Low&Slow wrote: .............. Not on the list, but are prevelant back here are Brittan Normen Islanders. There are 5 running around the Frank Chruch Wilderness area. They'll haul a load and can get in and out of most strips a 206 can. We'd like to buy another Islander, anybody know of one for sale? .......... JOhn

Islanders,huh? I've seen a few around, they sure don't look like what you'd picture as a back country airplane but then the proof is in the pudding I guess. Along that line (sort of) is the new Angel STOL twin, with pusher-mounted engines. Don't know a thing about those.

Eric

zero.one.victor wrote:

Low&Slow wrote: .............. Not on the list, but are prevelant back here are Brittan Normen Islanders. There are 5 running around the Frank Chruch Wilderness area. They'll haul a load and can get in and out of most strips a 206 can. We'd like to buy another Islander, anybody know of one for sale? .......... JOhn

Islanders,huh? I've seen a few around, they sure don't look like what you'd picture as a back country airplane but then the proof is in the pudding I guess. Along that line (sort of) is the new Angel STOL twin, with pusher-mounted engines. Don't know a thing about those.

Eric

Like the C207, the Islander is the best bang for the buck for remote Part 135 Ops. Vmc below stall speed, big doors, and knee-high flat floor to keep loading/unloading simple and from breaking your back at the end of the day... Except for the funny little yoke, and no armrest, it's a joy to fly. Hell with the Navajos, my motto was always, "the slower I go, the more I get paid."

Islander is a great airplane also because of how LONG the cabin is. Man, you can stick some really long stuff in there, and they have a great CG range.

I think maybe Beavers are getting bought up by the recreational folks as very expensive toys. They are dog slow, for sure, but the modified ones can carry a ton at a time (literally), they're supercharged, and really pretty easy to fly IF you get a good checkout from a deHavilland experienced pilot.

Get em slow and low on final and they'll eat your lunch, though, but that is called learning to fly the airplane.

Interesting there are none. They are also a pretty gentle taildragger.

MTV

When did the Found go out of production? What was the sticker price? The bird was not attractive as a tail dragger, I can't imagine it with a nose gear!

Idaho SuperCub

There is a Tri Islander operated locally as a Part 135 freighter, it hauls (I believe) UPS packages back and forth from Seattle to Port Angeles . It's been flying that route just about daily for at least 12 years that I know of. I never heard of or saw a (non-Tri) Islander until about 5 years ago. Thought it was a Twin Commander at first glance,til I noticed the fixed gear.

Eric

Idaho SuperCub wrote:When did the Found go out of production? What was the sticker price? The bird was not attractive as a tail dragger, I can't imagine it with a nose gear!

Idaho SuperCub

I don't think they are out of production, since we have one currently on order.

once and futr,

There is no more Found Bush Hawk. THey have reorganized the company as Expedition AIrcraft. Here's a link to Avweb: http://www.avweb.com/podcast/podcast/194637-1.html

Note that Cessna tested the turbo version of that engine for the 206H and it grenaded frequently, so they dropped back to the 540 for uniformity's sake.

Nevertheless, a few of the aerobatic aircraft are using the engine now. Course they major the engine every season, or 200 hours.

These guys are claiming they'll have a new engine installation, some other substantial changes, AND a tri gear version certified by OSH. That would be NEXT month. We'll see.

I repeat, if you are buying a Bush Hawk, it is an out of production airplane. Doesn't mean they haven't found one around that nobody could sell.

They seem to think they can take part of the 206 market, but if looks mean anything when you're spending a half million bucks......

MTV

While having my 185 annualed a month ago in Renton, WA, there was a new Found Bushhawk on new Aerocet amphibs sitting at my shop. The owner has been taking the plane around to several shops trying to find out what was wrong with it. Seems that the performance was very bad and he thought the engine was not producing rated power. I was told that it was established that the engine was putting out rated horsepower and that the final opinion was the plane is a dog. Beautiful airplane, unfortunate if this was true. Ford

zero.one.victor wrote:There is a Tri Islander operated locally as a Part 135 freighter, it hauls (I believe) UPS packages back and forth from Seattle to Port Angeles . It's been flying that route just about daily for at least 12 years that I know of. I never heard of or saw a (non-Tri) Islander until about 5 years ago. Thought it was a Twin Commander at first glance,til I noticed the fixed gear.

Eric

Eric -

We brought the Trilander over here last weekend to do some operational testing, we're looking at buying it. It's a pretty big airplane for backcountry ops, max gross weight is 10,000lbs, and it's long!! Turning it around might be the trickiest bit. IMO, it's better suited for what it was doing, hauling freight at sea level. We'll see.

I was walking across the ramp last summer and overheard some jet pilot expertly telling his copilot that the islander we were cramming full of river freight was a "fixed gear, piston commander." I wish we had a commander.

I'll take a 206 any day. A half a million for an odd bird? What about parts?
What FBO would operate it when for the price you can have two 206s? The open pilot policy alone would be quite expensive. Might as well buy an aircraft that will appreciate, a fine restored Beaver!

Idaho SuperCub

Hard to beat a good 206, bar none. Beaver too.

MTV [/i]

OK, I am one of the recreational guys restoring a Beaver. I looked and looked for a nice one, but those prices were so clsoe to what I thought it could be rebuilt for. Of course, like anything takes longer and costs more than you anticipate. I didn't need this much plane, but on floats it is just so sweet and felt and looked right, and is comfortable but very slow and thirsty.

Having watched the beaver market the last several years, there are a lot of rebuilds going on for similar situations. And the prices on rebuildable fuselages/wings have really gone up in price.

But you can buy a working plane at a pretty reasonable price. And that might be the way to go. Without the fancy avionics, etc.

Just be mindful you have a 48' wingspan to worry about.

Low&Slow wrote: ....
We brought the Trilander over here last weekend to do some operational testing, we're looking at buying it. It's a pretty big airplane for backcountry ops, max gross weight is 10,000lbs, and it's long!! ....

A friend of mine usd to live right under the TriIslander's daily flight path, he called it the "flying pencil" due to it's unique profile as seen from below.
So what's Jay gonna use for freighting if you guys buy the Tri? Or is he shutting down op's?

Eric

Jay bought himself a shiny new caravan, I think he's very pleased with it.

I didn't realize a Beaver had that big of a wingspan. Our islanders are 48' and turning them around can sometimes be tough. A castoring nose wheel helps, as would (I'd imagine) a tail wheel.

John

A caravan, eh? I'll have to keep an eye out for it. Kenmore Express has lots of caravans running in and out of Pt Angeles nowadays so it might be hard to pick out of the crowd.
That TriIslander seemed to work just fine for many years on the Seattle-P.A. route, hope it goes just as well with that caravan. At what, $2+ mil a pop for a new one?, gotta haul a lot of freight to afford the payments.

Eric