Norseman Survive and Revive!

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.