1944 Grumman G-21A Goose, c/n B-101, CF-VFU, FIFT. Dockside somewhere up Knight Inlet, B.C., Canada in spring 1969.

[1959 Kodak Retina IIIS (Type 027) rangefinder 35-mm roll film camera, s/n 86125, with Schneider-Kreuznach Retina-Xenon 50-mm f/1.9 Synchro Compur lens, s/n 6841319; Kodak Plus-X Pan (ISO 125/22°) 36-exposure black & white negative film]


© Copyright photograph by Uwe Kündrunar Scharnberg, 1969 / Stephan Alexander Scharnberg, March 2011





“The whole history of the Canadian North can be divided into two periods—before and after the aeroplane.”
Hugh L. Keenleyside, Deputy Canadian Minister of Mines and Resources, October 1949




Tuesday, September 6, 2011

2011 Cessna T206H Turbo Stationair TC, c/n T206-08999, N899CS





2011 Cessna T206H Turbo Stationair TC, c/n T206-08999, N899CS, Cessna Aircraft Company, Independence, Kansas, USA; powered by one 310-hp Textron Lycoming TIO-540-AJ1A supercharged fuel-injected six-cylinder, horizontally-opposed, air-cooled piston engine with constant-speed, heated, three-blade McCauley propeller; pilot, five passengers, general aviation; Garmin G1000 avionics; built by Cessna Aircraft Company, Independence, Kansas at Wichita, Kansas; airworthiness issued on May 19, 2011; certificate issued on June 22, 2011.

The Stationair was first produced in 1966. It’s class competitors are the Piper 6XT and the Mooney Acclaim. The current model has a speed of 178 knots, or approximately 205 miles per hour with a range of 559 nautical miles. This demonstrator model was flown from the factory and promoted this summer by Kathy Wrobel, President of Prairie Aircraft Sales Ltd., Calgary/Springbank Airport (YBW), Springbank, Alberta, Canada.

She approached me as I was about to photograph the Stationair, asking if I was a pilot. I mentioned my obsession with aircraft, and this blog, Words & Wings. We chatted for a few minutes about this new Cessna, the current Cessna line, the new Cessna 162 Skycatcher, and that she recently sold four new Cessna 172 Skyhawks to Mont Royal College at Springbank Airport. Kathy tried to bring the 162 Skycatcher into Canada, but as Transport Canada currently has no classification or category for the model, she is working on having this changed. Then she kindly let me step behind the ropes to get the close-up photo of the cockpit. As a bonus she gave me a pristine copy of the large-format Stationair sales brochure, resplendent with beautiful, artistic photography. Thank you, Kathy.

The 49th Annual Abbotsford International Airshow, Abbotsford International Airport (YXX), Abbotsford, B.C. on Saturday, August 13, 2011 between 2:53 and 2:56 pm.

[Nikon Coolpix L20 point-and-shoot 10 MP digital camera, Nikkor 38–136-mm f/3.1–6.7 lens]

© Copyright photographs by Stephan Alexander Scharnberg, August 2011

de Havilland Canada DHC-3 Otter

de Havilland Canada DHC-3 Otter, construction number and registration unknown; powered by one 600-hp Pratt & Whitney R-1340-S1H1-G Wasp supercharged nine-cylinder air-cooled radial piston engine with constant-speed three-blade Hamilton Standard Hydromatic propeller; pilot, ten passengers, STOL (short take-off and landing) utility transport; built by de Havilland Canada, Toronto, Ontario, Canada at Downsview, Ontario.

The Annual Duncan Flying Club Fly-In, Duncan Airport (DUQ), Duncan, Vancouver Island, B.C. in June 1980.

* I was unable to decipher the Otters registration on the tail fin when I enlarged this scanned photograph. The only possible clues I do have are: 

- the pilot and possibly owner had the surname of Roberts, who I seem to recall living on Miller Rd. between the Glenora Rd. turn-off to Langtry Rd. and the airport, and Allenby Rd. that runs parallel to the Cowichan River at the outskirts of Duncan.

- the pilots son was at the Fly-In that day, riding his red bicycle with a banana seat, a few years younger than my brother and me. I seem to recall his name was Brad Roberts. I was almost 18 years old at the time. 

- Otters c/n 131 and c/n 307 were located and purchased in Nicaragua in 1979, shipped from Managua to Miami, trucked north to Montreal, then sold to York Realty Ltd. of Duncan, B.C. for parts used in rebuilding Otter c/n 288 into 1980. Is there a connection between the above Otter and York Realty? Is the above Otter c/n 288? The only Canadian registration I have unearthed for c/n 288 is C-GXRY, but the last two letters of the above-photographed Otter appear to be “YB”, “YD”, “YO”, or “YR”.

If anyone has any information as to which Otter this could possibly be, it would be much appreciated. I have searched several websites and blogs for clues, but it looks like I need to order a CD of Karl E. Hayes’ extensive Otter research, de Havilland Canada DHC-3 Otter: A History.

[Agfa Agfamatic 100 sensor viewfinder 126 cartridge film camera, 42.1-mm f/11 lens; Agfa Agfacolor Special CNS 126 20 DIN/80 ASA 20-exposure colour negative cartridge film]

© Copyright photograph by Stephan Alexander Scharnberg, June 1980