The Beaver Ballad

Pictures of DeHavilland Beavers doing their thing set to the kinda hoaky "Beaver Song" performed by the Fretless Bar Girls. Pictures from Alaska, Washington, British Columbia, and a few from New Hampshire.
I don't know all the people the song references, so please forgive me and comment if I misspell someone's name, but here are the lyrics as I know them:

A long time ago just after WWII,
There were more planes named after animals,
This coast was a zoo!
They were made by DeHavilland,
That Motley Crew,
But the lovliest was the Beaver,
The DHC-2.

There were Chipmunks, and Foxmoths and Tigermoths too,
Mosquitos, Flamingos, and Dragons that flew,
Otters and Buffalos, and Caribou,
But the best one was the Beaver,
The DHC-2.

Now bush pilots wanted big loads
And don't waste time.
"We want to get up and down quick, we want a STOL design."
So some Canucks and an Englishman,
With help from a Pole
Created FHBX, a flying truck on floats.

It had high wings, a big tail and a metal skin,
Droopy ailerons and a little Wasp engine.
And right next to the cockpit,
That engine could be found
'cuz the pilots love to hear that soothing sweet sound.

They flew for B.C. and Q.C airlines and PWA,
For Baker, Spillsbury, and DeCoutier.
They were the general's jeep throughout the war,
And in Australia they threw fertilizer out the back door.
That removable back door.
There's all kinds of things you can throw out the door of a Beaver but you don't want to get Norm Gould started on that one. Why, he hired and fired Blacky Apsuris at least a dozen times at Air West, but you know Norm, somebody's gotta fly the thing!

Maury Mercer would tell you she's a marvelous plane!
You can fly her upside down when your passengers are a pain.
And Mike McKluskey will tell you
You can land her at low tide,
You just can't take off again,
He knows, 'cuz he's tried, and tried, and tried.

Imagine calling your boss at 3 am in the morning 'cuz you were too embarrassed to call him earlier when that little coaster wheel got caught in the soft sand above the the high tide mark and you thought that second tide would just roll right up and let you off again, huh...not a chance.

Now bush pilots have a thing about dock pilings,
Those suckers are hell on wings.
And they'd rather slip on a wet float and lose the crown jewels against the spreader bar than let that big high wing swing around and BEND THE AIRPLANE.

She was a grand plane,
But all good things come to an end,
Hawker-Siddely shut her down in '67.
But they're still converting Turbos at Viking Air,
And Al Boya brings 'em back 'cuz they still work and he still cares.

Now there's Kenmore and Baxter and Pacific Coast,
They're all still flying Beavers 30, 40, 50 years old!
And you know they'll be flying 50 years from now,
You folks who built the Beaver oughtta stand up and take a bow!

'Cuz there were Chipmunks, and Foxmoths and Tigermoths too,
Mosquitos, Flamingos, and Dragons that flew,
Otters and Buffalos, and Caribou,
But the best one was the Beaver,
The DHC-2.
Yes, the best one was the Beaver,
The DHC-2!

Видео The Beaver Ballad канала Kevin Thomson