When WW2 ended de Havilland Canada needed to utilise it's now spare production capacity so they decided to build a plane suitable for North Canada, they consulted pilots who who already flew in the area and designed a plane to meet their requirements, the result was the Beaver, a single engined high wing monoplane design which could be fitted with either wheels, skis, or floats as required. The Beaver first flew on the 16th August 1947 and deliveries started the following April, it was an immediate success, when production finally ended ten years later in 1957 a total of 1,657 de Havilland Beavers had been built, hundreds remain in use today. de Havilland Beavers were used in light transport and spotting roles by Many Armed forces including the U.S. Army Air Corps, the British Army and the Royal New Zealand Air Force who used one of it's de Havilland Beaver's to support Sir Edmund Hillary's famous expedition to the South Pole. De Havilland Beaver DHC-2 Specifications: Crew: Pilot and up to 7 passengers Length: 9.22 m (30 ft 3 in) Wingspan: 14.63 m (48 ft 0 in) Height: 2.74 m (9 ft 0 in) Maximum Weight: 5,100 lb (2,310 kg) Engine: Single 450 hp (335 kW) Pratt & Whitney R-985 Wasp Junior radial engine Maximum speed: 255 km/h (158 mph) Range: 732 km (455 miles) Service ceiling: 18,000 ft (5,500 m)
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