This week's prompt shows Gladys & Charlie (?) taking a rest during a (dusty?) motorcycle trip. Somehow, the picture reminds me of Bonny & Clyde. But that may be my unbridled imagination. Apart from the people, the other element in this picture is 'transport' (or 'transportation' if you like). As a former airline employee, transportation played a significant role in my life, particularly since my activities primarily involved the forwarding of cargo. However, during many (mostly service) trips, I acted as a passenger as well. I flew on many different aircraft types, the oldest being the Lockheed Electra II (KLM), the Caravelle (AF), and the Vickers Vanguard (AC). Altogether, I spent close to 500,000 miles in the air. Some of these aircraft trigger special memories. One of those is the de Havilland Canada DHC-2 Beaver. What makes this aircraft special is that it is a float plane.
Two of our friends/colleagues were living in Belleville, ON, Canada. And in the fall of 2000, they invited us to visit them in Canada. So early October, my wife and I flew (on jump seats!) to Toronto and from there by car to Belleville, some 200 kilometres to the east. One of the (many) things they organised for us was a sightseeing flight over the St Lawrence and its many islands. It was going to be our first trip on a float plane, and I was looking forward to the experience! So we drove to Gananoque to meet with one Mr. Thomas Blackwell, President & CEO of 1000 Island Air. A little later, he also appeared to be the ticket clerk, the pilot, and the janitor of the airline.
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Home base of 1000 Island Air
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F.r.t.l. our friends the Haitsma's and we, before embarking
the DHC-2 Beaver with registration C-GBZH |
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| Another 1000 Island Air Beaver (C-GEDL) is taking off |
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The 1000 Island Air Met-office
Weather conditions on Oct. 5, 2000 |
It was reassuring that our pilot added that the air was
mostly smooth. And indeed, we hardly experienced any air pockets. The flight was very nice, and we had some beautiful views of the many islands, including splendid mansions built there. We also saw a couple of bridges. They served very well to identify afterwards where we had been.
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| The Canadian Thousand Islands Bridge - ON-137 |
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| The Thousand Islands Bridge on the US side - I-81 |
All in all, it was a very pleasant flight. In particular, taking off is quite an experience. I am used to take-offs from smooth, concrete surfaces, usually with speeds of close to 300 kilometres/hour. However, a float plane such as this one takes ages, it seems, before being airborne. And that is because the "ground speed" is far less than half that of conventional aircraft. Additionally, the surface is not as smooth as on a concrete runway.
After having made several other trips, a.o. to Algonquin Park, we returned to Amsterdam on October 8. The KLM B747-300 delivered us safe and sound at Schiphol Airport.
The end
Although I intended this post to end here, I was curious whether 1000 Island Air still existed. But the company seems to have disappeared, in thin air, so to speak. However, I did find something else, viz. the demise of my favorite aircraft. It appears that the de Havilland C-GBZH, the very same one we flew on, crashed in June last year.
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| The C-GBZH literally in Red Lake, ON, Canada, on June 16, 2024* |
The
crash report** reads:
"A float-equipped
DHC-2 aircraft operated by Canadian Fly-in Fishing (Red Lake) Ltd. was
departing the Chukuni River, ON, on a VFR flight to Thicketwood Lake, ON, with
the pilot and four passengers.
The aircraft accelerated and lifted off as planned about halfway down the
waterway (approximately 2500 feet downriver). As the aircraft gained airspeed
to 80 mph, the pilot initiated a climb.
Once the climb was established at approximately 100 feet above water, the pilot
reduced the engine power to 30 inches of manifold pressure at 2000 rpm. Along
with this power change, the wing flaps were raised from the TAKEOFF position to
the CLIMB position.
Shortly thereafter, the pilot noticed the aircraft descending, accompanied by a
decrease in airspeed to 60 mph. The pilot pushed forward on the control wheel
and simultaneously added full power in an attempt to regain airspeed.
The aircraft’s airspeed did not increase, and the pilot made a turn to the
right, into the wind. At a height of approximately 80 feet above the water, the
aircraft entered an aerodynamic stall, with a roll to the right. Aircraft control was lost and, at 0655, the aircraft collided with the
shoreline in a nose-down, banked attitude. The aircraft came to rest on its left side, partially submerged in
approximately 1.5 m of water, 5000 feet from the start of the take-off run."
At the time of the crash, there were five people on board, including the pilot. Unfortunately, one passenger did not survive the crash. The aircraft was built in 1963 and accumulated a total of 13,590.4 hours. Although the aircraft may seem old (61 years), it was properly maintained. Its age did not contribute to the cause of this crash. However, the maximum gross take-off weight was likely exceeded due to one passenger being significantly heavier than the average weight of the group to be carried that morning in June 2024. The group counted eight persons divided over two aircraft, with the overweight passenger being seated in the crashed aircraft. The loadsheet was calculated based on the average passenger weight...
Statisticians here say: the road to hell is paved with averages. And statisticians are always right, they say.
** Transportation Safety Board of Canada, Air Transportation Safety Investigation Report A24C0057 (released 05 June 2025).
