Photos © Dirk Septer
Photos © Dirk Septer
| Dirk Septer shares my interest in vintage aircraft and aviation history. His focus includes the large multi propellor aircraft as well as the undefeatable bushplanes. Various visits by him to the exotic Caribbean, resulted in a first page. But this page has propliners closer to home - but not in all instants easy to get to. Dirk added: "I have been travelling the Arctic for almost 20 years for at least one trip, sometimes two, a year. Always pick a different final destination, but always travelling through the hubs of Yellowknife and/or Rankin Inlet/Iqaluit. I do it the hard/cheap way: two days on the bus Campbell River-Hay River and again two days back from there. On the 2009 trip, for example, I camped out 10 nights in 7 different locations. Tiresome, but the bottom line is that it's cheap. Over the years, I've developed a network of friends and contacts where I can get free coffee in the morning, a shower when needed or a couch when weathered/snowed out." |
 "Two photographs of DHC-2 Beaver c/n 1590: the contrast between the two could not be bigger: ZK-CMU on wheels shot in northern British Columbia (in Smithers, where I used to live for some 20 years) in the winter of 1997, and VH-OHD I shot on floats in February 2020 at the complete opposite site of the world on Tasmania, pretty well as far south as possible!. From Neil Aird's DHC-2.com (and check out the link for its many photos of c/n 1590!)¬ • N97FW Barnstormer Classic Aviation Inc., Fairfield, CT. Regd 10-Dec-1997. Canx 15-May-2015* on to Australia. • VH-OHD Registered Operator - Whitsunday Air Services, Hamilton Island, QLD. - Regd 12-May-2016. - Registration Holder: Sky Business Ltd., Hamilton Island, QLD. |
Dirk Septer shared this photo, of Shorts SC-7-3M-400 Skyvan N80GB seen at Ft. Lauderdale Int'l Airport (FLL).
 Short Skyvan N80GB of GB AirLink, by Dirk Septer (Photo 06Oct2015) Dirk shared the following additional info: "c/n SH-1888 - built in 1971 for the Argentine Navy and has been with GB Airlink since 2003; GB Airlink is a small on-demand cargo operator based at FLL operating Shorts Skyvan and Beech 18 Turboliner aircraft, one of the latter also shown but only partially unfortunately. A few notes from my (RL) database: 'N80GB GB Airlink, Ft Lauderdale,FL. Reg'd 17Jan03. Picture in Propliner magazine No.129 (Winter 2012) flying
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Dirk visited this location near Fairbanks,AK on 01Aug2018 and shared this photo with me Dirk wrote: "In the junk yard that used to belong to Cliff Everts sits a wing with an CF- registration." Dirk came up with the answer, showing me a link to the website: |
Dirk's earlier photo of N683DH is a little bit further down this page. Sadly it crashed after take off on 11Aug2018, after the air show had ended at Abbotsford - probably returning home |
| Dirk: "Some pics from Hay River, NWT (CYHY ), taken 21Jun17":
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Here a few pics taken at YBL Campbell River airport on 19Jul2017.
Two Air Spray (1967) Ltd. L.188C Electra water bombers stationed at Campbell River for the summer fire season:
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| "Here are some photographs taken at the Yellowknife, Northwest Territories airport, on 18June2017. These four aircraft were taking part in the 2017 Canadian Arctic Aviation Tour. The larger team of pilots were performing with their aircraft in 97 (!) air shows during the summer of 2017."
"Here are some pics I took on 20Jun17 of Northern Air Cargo's last remaining Douglas DC-6B It was sold in 2013 to Buffalo Airways and being stored in their Hay River's (NWT) DC-4 grave yard. Built in 1954, serial 44434, line no. 515. Among the many operators we find the Los Angeles Dodgers base ball team, which used this aircraft in 1961 under the N1R registration. Later converted to 'swing tail', no. 2."
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Dirk Septer sent me this photo, of a 27May2017 visit to Campbell River, B.C.
 deHavilland DH-89A Dragon Rapide (MK IV ) G-AHXW / N683DH (c/n 6782)
 Twin Beech C-45 N585PB (BuN.29585) of Historical Flight Foundation (HFF), also at Sealand's @Cambell River. Obviously a long term project, for Dirk has registered it here before (see further down).
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| Vancouver Island can get quite a dump of snow, as this photo by Dirk shows! Vancouver Island Air's Twin Beech C-GAIV is almost buried in snow here at Campbell River in Feb.2017. That month Campbell River received over one meter of snow in 6 days!  Beech TC-45G, c/n AF-80. C-GAIV briefly appeared in the 2002 movie 'Insomnia', starring Al Pacino.
I came across this website www.finalflightthebook.com/blog_Jan09.htm which has several screendumps and two video sequences of Insomnia's opening scene, depicting C-GAIV flying Al Pacino over an imposing glacier into 'small town Alaska':
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| Received news (Jan.2017) from Vancouver Island; Dirk Septer wrote me some big DHC-3 parts were noted of an Ethiopian AF Otter. Other stuff may be in that big blue container...
Dirk wrote (23Jan17): "Look what I found this morning during my bike ride to the Tyee Spit... The four Ethiopian Army Otters that were repatriated to Canada, many years ago, were subject to allegations and court cases. Even during the rebuild of the only one that ended up flying again: s/n 349 C-FZDV (see below photo). The Royal Canadian Mounted Police was called in. Reportedly the Otters were stored, or rather hidden, in a barn somewhere in Alberta. About 10 years ago, at least two of them were observed in a hangar at Vancouver's South terminal, and now this one has appeared in Campbell River. They appeared in fine condition, certainly candidates for rebuild! The fact that these four Otters never carried a civilian registration may add to the difficulties of having them rebuild and registered.
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| Some good news here: photographs from Campbell River, taken inside the Sealand Aviation hangar on 16Jul2016: Beech RC-45J Expeditor owned by Historic Flight Foundation, Mukilteo,WA; Bu.No. 29585 (c/n 7121), showing the markings of the Naval Air Technical Training Unit (NATTU), NAS Pensacola.
In 2014 I visited the Historical Flight Foundation, see my report HERE... It has a full report on this fine RC-45J. Dirk also sent me these images, he provided the data with them.
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| Dirk sent me these pictures in May 2016, they were taken on 29Apr2016 and represent sad news!
Dirk wrote me: "These pics I took on 29Apr2016, of VIA's C-FCSN; it has already been scrapped and dumped.
Dirk wrote a profile of the Beech Seawind here on my website: LINK, that page has the text and the article Dirk wrote for Aviation Quarterly's Spring 2002 edition on the Sea Wind conversion.
 Beech C-GVIB ex N483B c/n A-480; converted by VIA to Seawind. "In the summer of 1981, the aircraft was seized at Palm Beach,FL for illegally importing some 1,990 lbs. of marijuana. Subsequently, she was sold to Bruffey Flying Service, WV, being used for skydiving. VIA purchased and converted this 18S to single tail Westwind float plane. C-GVIB was lost (sunk and not salvaged) in April 2007, after one engine failed after take-off. This photo was taken at Tyee Spit, Summer 2006". [-Dirk Septer]
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| Dirk wrote me in Oct.2013 (images found on the bottom of my 'backlog', oops!): "Two images of Tyee Spit's new resident: C-FQND. I still love those classic DHC paint schemes; and they still look good on the turbine conversions. Am wondering whether VIA is going to fork out the money to repaint her?"
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| Dirk spotted B-25D 'Grumpy' at Sealand Aviation (Campbell River, Vancouver Island) 26Oct14. This Mitchell WWII bomber 43-3318 (registered N88972) will get a new paintjob, as an anti-corrosion measure.
This Mitchell B-25D 'Grumpy' is owned by John T. Sessions; see my Oct.2014 visit to his Historic Flight Foundation |
| March 2014: "Vancouver Island Air (VIA), till recently known for their fleet of Twin Beeches on floats, is now a totally turbine Otter operation.
Two of their three Beeches have been sitting all 'wrapped up' for a few years as well as their engine-less DHC-2 Beaver C-FWCA. Their third Twin Beech C-FGNR is being stored in their hangar, up for sale. UPDATE: 'GNR was sold and flew across the Atlantic Ocean to Belgium, where it arrived in July 2015. See an item on Photos by Friends & Guests (43). "Vancouver Island Air is Campbell River’s premier seaplane company safely serving coastal British Columbia since 1985. We operate two DeHavilland Turbo Otters. Our aircraft capacity is 1-26 passengers’ large groups can be accommodated. Our location is a 3 hour drive north from Victoria, the capital city of British Columbia, Canada. If you are visiting Campbell River for the first time or have been many times, we recommend taking an air tour with us! Your flight will take you to some very remote locations, in some cases only assessable by boat or floatplane." |
Dirk wrote (aug.2019): "While flipping through some pictures of 2013, I found some of Vancouver Island Air's last operating Beech 18, C-FGNR (CA-191), which was sold to Belgium in 2015 after having sat idle at Campbell River for a number of years (after VIA went to a DHC-3 Otter fleet).
Dirk Septer wrote about VIA an article years ago (time of writing this webpage item is Aug.2019).
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Dirk Septer sent me this SeaBee, he wrote: 
When I came upon a SeaBee myself, at Sioux Lookout (2007), I wrote some background info on this remarkable plane. |
Dirk Septer sent me this nice photo of a Pacific Coastal Grumman G.21 Goose and a deHavilland DHC-2 Beaver at the dock, taken in Sep.2012- But in autumn 2012 Pacific Coastal published this news item on their website: "Over the past 25 years, the Grumman Goose has been the flagship aircraft of the Pacific Coastal Airlines Seaplane division based in Port Hardy. During this time, the ‘Goose’ has proven to be a reliable effective workhorse for the fleet and has done a great job doing the type of work needed to serve the many communities, logging camps and fishing resorts on the rugged Central Coast. As the aircraft age, our inability to acquire certified parts has made it impossible for us to continue to maintain and operate the Grumman Goose to Pacific Coastal Airlines and Transport Canada standards. This obstacle puts the ongoing, long-term viability of operating the Grumman Goose into question. With this in mind, we have made the decision to park the Grumman fleet while we determine the options before us in relation to accessing certified parts, as well, we will be evaluating the ongoing sustainability of the aircraft. In the meantime, we are working at providing short-term alternative solutions with a goal of having a clearly defined long-term plan in the near future. The Grumman Goose has been such an icon for Pacific Coastal Airlines; making a decision like this does not come without a sentimental sense of loss, however, we feel it is an important step in the ongoing evolution of our company and I look forward to the next chapter in our world." |
Dirk Septer sent me 12Jul12 this photo of the remains of CF-HTV: 
Considerable history of this Lockheed 10-A Electra c/n 1005 can be found here: |
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Some snaps taken at Ketchikan on 25June2012:
See also my images taken at Ketchikan in 2006 |
 C-GTLD landing on the dusty dirt strip at Qikiqtarjuaq, Nunavut (CYCY) 21Jun06 Dirk looks back on a bit of aviation he participated in: "Between the early 1990s and 2009, First Air/Bradley Air Services operated a fleet of Hawker Siddeley HS-748s (commonly referred to as 'Hawkers') out of Iqaluit, Nunavut (CYFB ) and Yellowknife, N.W.T. (CYZF) The fleet included: Tail nos. 401 C-FBNW (s/n 1759); 402 C-GBFA (s/n 1781); 403 C-GDUL (s/n 1578); 404 C-GDUN (s/n 1581); 406 C-GGNZ (s/n 1690); 407 C-GTLD (s/n 1722); 408 C-GYMX (s/n 1665); C-GCUK (s/n 1762) and C-GJVN (s/n 1640) and one with a larger loading door C-GFNW (s/n 1758; fleet no.405, but I've never seen it applied to the aircraft). Gradually First Air replaced the Hawkers with more modern ATR-42s; C-GTLD and C-GFNW were the last two Hawkers operating out of Iqaluit, with the latter still there in 2008. I have colour slides of all of the above, but since I only acquired a digital camera in 2006, I only have digital shots of these last two. On 06Jun05, I happened to be a passenger on the very last revenue flight of C-GJVN, flying from Igloolik (CYGT) via Hall Beach (CYUX) to Iqaluit. The aircraft had just enough cycles left to eventually fly back to First Air's home base of Carp, Ontario awaiting disposal. The flight crew was so kind as to sign one of the aircraft's safety cards for me as a souvenir of the historical last commercial flight segment!"
"Bob Baglow, the publisher/editor of the discontinued aviation magazine Aviation Quarterly and later renamed Aviation Canada, has started a web site www.CanAero.ca on which he posted the work of the previous writers and photographers of his magazine.
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You'll find that registration 'ZS-ASN' was previously used on a Lockheed Lodestar; more on this and the history on this peculiar Basler BT-67 HERE...
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 Beech 18 C-FWWV has come full circle by returning to Yellowknife from a long period in northwestern Ontario.This picture was taken at Yellowknife on July 16, 2010. The aircraft is now owned by a tenant, who rents space in Adlair's hangar/FBO at Yellowknife, which in turn is owned by the son of the original owner of WWV, the late Willie Laserich. (Note- CF-WWV was registered to David Mathieson of Yellowknife, on 18Mar11; Mathieson is part owner of Summit Air, which now operates a fleet of seven Dorniers and two Skyvans). In 2010, with some 50,000 flying hours with a perfect safety record in the Canadian Arctic, Laserich was inducted in Canada's Aviation Hall of Fame. During his 50-year aviation career, he flew more than 3,000 medevacs, had six babies born in flight on his aircraft and was involved in more than 100 aerial search and rescues in this hostile northern environment, earning him the moniker, 'King of the Medevacs'. |
| Conair waterbombers 64, 67 and 68 on station at Whitehorse, Yukon (July 23th, 2010).
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| Dirk Septer sent me the following from the Kamloops Daily News: 'Farewell to the Firecats' [By MIKE YOUDS, Daily News Staff Reporter]- August 17, 2012 'Old friends' offer final fly-past en route to second retirement; a couple of trusty war birds gave a sentimental farewell to an old home Friday afternoon. With little advance notice, a pair of Conair Firecats performed a 'low and over,' a fly-past above Fulton Field. First built in B.C. in the 1970s, the firefighting air tankers were headed south from their final duties up North. "Kamloops will remember them," said Jeff Berry, superintendent of the provincial air tanker program headquartered in Kamloops. Three of the twin-engined Firecats were based here from 1975 to 2009, he explained. "They were retired from B.C. in 2009, but they had some life left in them, so they were contracted in the Yukon. This is probably their last flight." The 'ancient' aircraft were returning to their point of origin - or at least the starting point of their latest incarnation - Conair Aviation Ltd. in Abbotsford. The company specializes in retrofitting firefighting aircraft as well as operating a fleet of the same. Starting in 1978, Conair began retrofitting Grumman S-2 Trackers, carrier-based submarine tracking aircraft purchased from the Canadian and U.S. navies, as Firecats. That's why they were nicknamed Trackers. They originated as Second World War aircraft, first built in the 1940s. Retardant tanks took the place of torpedo bays for a new life with the B.C. Forest Service. The adaptation lightened the aircraft, giving it greater flight capabilities in the close confines of B.C.'s mountainous terrain. Later re-engined as turboprops, 35 Firecats were built and they made their way to fleets as distant as that of the Sécurité Civile in France. They were based all over the province at one time and were a familiar site over the years in Kamloops. Like other air tankers, Firecats were a welcome sight to firefighters sweating it out in the heat of action. Their arrival on a fire can lift hearts because they often represent the best hope of meeting the "10 a.m. rule," once the standard objective of any initial attack crew battling a blaze. Berry wasn't sure whether Conair will offer the old birds for sale or lease them on contract. Convair CV-580s have replaced the Firecats in B.C.'s air-tanker fleet. ./end quote |
EXIF data on the images sent show date 05JUL2010. |
I came across N877MG myself upon my visit to Campbell River on 14SEP2010. |
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Here's what Dirk sent 25Sep12: work seems to have been completed and the cabin looks splendid! |
| Dirk Septer wrote me and sent this photo 08Nov12:
"N877MG just before leaving Campbell River, BC (CYBL ) for home at Historical Flight Foundation,
after two and a half year rebuild at Sealand Aviation." |
RCAF CC-109 Cosmopolitan (Canadair CL-66), N4AX at Calgary (15JUL2009)  Dirk wrote on the CL-66; "When Convair terminated production of their successful CV-440 turboprop, Canadair acquired the rights to the design, jigs and tooling, as well as three unsold 440s. Based on the Convair 440 and powered by Napier Eland turboprops, Canadair built 13 aircraft designated as the CV-540. The Royal Canadian Air Force, which purchased 10 of these, would be the only customer and no further aircraft were built. The RCAF purchased the 'Cosmo', as the aircraft became known, to replace their ageing Douglas C-47 and North American B-25 for VIP transport and light transport duties. Entering service in 1960 as the CC-109, the last of these was retired in 1994. As the Napier engines proved to be unreliable and somewhat underpowered, the RCAF re-engined the aircraft with Allison 501s in 1966-67. In the early 1990s, the Cosmo was phased out to be replaced by the CC-142 Dash 8 and CC-144 Challenger." See also my webpage dedicated to a visit to Saskatoon, where two more CL-66's are stored, their history very much linked with N4AX... |
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Early August 2009 Dirk wrote me: "As the heatwave continues, with temperatures in the 30s up to 40, the country is ablaze with forest fires... The two Convair waterbombers based here at Campbell River are constantly flying over my house, to drop their loads somewhere on fires on the mainland. Also a photo of the long-time project Yak at Sealand in Campbell River."  Convair CV580 C-FKFB (c/n 57), converted to Airtanker ('47') by Kelowna Flightcraft (?) and Conair. [30Jul09] |
 And here is it in May 2011, nearing the first flight: Dirk wrote: "Ran into Niels (remember that young Dutchman at Sealand?), he was putting the finishing touches on that long-term Yak project, which they hope to take for a first test flight soon. Unfortunately Niels probably won't see it fly as he'll be returning to Holland within a few weeks from now, for good..!" [You'll find a photo on my Visit to Sealand 2010 page too] |
| Dirk sent me these in July 2009, writing: "Just back from my latest trip to the Arctic: Hay River-Yellowknife-Rankin Inlet-Iqaluit and Cape Dorset... Here are a few you might be interested in."  Avro 748-244 series 2 C-FGET (c/n 1724) of Air Inuit on 10Jul09 at Iqaluit. |
 Basler BT-67 'Turbo Dak' C-GJKB (c/n 13383) on 10Jul09, also at Iqaluit (... is the territorial capital and the largest community of the Canadian territory of Nunavut, see Wikipedia) |
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While many of the remaining Dash 7s are used for special transport needs in remote areas, this is what the airplane was designed for. Some Dash 7s have been specially modified to accomplish special missions such as aerial surveying and reconnaissance. The Canadian Ice Service uses the one and only Dash 7IR-150 for ice surveillance in the Canadian Arctic. It is operated for Ice patrol by Bradley Air Services / First Air for the Canadian government. From January to March the aircraft is based at Summerside PEI, patrolling the Gulf of St. Lawrence. From early April the Straight of Belle Isle, Labrador coast, and northern Newfoundland are patrolled from Gander. June is a maintenance period as there is no sea ice in open shipping areas. From July to October the arctic is monitored from Iqaluit (Frobisher Bay, YFB) with sub-bases at Resolute Bay, Inuvik, Fairbanks, and Thule AB (Greenland). The primary support is to the Canadian Coast Guard (CCG) and its fleet of icebreakers who in turn support all shipping in canadian waters. A secondary role is iceberg surveillance as part of Canada's contribution to the North Atlantic Ice Patrol. On deployment the aircraft has an aircrew of pilot, co-pilot, and engineer, with a mission crew of 4 ice service specialists and an electronics technician. Maintenance in done in the field with the aircraft coming back to Ottawa only between seasonal deployments, at which time any required major servicing is performed.  The aircraft can stay airborne for almost 16 hours with VFR reserves. Due to the extra equipment its operating mass of 31,000 lb. is slightly higher than the usual airline version. It has an Observatory dome on top of the fuselage and bubble windows out each side and. A SLAR (side looking airborne radar) can take a continuous picture 100 miles wide. (50 miles on each side of the aircraft). The SLAR can see the ground or icebergs through cloud and at night. Radar and camera images can be sent to ground stations and CCG icebreakers via an S-band downlink transmitter. A glass bottom bay holds a Zeiss large-format mapping camera to take pictures out the bottom of the aircraft. Additionally, it has a drop chute in the back to drop AXBTs (airborne expendable bathytherms that measure and transmit sea temperature from surface to floor) as well as beacons used to measure sea ice and iceberg drift. It has NATO type hard points under the wings but these are not normally used. An APU is fitted in # 4 engine nacelle. Further equipment includes dual IRS and GPS (Omega and Loran C were fitted but have been removed), airborne management computer and peripherals, HF fax transmitter, M-Sat(voice & data). This aircraft reportedly cost the Canadian government 38 million dollars to build. (Info by Paul Hobson & Canadian Ice Service) [Source: http://members.aon.at/~slenz/dash7.html] |
 Not much left of C-54G C-GXKN c/n 36090 (13Jul09)
There is a story to this of course, Dirk wrote: "this Four was involved in a mishap at Norman Wells, YT on 05Jan06. The aircraft was later transported back to Yellowknife on a barge over the Mackenzie River. In August 2007 and its nose section was used to replace the one on C-GPSH, which had been damaged at Carat Lake in December 2006." See also my Photos by Friends & Guests, page 8 |
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Hay River,NWT is a base for Buffalo Airways; aircraft are stored here for future (spares) use and no doubt maintenance can be done here too. |
 C-FBAJ is an early Douglas C-54A; it has c/n 3088. Its history is described on my page YELLOWKNIFE 2006 |
 C-GCTF is seen temporarily out of service, due to an unwilling engine no.2, AT YELLOWKNIFE 2006 And so here it is at Hay River, taken out of service? |
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Dirk added: "Strictly speaking, tanker 13, 14, 16 and 57 are not tankers, just maybe potential ones..." |
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Buffalo Airways finally sold this last PBY Canso to Bob Dyck of Victoria, BC. On November 3rd, 2010, the aircraft (with 12,919.5 hours TT) left Hay River, NT via Prince George, BC to her new home base of Victoria. The Canadian authorities record the manufacturer’s serial number (or constructor’s number) as CV-201 (CV being Canadian Vickers). However, the actual identity is CV-302! In March 2013 I read the following on a forum http://groups.yahoo.com/group/PBY/: The Catalina Preservation Society (TCPS); Victoria,B.C is home of C-FUAW
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 "C-FBAP Tanker 15; during the 2009 forest fire season this one, and C-FBAJ, were active and ready to go. C-GCTF Tanker 58 was also based at Hay River, acting as a spare plane." |
Some images of aircraft Dirk photographed in Pond Inlet,Nunavut in 2008: Here is the video of the 2009 salvage action on Antarctica: YouTube
Arnold Begeman sent me an image dated 10Jul11 which shows C-GEAJ at Calgary IAP in a nice colourscheme |
Buffalo Airways at Hay River; these were taken in 2008.  C-54G C-FIQM (c/n 36088/482), tanker 57. While in the service of Kenn Borek Air, C-FIQM suffered serious damage in 1990 and was almost given up on... See the gallery of Ron Mak on my website for the details, there is little or nothing on it online! |
 C-FBAJ Tanker 02 |
 C-FBAK tanker 13 |
Dirk faced the wintry cold of Canada's high North, in Nov.2008, and took these images at Yellowknife,NWT - home of Buffalo Airways -  Douglas C-54G C-FIQM (c/n 36088/482) While in the service of Kenn Borek Air, C-FIQM suffered serious damage in 1990 and was almost given up on... See the gallery of Ron Mak on my website for the details, there is little or nothing on it online! |
 Curtiss C-46D C-FAVO (c/n 33242) |
 Douglas C-54E C-GCTF (c/n 27281/227) |
Registered to Buffalo Airways 03Jul07 |
Registered to Buffalo Airways 03Jul07. |
 Douglas C-54D C-FBAA 'Arctic Expeditor' (c/n 10653/384) |
| 'Big Doug' airtankers of Buffalo Airways at Hay River in 2007 |
 C-54A C-FBAJ (c/n 3088/30) Tanker 02 |
 C-54G C-GBNV (c/n 35988) Tanker 56 |
 Line up: C-FBAM, C-GBAJ, C-FBAP |
 C-54E C-GBAJ (c/n 27328) Tanker 14 |
 C-54G C-FBAM (c/n 36009) was sold by Aero Union in 2005 to Buffalo Airways, having had them for 19 years. Aero Union had trouble in licensing the aircraft for use of an aerial firefighter since it was US registered (N4958M) in an experimental category. |
 Tanker 13 has faded tailnbr C-FBAK |
 PBY-5A CF-UAW (c/n CV301) at Hay River |
 C-54D C-FBAA at Yellowknife |
 C-GBPA is Tanker 16, stored at Y'knife |
 C-GEAI, the BT67 sister ship of C-GEAJ. Dirk took these photos on 25Jun07 and 29Jun07 Yellowknife airport. C-GEAI was flying geophysical surveys for/chartered by a Texas-based company. These flights would last up to 7-8 hours and required extremely calm weather for that entire period; so there was a lot of sitting around at the airport there, waiting for the conditions be just right... 'Enterprise Airlines' failed in later years and C-GEAI (c/n 33053) was registered on 28Sep09 to Kenn Borek Air of Calgary. Its previous tailnumber was N200AN, as seen by Frans Truyens in Alaska 2001 HERE.. MORE PHOTOS BY DIRK SEPTER ON THIS WEBSITE: HERE (Caribbean) On 20Dec2012 it was damaged at Antarctica when it hit a snowdrift whilst taking off. A salvaging job during end-2013 was completed in jan.2014. Photos PHOTOS BY FRIENDS & GUESTS (39). Note changed livery & titles. |
 Kenn Borek's sister ship C-FMKB taken at Yellowknife,NWT on 30Jun07.  PT6A engines-configured BT-67 C-FMKB. Cconversion was performed by Basler Turbo Conversions, in Oshkosh (WI), of Douglas C-47A c/n 19560. The history has been detailed on my page Photos by Friends & Guests (5) |
Here are a couple of shots of two chartered foreign C-130s replacing First Air Hercs, taken at Yellowknife, 22Aug06. Lynden Air Cargo has a cargo operation in Papua New Guinea and operates in the region as Lynden Air Cargo PNG. N406LC operated as such (reg'd P2-LAC) but the registration was cancelled as such and not reactivated in the FAA's Registry as N406LC. In early 2017 no new sightings of c/n 4676 had been reported (afaik). Perhaps damaged beyond repair on a jungle strip in PNG?. -->EMAIL. |
 L-382G N406LC (c/n 4676) - Lynden cargo |
 L-100-30 EI-JIV (c/n 4673) - Air Contractors |
 15Dec2010: DHC-3 C-GHAG after a recent mishap (details?). This is at Campbell River, B.C. See C-GHAG in undamaged form at the dock, in Sep.2010 HERE...
In july 2011 Dirk sent me this photo-proof of C-GHAG fully restored, not a wrinkle in sight! (15Jul2011, Victoria's Inner Harbour).
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 'Kenn Borek's new Basler DC-3 C-GVKB c/n 12300, taken at Iqaluit, Nunavut on 11Jul2011 where it is based. Interesting paint scheme on top of the wings following that of the fuselage.' |
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Two shots here I taken at the Yellowknife airport on 08Jul2011
of Buffalo Airways' Lockheed L-188 Electras:
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 It was built in 1956, s/n 103, currently registered as N776AX (former registrations: D-ENAT, AS-901 and 55-01). UPDATE: Dirk sent me this in Feb.2019 "c/n 362 delivered to West German Air Force as PQ * 103; sold to Israel Air Force as Serial 021; disposed August 1983; sold to US; December 1983 registered N776AX to Aero International Inc. 26 September 1986 to Gregory L. Blanchfield as N776AX Still sitting at Juneau, Alaska, airport." |
| Dirk sent me these two images, taken on 29Feb2012 at the Spit in Campbell River on a nice crispy morning. I love the light!
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Martin Mars C-FLYK 'Philippine' is seen being painted at Sproat Lake on 29Aug12.  The Coulson Group announced on 23Aug2012 that C-FLYK will be retired due to its lack of use for five years. For a report on a 2010 visit to the airtanker base at Sproat Lake see my page CANADA 2010 |
Dirk Septer sent me this DHC-3 Turbo Otter in a nice 'Vancouver Island Winterwonderland'..  This is DHC-3T C-GVIX (c/n 97) which replaced GHAF at Vancouver Island Air. (Taken at Tyee Spit, February 29, 2012)
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| A 'work-in-progress' photo of WW2 B-25 bomber 'Grumpy', getting a new paintjob at Campbell River,BC.
This B-25 Mitchell bomber belongs to the Historic Flight Foundation based at Paine Field,WA. See my 2014 visit.
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Dirk sent this one: "Harbour Air's 309 C-FHAA (c/n 357) with her new Royal Roads University paint scheme.  The Exif data of the image showed date 10May2015. |
| Over the years Dirk Septer has written many articles for a variety of aviation publications. MARTIN MARS GIANT FLYING-BOATS in Aeroplane Monthly (March 2007) -Acrobat Reader .pdf format |
Dirk Septer's showcase of propliners in the Caribbean
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