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From 1935 to 1959 Norseman were in production at the Cartierville airport in Montreal. By the 1990’s this property was prime land for redevelopment as the city grew to cover almost all of the Island of Montreal. See https://www.norsemanfestival.on.ca/norduyn-now/ and https://www.norsemanfestival.on.ca/norduyn-now-redux/

Very near the spot where the huge complex rolled out the Norseman utility airplane by the hundreds during WW II, now reside townhouses in the Bois-Franc neighbourhood. In a nod to the history of the prior land use, this housing is called Square Norseman. It is likely few, if any new homeowners realize the significance or reason why Norseman is in the name. This is the last corner of the old airport site to be redeveloped and little evidence exists other than the remaining large Bombardier aviation building. This too will probably shrink in the next few years as Bombardier has downsized its scope of operations.

Signage pointing to the SQUARE NORSEMAN townhouses. February 21, 2022.

Speaking of downsizing, I plan to post less frequently going forward. Perhaps four times a year depending on fleet activity with more of a focus on just where the airplanes are moving to with new owners, etc. It has been a great six year run and many Norseman or related subjects have been covered. The only constant is change itself and formats appear to have changed from webpage blogposts to more popular social media, whether legacy sites or alternative news.

If anyone still has questions about the Norseman or Noorduyn Aviation please email; c46commando@hotmail.com and I will do my best to answer. Also, I plan to keep the active Norseman list up to date on a yearly basis. Email me for a current copy if you do not see it at the Norseman Festival website.

Thanks Norseman fans and I hope you enjoy the posts as much as I like writing them!

We appear to live in a time when the volume of superfluous information has degraded quality or accuracy and this often leads to skimming as an instant answer is sought without attention to details. Technology addiction and information manipulation, one may argue, are becoming serious issues in society and we need to look deeper into the longer term ramifications.

Those big thoughts aside, how does this relate to the old Norseman bushplane you ask? There are a few examples I will touch on and hopefully clarify the subjects.

Time and again, I see on social media people posting pictures and writing about Norseman CF-BHS on the pylon in Thompson, Manitoba not realizing it is a replica. Occasionally someone will interject with factual information yet it seldom seems to be absorbed. The actual BHS, a Mark V, serial N29-7 was on the Canadian register from 1945 to 1990. In October 1989 this aircraft was destroyed by fire on Cree Lake in Saskatchewan. The “BHS” in Thompson was put together from a few Norseman wrecks and the wings were fabricated to match the original.

Next we have CF-BHU. The confusing part here is that two different Norseman have carried that registration in Canada. Sometimes details will get crossed up and the wrong serial number and/or model is attributed to the other. The first BHU was a Mark V, serial N29-8 and rolled off the production line right after CF-BHS! It came to its demise on June 19, 1974 in a crash at Sachigo Lake, Ontario. The second BHU, a Mark VI, serial 506 came to Canada from the USA in 1999 and is presently flown commercially by Wings Over Kississing in northern Manitoba.

Another potential mix up involves the very first Norseman, serial 1, CF-AYO. The twisted remains of AYO can be viewed at the Canadian Bushplane Heritage Centre in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario. Currently at the Montreal Aviation Museum work on the restoration for static display of Norseman serial 427, C-FGYY continues with tentative plans to depict this airframe as CF-AYO considering the Norseman was developed at Montreal, Canada in the mid 1930’s. Again, if there is no clear communication about it being a replica of AYO then we can probably count on some keyboard surfers getting it wrong from lack of oversight.

*NOTE* – With regard to correct information, the Red Lake Norseman Festival will take place on August 6, 7, and 8, 2021 instead of the usual July weekend. This summers event will be small as planning is more complex during what we hope will be the tail end of the pandemic.

The legendary Noorduyn Norseman is arguably the oldest, essentially unmodified transport design in the world that continues to fly in its intended role, although we are now moving into the private collector, warbird, nostalgic flights and air show phase.

There are currently 37 Norseman on the Canadian Civil Aircraft Register, but 17 are not actively flying and 11 have had their Certificate of Registration cancelled.

Find out which ones are still flying and which ones are not here…

Here is the list of Airworthy Norseman in 2020

AIRWORTHY NOORDUYN NORSEMAN 1 July 2020

A couple years ago on this blog a post about the present NORDUYN chronicled the companies involved with Norseman production. See https://www.norsemanfestival.on.ca/norduyn-now/

A recent trip to Montreal provided the opportunity for a drive around the former Cartierville airport which now has almost completed build out as Bois-Franc with new homes, shops, offices and parks. The only remnant is the large Bombardier facility, once belonging to Canadair.

Bombardier CS100 (now named Airbus A220-100) fuselage beside the Bombardier building with a smaller Canadair title below.

Not far from where mass Norseman production took place at Cartierville during WW II sits the NORDUYN operation of today primarily producing trolleys, oven racks, shelves, drawers and baby bassinets for worldwide airline customers. There is no longer any involvement with the famous Canadian Noorduyn bush plane and the name dropped one o.

As part of the airport site redevelopment at least some thought was given to the historical significance and a nearby neighbourhood carries the following street names; Rue Noorduyn and Place Noorduyn.

This years flypast was a local affair with Red Lake’s Chimo Air providing five aircraft, Viking Outposts and Green’s Trout Lake Lodge each providing one for a total of seven bush planes flying over Howey bay.

Here was the line-up;

Green’s Norseman CF-ZMX leading the way,

followed by Chimo Air Norseman CF-KAO

Chimo Air Cessna 180 CF-SMS

Viking Outposts’ De Havilland DHC-2 piston Beaver C-GGMB

Then a trio of Chimo Air De Havilland DHC-3 Otters;

R-1340 powered C-GYYS and turbine Otters, C-GRRJ and C-FODQ

The 25th anniversary Norseman festival was a great success in many ways, although the committee worked hard to attract more Norseman to the flypast, there is a slow realization that even the most Canadian of Canadian bush planes (DHC-2 lovers relax!) is fading from the scene. Most of the last generation that were expert at woodwork, fabric and radial engines are now gone and new pilots today often skip the bush and are more attuned to iPads, flight management systems and standard operating procedures.

As noted in the last blog, commercial Norseman flying is almost rare now, but the type will continue to fly with private enthusiasts, museums and associations.  For the foreseeable future it should still be possible to hear, feel and ride in a Norseman, you just may have to travel farther to do so!