Old Airplanes

When did bush flying really take off? Likely around, and after, WW2. The really sturdy bushplanes were war-surplus workhorses like Montreal's Noordyn Norseman, built to the rugged army standards of the day. Canada built them by the hundreds, and Americans bought them as fast as Canada could build them. New bush planes, of course, are no longer being made, but many are still in service 75 or more years later.

Here's a short film from 1980, featuring Northway Aviation and their WW2 vintage Noordyn Norseman. The Norseman was a serious bushplane! About the same weight as a small bulldozer, powered by a 600hp Pratt & Whitney R1340 engine, this was an airplane designed to carry freight from dawn to dusk without a lot of TLC ("Tender Loving Care"):