird. And spinning at 2850 rpm, it gives a great buzz...

It funny where Old Sleds, and Old Sled Drivers, end up!!!!!

Glad a few folk still have a special spot in the heart for them.

Gump

Crystal Shamrock, MSP, finished up my lic there 1969
. Saw a C185 on amphibious floats an thought oh my what would it be like to fly one of those...... Had no idea what was in my future

If you haven't flown a heavy sled over the tundra you are truly missing out. One of the great aviation experiences left out there.

This is a great thread. Making a living with a C207 is a dream of mine. Too bad I wouldn't survive a single day in the arctic winter.

whee wrote:This is a great thread. Making a living with a C207 is a dream of mine. Too bad I wouldn't survive a single day in the arctic winter.

By far the best time of year to fly in the Arctic!

Thick, cold air. Northern Lights. Alpenglows lasting for hours.

Once you learn you can't fight the cold, and instead slow down and live with it, life becomes good and you enjoy it.

Gump

whee wrote:This is a great thread. Making a living with a C207 is a dream of mine. Too bad I wouldn't survive a single day in the arctic winter.

I don't know a thing about the C207 but I do know a thing or two about being outside in an Arctic Winter. You can freeze to death in Florida if you're not dressed for it. I did love it so; as long as the pickup truck was running with the heat on and only 20 feet away.

"If you haven't flown a heavy sled over the tundra you are truly missing out. One of the great aviation experiences left out there"


Sled flying............Asked for 62 cases of beer for flight to Bettles from Fairbanks. Took off seemed sluggish used lots runway. turned north towards Bettles....Hmmm could not get over hills and needed 10 degs flaps to stay in the air. Went west around hills at Nenana and headed north. Got to Bettles unloaded 82 cases of beer.
Was not fun flying heavy sled over tundra

Sled flying............Asked for 62 cases of beer for flight to Bettles from Fairbanks. Took off seemed sluggish used lots runway. turned north towards Bettles....Hmmm could not get over hills and needed 10 degs flaps to stay in the air. Went west around hills at Nenana and headed north. Got to Bettles unloaded 82 cases of beer.
Was not fun flying heavy sled over tundra

whee wrote:This is a great thread. Making a living with a C207 is a dream of mine. Too bad I wouldn't survive a single day in the arctic winter.

Old Norwegian saying..."There's no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothing."

I can remember one September day when a new guy from Galveston, TX asked me if it was going to get much colder than it was that day, about 20 degrees ABOVE. He wasn't kidding. I told him at the end of the shift head to Anchorage and buy bunny boots and Carhartt arctic extreme bibs and coat or you will surely die. He did and survived, and was very grateful.

I KNOW A STORY OF a pilot who had a sled that all the heat ducts were smashed or full of dirt. It'd been -20F or colder for a week straight and said pilot was freezing their a__ off. Finally had enough on one leg and grabbed the scat tube heading to the heat divider and pulled it off, shoving the hose straight into their crotch which began to unfreeze said frozen bum from the seat. The passenger next to them was wide eyed as to what was going on until the beautiful heat straight off the muffler shroud was shared with them.

akaviator wrote:

whee wrote:This is a great thread. Making a living with a C207 is a dream of mine. Too bad I wouldn't survive a single day in the arctic winter.

Old Norwegian saying..."There's no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothing."

I can remember one September day when a new guy from Galveston, TX asked me if it was going to get much colder than it was that day, about 20 degrees ABOVE. He wasn't kidding. I told him at the end of the shift head to Anchorage and buy bunny boots and Carhartt arctic extreme bibs and coat or you will surely die. He did and survived, and was very grateful.

I KNOW A STORY OF a pilot who had a sled that all the heat ducts were smashed or full of dirt. It'd been -20F or colder for a week straight and said pilot was freezing their a__ off. Finally had enough on one leg and grabbed the scat tube heading to the heat divider and pulled it off, shoving the hose straight into their crotch which began to unfreeze said frozen bum from the seat. The passenger next to them was wide eyed as to what was going on until the beautiful heat straight off the muffler shroud was shared with them.

One of the Hageland sleds I flew was an early production model - airspeed indicator in MPH, interior door handle behind your left shoulder (who ever thought that was a good idea?) - and had been rebuilt without the floor mounted heat vent. Virtually all the heat was delivered through the under-panel ducts, so it was great for the pilot and whomever sat next to him. But it was mighty cold if you were sitting in back next to the door!

When I flew for Ryan Air (all cargo) we would cover up the floor mounted vent with the POH and stuff the engine blanket in the space between the top of the load and the ceiling. That did an effective job of containing the heat up around the pilot. Of course, once you unloaded in the village you were left with an entirely empty plane and no way to keep the heat up front, so the flight back home was guaranteed to be cold.

PA12_Pilot wrote:

akaviator wrote:

whee wrote:This is a great thread. Making a living with a C207 is a dream of mine. Too bad I wouldn't survive a single day in the arctic winter.

Old Norwegian saying..."There's no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothing."

I can remember one September day when a new guy from Galveston, TX asked me if it was going to get much colder than it was that day, about 20 degrees ABOVE. He wasn't kidding. I told him at the end of the shift head to Anchorage and buy bunny boots and Carhartt arctic extreme bibs and coat or you will surely die. He did and survived, and was very grateful.

I KNOW A STORY OF a pilot who had a sled that all the heat ducts were smashed or full of dirt. It'd been -20F or colder for a week straight and said pilot was freezing their a__ off. Finally had enough on one leg and grabbed the scat tube heading to the heat divider and pulled it off, shoving the hose straight into their crotch which began to unfreeze said frozen bum from the seat. The passenger next to them was wide eyed as to what was going on until the beautiful heat straight off the muffler shroud was shared with them.

One of the Hageland sleds I flew was an early production model - airspeed indicator in MPH, interior door handle behind your left shoulder (who ever thought that was a good idea?) - and had been rebuilt without the floor mounted heat vent. Virtually all the heat was delivered through the under-panel ducts, so it was great for the pilot and whomever sat next to him. But it was mighty cold if you were sitting in back next to the door!

When I flew for Ryan Air (all cargo) we would cover up the floor mounted vent with the POH and stuff the engine blanket in the space between the top of the load and the ceiling. That did an effective job of containing the heat up around the pilot. Of course, once you unloaded in the village you were left with an entirely empty plane and no way to keep the heat up front, so the flight back home was guaranteed to be cold.

Heck yeah, a big load of bypass was always "warmer" than passengers! LOL

For a little while, we had a second heater cuff on the second exhaust pipe, and life was very good... then the Feds decided that the STC wasn't good, and we lost them... (overnight, I might add.) I went back to carrying chemical heater pads in my pockets. Of course, since we had metal yokes, you didn't really want to hold the yoke bare-handed, as you'd stick to them... All that said, *ahem* max gross always felt better during the winter than it did on a hot, sticky afternoon during berry season!

This was one of my favorite threads.....
Amazing stories and experience shared with us all living here in the lower 48..... kicking around in the desert, sagebrush, rocky hillsides and playas. Playing on the ice when conditions are right.

Happen to see on Aircraft Shopper a whole pack of C-207's up for sale.... Looks like someone is selling out, or went out and got a fleet of something new?

Some of these flying machines are at 35K - 36K hours time in service.... that is also amazing!

https://www.aso.com/listings/AircraftLi ... mported%29

Enjoy this thread again....

NVFlyer.... Dave

NVflyer wrote:This was one of my favorite threads.....
Amazing stories and experience shared with us all living here in the lower 48..... kicking around in the desert, sagebrush, rocky hillsides and playas. Playing on the ice when conditions are right.

Happen to see on Aircraft Shopper a whole pack of C-207's up for sale.... Looks like someone is selling out, or went out and got a fleet of something new?

Some of these flying machines are at 35K - 36K hours time in service.... that is also amazing!

https://www.aso.com/listings/AircraftLi ... mported%29

Enjoy this thread again....

NVFlyer.... Dave

Most of the 207's for sale on that site are also posted in this thread previously - pretty cool.

Yeah, they're from the Yute fleet.

Lotta memories up for sale there.

Gump

I’m curious; how much life is left in those 35k hours airframes?

whee wrote:I’m curious; how much life is left in those 35k hours airframes?

Out of the bunch listed for sale, 94U was by far my favorite.

If my old mechanic from Kotz said she was good to go, that is one airplane I'd fly to Hell knowing that no matter what she'd get me home.

Gump

GumpAir wrote:

whee wrote:I’m curious; how much life is left in those 35k hours airframes?

Out of the bunch listed for sale, 94U was by far my favorite.

If my old mechanic from Kotz said she was good to go, that is one airplane I'd fly to Hell knowing that no matter what she'd get me home.

Gump

It definitely has a Bethel paint job..