Of the generally agreed upon number of 903 Norseman aircraft built, how many survive in 2024? This too is a hard number to define because a corroded airframe left to the elements is not likely a whole aircraft. The wings of the Norseman were built using wood while the fuselage airframe is tubular metal so it is much easier to find metal frames lacking wings due to the faster deterioration of the wood. Then we have crashed examples hidden in the bush or airplanes that have sunk to a watery grave. Many were lost in accidents during WWII and of those that survived numerous UC-64/Mk VI models were adapted for civil use.

So getting back on topic, if we consider a survivor to be a complete (or mostly complete) airplane that can be seen without trekking through the bush, a recent survey comes up with a number of around 70 Norseman. This would mean less than 8% of the total number built. Now considering only about 13 of the 70 routinely fly this means approximately one of five in the following lists is active airworthy.

Click on a title to open the PDF document;

NOORDUYN NORSEMAN in MUSEUMS

AIRWORTHY NOORDUYN NORSEMAN as of 1 September 2024 Page 1 of 3

The museum list previously covered only North America and is now expanded to worldwide coverage! This might sound impressive but as with the airworthy list the majority reside in North America, followed by Europe then a couple elsewhere. Interestingly each list has 37 Norseman for a total of 74 but 11 are on both so we get a combined total of 63. Not all Norseman are listed. For example, serial 231/C-FSAP (Mk VI) and serial N29-35/C-FOBR (Mk V) have had their registrations cancelled and are sitting disused in the weeds near Flin Flon, Manitoba, Canada. Conversely some of the Norseman listed are in very poor incomplete condition and thus we are getting into a numbers game of boring semantics!

I hope enthusiasts find these lists interesting and helpful in some way. Many hours of research and cross-checking have been spent in a pursuit to present a thorough and accurate snapshot of the Norseman “fleet” in 2024. Any input is welcome and thank you for past details or pending news. My contact information can be found in the lists.

Recently serial 469/CF-JEC (Mk VI) was put back into commercial service sooner than planned because the sight and sound of an operating Norseman created a mini revival of passion for the type in Quebec where Norseman were manufactured. Not bad for an airplane design turning 90 next year and sometimes referred to as “Canada’s wooden winged wonder!”

CF-JEC is now flown commercially by Air Mont-Laurier.

Above photo – Vultee BT-13 Valiant in foreground. February 15, 2023.

As a follow on to the last blogpost, we will look at a couple of the restorations presently occurring in the USA. There certainly is no shortage of Norseman rebuilds going on and first up is Noorduyn serial 163 at Boulder, Colorado.

This UC-64A model was delivered to the USAAF as 43-5172 in July 1943 and after the end of WW II went onto the US civil aircraft register in mid 1946 as N61853, the same registration it carries to this day. After a time in Minnesota it went north to Wien Air Alaska in 1951, then eleven years later it was purchased by Parachutes Incorporated and modified for use as a skydiving jump ship. In need of a major overhaul, N61853 sat idle from 1980 to 1984 and was in poor shape when sold at auction in October 1984 to Wanda and Glen Courtwright.

Over a few years they restored the Norseman to its military configuration and painted it in the totem insignia of the Alaska Rescue Unit of Air Transport Command.

In 2006, J W Duff Aircraft acquired the airplane and in April of 2014 ownership was transferred to its present owner, Dave Elliott who intended to fly the Norseman but unfortunately or perhaps fortunately some barely visible cracks were discovered in a wooden wing spar. Fast forward to 2023 and two sets of brand new wings are being created to get this Norseman back in the air! Interestingly, 853 might take up skydivers again and provide flight seeing along the front range in Colorado.

 

Next up is another UC-64A with Noorduyn serial 139, USAAF serial 43-5148 in Yanks Air Museum located at the Chino airport, California. Immediately transferred via Lend-Lease to Canada this Norseman became a standard RCAF Mk VI model, serial 790. Although it was never actually operated by the USAAC or USAAF, Yanks will likely finish it in markings as 43-5148.

 

 

The following history is repeated from a previous post on December 10, 2021; https://www.norsemanfestival.on.ca/yanks-air-update/

After serving as RCAF 790, it went to Georgian Bay Airways of Parry Sound, Ontario in August of 1955 becoming CF-IJG on the Canadian Civil Register. Unfortunately, the aircraft sank on July 18, 1966 after a hard glassy water landing on Antiguois Lake, Quebec. Fortunately, there were no injuries.

Apparently in the 1970’s, Lloyd Street bought the Norseman “as is” from the insurance company, made temporary repairs with the assistance of Gordon Hughes and ferried the aircraft out from the lake. For many years it languished on a farm near Gravenhurst, Ontario until being moved to the FAA registry for Yanks in the summer of 2010, now N420QN.

There is no definitive timeline for the completion of this project but in due course we should see yet another Norseman up and flying. As of this March 2023 there are eleven active airworthy Norseman in the world and the status is changing with increasing interest in warbird reincarnations. Even though they usually only fly during the warmer times of the year, the many exciting developments going on will probably increase the future chances for a Norseman enthusiast to go for a flight in one!