1958 de Havilland Canada DHC-2 Beaver Mk. I, c/n 1249, C-FAOP, Empress of Ganges, Saltspring Air

The arrival of 1958 de Havilland Canada DHC-2 Beaver Mk. I, c/n 1249, C-FAOP, Empress of Ganges, Saltspring Air at Vancouver International Water Airport (CAM9), Moray Channel, Richmond, B.C., immediately adjacent to South Terminal, Vancouver International Airport (YVR/CYVR), Sea Island, Richmond, B.C., Canada on Friday, January 18, 2013 at 11:25 PST

1958  de Havilland Canada DHC-2 Beaver Mk. I, c/n 1249, C-FAOP, Empress of Ganges, Saltspring Air (Salt Spring Island Air Ltd.), Ganges, Saltspring Island, B.C., Canada, based at Ganges Water Aerodrome (YGG/CAX6), Ganges Harbour, Saltspring Island, B.C.

• powered by one 450-hp Pratt & Whitney R-985-AN-14B Wasp Junior supercharged nine-cylinder, single-row, air-cooled radial piston engine with constant-speed three-blade Hartzell propeller
• pilot, six passengers, STOL (short take-off and landing) utility transport
• Edo 4930 floats, bubble cabin windows, nine-inch engine extension
• built by The de Havilland Aircraft of Canada Limited, Downsview, Ontario, Canada at Downsview Airport (YZD/CYZD), Downsview, Ontario
• built, powered by one 450-hp Pratt & Whitney R-985-AN-14B Wasp Junior supercharged nine-cylinder, single-row, air-cooled radial piston engine with constant-speed two-blade Hamilton Standard propeller
• delivered as CF-AOP to Algoma Steel Corporation Ltd., Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada on October 31, 1958
• re-registered as C-FAOP
• (?) C-FAOP, Crown Zellerbach (Crown Zellerbach Canada Ltd.)
• (?) leased to Island Air (Island Airlines Ltd.), Campbell River, Vancouver Island, B.C., Canada
• based at Campbell River Seaplane Base (CAE3), Tyee Spit, Campbell River, Vancouver Island, B.C.
• Airwest Airlines (Airwest Airlines Ltd.), Gulf-Air (Gulf-Air Aviation Services Ltd.), Haida Airlines (Haida Airlines Ltd.), Island Air (Island Airlines Ltd.), and West Coast Air (West Coast Air Services Ltd.) purchased by Jim Pattison Industries (Jim Pattison Industries Ltd.) and merged to form Air BC (Jim Pattison Industries Ltd.) (CP Air Commuter partner) on December 1, 1980
• leased to Air BC (Air BC Ltd./Jim Pattison Industries Ltd./CP Air Commuter partner), South Terminal, Vancouver International Airport (YVR/CYVR), Sea Island, Richmond, B.C., Canada until 1982
• C-FAOP, Framar Aviation Ltd., Campbell River, Vancouver Island, B.C., Canada cancelled on May 27, 1982
• C-FAOP, Tyee Airways (Tyee Airways Ltd.), Sechelt, B.C., Canada cancelled on May 17, 1983
• based at Porpoise Bay Water Aerodrome (CAX3), Sechelt, B.C.
• C-FAOP, Brenco Investments Ltd., Vancouver, B.C., Canada cancelled on December 4, 1987
• C-FAOP, Thunderbird Air (Thunderbird Air 1987 Ltd.), Sechelt, B.C., Canada on December 4, 1987 and cancelled on March 8, 1990
• based at Porpoise Bay Water Aerodrome (CAX3)
• C-FAOP, Baxter Aviation (Baxter Aviation Ltd.), Nanaimo, Vancouver Island, B.C., Canada on March 8, 1990 and cancelled on March 20, 1996
• based at Nanaimo Harbour Water Airport (ZNA/CAC8), Nanaimo, Vancouver Island, B.C.
• C-FAOP, Harbour Air (Harbour Air Seaplanes/Harbour Air Ltd. dba), South Terminal, Vancouver International Airport (YVR/CYVR), Sea Island, Richmond, B.C., Canada on March 20, 1996 and cancelled on May 14, 2004
• based at South Terminal, Vancouver International Airport (YVR/CYVR) 
• registered to Saltspring Air on May 28, 2004
• nine-inch engine extension modification
• I saw C-FAOP at Maple Bay, Vancouver Island, B.C., Canada in summer 2007
• active

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

© Copyright photograph by Stephan Alexander Scharnberg, January 2013