NORDUYN no more
A short trip through Montreal in late September confirmed the end of a chapter in the Norseman story. For context the following is a complete reprint of a blogpost from 7 and a half years ago;
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NORDUYN now
No that is not a typo, Norduyn the company still exists today in Montreal, Quebec near where the Norseman was assembled at Cartierville airport. Check out their website to see what aerospace products they make and be sure to click on company, then history. www.norduyn.com
Here is a brief chronological overview of companies involved with the Norseman;
1933 – Robert B. C. Noorduyn founded Noorduyn Aircraft Limited.
1938 – Name change to Noorduyn Aviation Limited.
1946 – Canadian Car & Foundry Co. Limited acquires rights for manufacturing and sales of Norseman aircraft.
1953 – Norseman goes full circle back to designer Bob Noorduyn and a new company name, Noorduyn Norseman Aircraft Limited. Today this company is known as NORDUYN and has no connection to the airplane other than in a historical sense.
1982 – Norseman rights sold to Norco Associates. By this time the company had moved on from the Norseman and was more involved with the areas of business they continue with in 2017. Unfortunately, Norco only lasted a couple of years then folded.
Nobody in the Norseman community seems to know exactly who owns the type certificate or production rights today. Perhaps it is simply in the public domain and the chances of a new build Mark V Norseman are slim to none anyway. Being of sound basis, it could be the skeleton for a much modified 21st century version, but could you still call it a Norseman? Is a Basler BT-67 still a Douglas DC-3 to a purist?
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As of today the website norduyn.com still appears on the internet but the company is called TRANSTEX.
The dual branded Norduyn/Transtex building was sold and Transtex now operates from a location closer to the Montreal-Trudeau airport. This business specializes in aerodynamic solutions for semi-trailers by using experience gained with lightweight composites to improve efficiency and thereby reduce fuel consumption.
So with Norduyn gone the last tangible link to the company’s past is gone after a nine decade connection to the site of the former Cartierville airport and buildings where the Norseman was assembled.