PlaneSpottingWorld welcomes all new members! Please gives your ideas at the Terminal.

Noorduyn Norseman

From PlaneSpottingWorld, for aviation fans everywhere
Noorduyn Norseman
Huron Air Noorduyn Norseman CF-GSR at Red Lake, Ontario, 2007
Type general aviation aircraft
Manufacturer Noorduyn Aircraft Ltd
Designed by Robert B.C. Noorduyn
Maiden flight 14 November 1935
Status 18 remain in service
Primary user Bush plane operators worldwide
Number built 904, including prototypes

The Noorduyn Norseman is a Canadian single-engine bush plane designed to operate from unimproved surfaces. Norseman aircraft are known to have been registered and/or operated in 68 countries throughout the world and also have been based and flown on the Arctic and Antarctic continents.

Design and development

Designed by Robert B.C. Noorduyn, the Noorduyn Norseman was produced from 1935 to 1959, originally by Noorduyn Aircraft Ltd. and later by the Canada Car and Foundry company.

File:Norseman.jpg
Noorduyn Norseman "CF-BSB" still operating in 2006, Edmund Lakes Lodge, Manitoba.

With the experience of working on many ground-breaking designs at Fokker, Bellanca and Pitcairn-Cierva, Noorduyn decided to create his own design in 1934, the Noorduyn Norseman. Along with colleague, Walter Clayton, Noorduyn created his original company, Noorduyn Aircraft Limited in early 1933 at Montreal while a successor company bearing the name, Noorduyn Aviation, was established in 1935.

Noorduyn's vision of a bush plane revolved around a few basic criteria: it should be an aircraft with which a Canadian operator utilizing existing talents, equipment and facilities could make money, it should be a high wing monoplane to facilitate loading and unloading of passengers and cargo at seaplane docks and airports and, finally, it should be an all-around superior aircraft to those in use in Canada. From the outset, Noorduyn designed the transport to have interchangeable wheel, ski or twin-float landing gear. Unlike most aircraft designs, the Norseman was first fitted with floats, then skis and, finally, fixed landing gear.

The final design layout looked much like Noorduyn's earlier Fokker designs, it was a high-wing braced monoplane with an all-welded steel tubing fuselage structure and wood stringers applied to it for the attachment of a fabric skin. The Norseman's wing had an all wood construction and was fabric covered, except for the flaps and ailerons, which were made of welded steel tubing. It had a divided type landing gear fitted to fuselage stubs, the legs were secured with two bolts each to allow the alternate arrangement of floats or skis. The tail wheel strut could be fitted with a wheel or tail skid.

Operational history

File:Norseman Kenai River.jpg
"Spirit of the Kenai", landing on the Kenai River, in Alaska, August 2003.

The first Norseman, powered by a Wright R-975-E3 Whirlwind, was flight tested on floats 14 November 1935 and was sold and delivered to Dominion Skyways Ltd. on 18 January 1936, registered as "CF-AYO" and named “Arcturus." In summer 1941, Warner Brothers leased CF-AYO for the filming of "Captains of the Clouds" starring James Cagney. Principal aerial photography took place near North Bay, Ontario with CF-AYO carrying temporary registration "CF-HGO."

Almost immediately, the Norseman proved itself to be a rugged reliable workhorse with steady sales. The first aircraft, CF-AYO, was designated the Norseman Mk I. The next aircraft, "CF-BAU," having some minor changes required after the certification tests, and a new Pratt & Whitney R-1340 Wasp SC-1 engine up-rated from 420 to 450 hp, was designated Norseman Mk II while the next three aircraft were Norseman Mk IIIs: "CF-AZA" going to MacKenzie Air Service, Edmonton, Alberta, "CF-AZE" to Prospector Airways, Clarkson, Ontario and "CF-AZS" to Starrat Airways, Hudson, Ontario. "CF-BAU" would be modified on 26 June 1937 to became the prototype Norseman Mk IV, powered by a Pratt & Whitney Wasp S3H-1. The Mk IV became the "definitive" model but the production run may have ended at a few hundred examples if not for the advent of the Second World War.

Second World War

File:Noorduyn C-64 Norseman orange vl.jpg
Noorduyn C-64 Norseman, Flygvapenmuseum (The Official Museum of the Swedish Air Force)

Until 1940, the Noorduyn company had only sold 17 aircraft in total, primarily to commercial operators in Canada's north and to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. With the outbreak of war in Europe, demand for a utility transport led to major military orders. The Royal Canadian Air Force and the United States Army Air Force became the two largest operators; the RCAF ordered 38 Norseman Mk IVWs for radio and navigational training for the Commonwealth Air Training Plan.

USAAF Colonel Bernt Balchen had been involved in establishing a staging route across Greenland to facilitate the ferrying of aircraft from North America to Europe. He required a bush plane rugged enough to survive in the harsh conditions of the Arctic. After evaluating six Norsemans diverted from a previous RCAF order, late in 1941, he recommended the purchase of the Norseman Mk IV specially modified to USAAF requirements as the YC-64A. After the US entry into the Second World War, the USAAF placed the first of several orders for a production version C-64A Norseman. The principal differences involved fitting two fuselage belly tanks bringing the standard fuel capacity to 201 Imp. gal (914 l); an additional cabin fuel tank of 32 Imp. gal (145 l) could also be installed. These changes resulted in an increase of 950 lb (431 kg) in the loaded weight of the standard Mk IV. Deliveries began in mid-1942, with the American military eventually placing orders for 749 Norseman Mk IVs as the C-64A (later UC-64A).

Throughout the Second World War, the USAAF Norseman aircraft were used in North America (primarily Alaska) as well as other in theaters of war, including Europe. Three UC-64As were used by the US Navy under the designation JA-1. Six C-64B floatplanes were used by the US Army Corps of Engineers, as well as by other Allied air forces, who placed orders for 43 Norseman Mk IVs. The RCAF ordered an additional 34 aircraft as Norseman Mk VI. Noorduyn was the sole manufacturer, but when the USAAF considered ordering a larger number of C-64As, license production of 600 by Aeronca Aircraft Corp. (Middletown, Ohio) was contemplated before the contract was cancelled in 1943.

It was a Norseman that Glenn Miller was flying in as a passenger when he disappeared on December 15, 1944.

Postwar

File:Norseman-museum.jpg
Noorduyn Norseman "CF-HBY,"
Alberta Aviation Museum, Edmonton, Alberta

In postwar production, the Canada Car and Foundry in Fort William, Ontario acquired rights to the Norseman design, producing a version known as the Norseman Mk V, a civilian version of the wartime Mk IV. In order to exploit the market further, the "Can Car" factory designed and built the Norseman Mk VII. This version had a bigger engine, a new all-metal wing and greater cargo capacity but was fated never to go into production. With large Korean War commitments at that time, the company put it into temporary storage where it was destroyed in a hangar fire in September 1951.

In 1953, Noorduyn headed a group of investors who bought back the jigs and equipment from Canada Car and Foundry and started a new company called Noorduyn Norseman Aircraft Ltd. Bob Noorduyn became ill and died at his home in South Burlington, Vermont on 22 February 1959 but the company he had created, provided support for operating Norseman aircraft and even built three new Mk Vs before selling its assets in 1982 to Norco Associates. Norco provided support services only, as the manufacture of a new Norseman aircraft, being labor intensive, was very expensive.

The last Noorduyn Norseman to be built was sold and delivered to a commercial customer on 19 January 1959. A total of 903 Norseman aircraft (Mk I - Mk V) were produced and delivered to various commercial and military customers. It is estimated that approximately 18 Norseman aircraft are currently still in use.

Some of the defining moments of the Norseman story relates to tragedies. Glenn Miller was flying in a Norseman when he disappeared somewhere over the English Channel during the Second World War. The Canadian Second World War "ace-of-aces" George Beurling also died in a Norseman while landing at Urbe Airport in Rome, Italy, in 1948.

Norseman aircraft have appeared in the films Grey Owl (1999) and the Snow Walker (2003).

In recognition of the Norseman's role in serving the remote villages of northern Canada, the town of Red Lake, Ontario, a jumping-off point for remote communities in Northwestern Ontario, promotes itself as The Norseman Capital of the World. Each summer in July, the "Norseman Floatplane Festival" brings Norseman aircraft to Red Lake as the centrepiece of a community based weekend festival ranging from stage entertainment, children's games and rides, contests, cultural and historical displays and street vendors with craft and specialty booths.

Military Operators

Technical data

Norseman Mark V
General Specifications
Length (wheels) Template:Convert
Height Template:Convert
Cabin Length Template:Convert
Cabin Width 4.21 ft (max)
Cabin Height 4.46 ft (max)
Seats Up to 10
Wingspan Template:Convert
Wing Area Template:Convert
Wing Loading 22.8 lb/sq ft
Standard Empty Weight 4,240 lb
Max Takeoff Weight (wheels) 7,400 lb
Max Takeoff Weight (floats) 7,540 lb
Average Useful Load 3,160 lb
Payload with Full Fuel 1,825 lb
Fuel Capacity, Standard 242 gal / 1452 lb
Oil Capacity 23 gal / 172.5 lb
Powerplant
Type Radial piston engine
Make & Model Pratt & Whitney R-1340-AN1
Power Developed 600 hp @ 2250 rpm
Power Loading 12.3 lb/hp
Propeller
Type Constant-speed, 3 blade
Make Hamilton Standard
Diameter 108.75 inches
Performance
Takeoff Distance Over 50' Obstacle Template:Convert
Rate of Climb, Sea Level 591 fpm
Max Cruise Speed (10,000 ft) 130 KTAS
Range, max (10,000 ft) 810 nm
Service Ceiling Template:Convert
Landing Distance over 50' obstacle (no reverse) Template:Convert
Speeds Knots Indicated Airspeed (KIAS)
Best rate of climb (Vy) Template:Convert
Maximum - Flaps extended (Vfe) Template:Convert
Maximum - operating (Vmo) Template:Convert/141 mph (wheels), 138 mph (skis), 134 mph (floats)
Stall, clean (Vs1) Template:Convert
Stall, landing configuration (Vso) Template:Convert
Norseman Mark V and VI Dimensions
General
Span (incl Navigation Lights) 51 ft 8 inches
Length (overall) 32 ft 4 inches
Height 13 ft 9 inches
Height (tail wheel on ground) 10 ft 1 inch
Fuselage Including stubs, unless otherwise noted
Width (max without stubs) 53 inches
Width (max with stubs) 99 inches
Height (max without radio mast) 90 inches
Height (max with radio mast) 108.5 inches
Length (without engine mount) 307 inches
Length (with engine mount) 321 inches
Wings
Airfoil Section at root NACA 2412
Airfoil Section at tip NACA 2412
Chord at root 87 inches
Chord near tip 87 inches
Angle of Incidence +3°
Dihedral (measured along front spar) 2.5°
Sweepback Angle
Wing Area (less ailerons) 296.3 sq ft
Aileron Area (total) 28.70 sq ft
Flap Area (total) 30.80 sq ft
Tail
Horizontal Stabilizer Span 13 ft 10 7/8 inches
Horizontal Stabilizer Chord 2 ft 3 5/8 inches
Horizontal Stabilizer Area (including elevators) 60.06 sq ft
Elevator Area (including trim tabs) 31.56 sq ft
Elevator Trim Tabs Area (total) 1.39 sq ft
Vertical Stabilizer Area 14.68 sq ft
Rudder Area (including trim tab) 19.04 sq ft
Rudder Trim Tab Area 0.125 sq ft

References

Notes
Bibliography
  • Grant, Robert S. Noorduyn Norseman: Red Lake, Ontario, Canada, Norseman Capital of the World. Red Lake, Ontario: Norseman Floatplane Festival, 2007. (booklet)
  • Milberry, Larry. Aviation in Canada. Toronto: McGraw-Hill Ryerson, 1979. ISBN 0-07-082778-8.
  • Munson, Kenneth. Bombers, Patrol and Transport Aircraft 1939-1945. London: Blandford Press, 1969. ISBN 0-7537-0919-8.
  • Mathisrud, Nils. Norwegian Wings #1: Noorduyn Norseman Mk. IV & Mk. VI. Oslo: FlyGloster Publishing 2007. ISBN 978-82-92822-00-5.

External links

Template:USAF transports Template:USN utility aircraft Template:Swedish military aircraft

cs:Noorduyn C-64 de:Noorduyn C-64 no:Noorduyn Norseman


This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.
It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Noorduyn Norseman".