The De Havilland Beaver, An Engineering Masterpiece | The Immortal Beaver | On The Move

The Immortal Beaver follows the resurrection of de Havilland Beaver, “Olivia”, who has been resting quietly for years in the Arizona desert, adjacent to the infamous ‘aeroplane boneyard’ outside Tucson. With exclusive interviews with Harrison Ford- a proud Beaver pilot and owner- the film follows the compelling story of Olivia’s rescue and restoration- celebrating the history of a remarkable aircraft.

Content licensed from Java Films to Little Dot Studios.

#OnTheMove #TheImmortalBeaver #PlaneDocumentary

[bushpilot]

I loved the beaver so much I quit my federal pension job after 13 years to become a Beaver pilot in northern Ontario. After 8 years and 3300 hours on type I finally got it out out of my system and returned to my original job and have been retired now for 6 years. Looking back I would do it all over again. I have no words to explain how much I love that airplane ❤

[wildvi]

Back in 1994 I was filming black bears and other wildlife in Canada. I got in the back country in a beaver on floats by our guide and his airplane. Spent two weeks on assignment then got picked up by the beaver to change locations. I was sitting in the right seat and asked the pilot what it was like to fly the beaver. He asked about my experience and I told him I flew Cessna 172s to get my pilot license. He said, "grab the yoke and controls, its yours". What a wonderful plane to fly. For the next 45 minutes minutes I was in heaven cruising above the lakes and the Canadian wilderness to our next filming location. After he landed on a lake and dropped me off, I was still on cloud nine.

[louisglen]

The first Beaver with serial number 1 is in the museum in Ottawa. The second Beaver with serial number 2 is in a museum in Sault St. Marie, Ontario. The third Beaver off the assembly line with serial number 3 is still flying in Fort Frances, Ontario. It still has its radial engine. I went for a ride in it a few years ago.

[KRColson]

So glad I came across this video. Being Canadian, it warms my heart that we can be very proud of this iconic aircraft and the people who keep her flying for 60 years! Thank you.

[MrFreddarama]

My father flew lots of Beavers as a bush pilot in Alaska. He told me lots of stories of barely getting in and out of remote locations and those that didnt who flew into mountains. After years of bush piloting and 5000+ hrs he had to retire from the stress.

[richard]

In my youthful days I did a stint in the logging industry in British Columbia, worked in Knights Inlet, Kyuquot Sound and Zeballos. We had to fly in by Beavers to get to the company camps where we lived. One was a floating camp built on logs. Enjoyed the beautiful scenery as we flew into these inlets and landed on the water. I remembered a pilot whose name was Jack who said he flew in the the armed forces but would rather fly a Beaver than a commercial passenger aircraft. Those were the best years of my life.

[stargazeronesixseven]

🙏 Thank You So Much for rescuing & restoring these Royal & Hardworking De Havilland Beaver back to flying condition! Many Happy Good Blessings in Return to You All! 😊🙏🌷🌿🌍💜🕊🇨🇦

[thebiffer]

There are no words how to describe the absolutely hypnotic serenade and sound of a Beaver either taking off or approaching overhead from a great distance breaking the stillness and silence in the Ontario wilderness on a summer's day on any given body of water displaying a rich and colourful aviation history and legend as I was growing up to this day. As it also turns out I grew up in Downsview Ontario right next to the De Havilland factory so you can understand how deeply ingrained it is in my blood...so much so I am now a retired airline pilot from Canada's biggest air carrier.

[raydreamer]

I'm 68 years old now and personally logged hundreds of hours with my Beaver on floats in my bathtub at a pre school age. I had 2 Beaver airplanes one on floats and one on wheels and wore the propeller off of both of them. Although my wheeled Beaver spent many hours on the bottom of my bathtub both planes were my favorite toys . Since then I have welded many home built aircraft including the North Start (heavy duty cub type plane) I guess my 2 beaver planes were my beginnings in flight interest.

[glengullickson]

I am not a pilot, but I have had the privilege of riding in a piston Beaver from Campbell River, BC to Hill Island and back. It was awesome! Plus, I lived in Friday Harbor, WA for 30 years and LOVED the sound of the Kenmore Air piston Beavers arriving and leaving the Port of Friday Harbor marina. LOVE those planes! Thank you for the story.

[michaelhayden]

Back 40+ years ago I lived in the far north of Australia and one of the cattle station/ranches had a Beaver (DHC2) which was used to carry loads you would not believe - upwards of 1000kg/2200 lbs and still get off the ground in a very short runway. You really needed to know what you were doing to fly one of these. Thanks fir this video. Cheers

[curtgomes]

25 years ago, while in Ketchikan, Alaska my wife, daughter and I rented one of these for a ride out to the Misty Fjiords. The young Canadian pilot actually landed right on the lake. It was an experience as we all got out and onto the pontoons to view an incredibly beautiful landscape. The weather was perfect. What struck me was how smooth the landings were in this airplane. I could not feel the aircraft touch the water. Extremely smooth running and flying plane.

[safetymikeengland]

I jumped out of a beaver a few times. I LOVEd that plane.
I never knew it was used as a bomber.

[chrismcgowan]

Taking a plane that would have been either parts or wrecked and giving it a new life is commendable, some of the comments say you ruined it or its originality, you gave her a new heart and a new life and made her more then she was designed to be, I tip my hat to you

[royormonde]

My Father worked at DeHavilland in Toronto Canada starting back in the 60's and for the next 3 1/2 decades. I used to go to family days, Christmas parties, BBQ's and even went into work with him a few times as a teenager. They had the beaver, otter, twin otter, caribou, buffalo and at the end the dash 7 and 8, great planes by a great company plus fooling around on them on the assembly lines was a lot of fun, we even had a few seats in the garage from the dash 7 we used for many years after he retired, there was even a few old wooden molds from the buffalo turned into coffee and end tables in the times, good memories.

[StarLakeFarm]

Flew in a Beaver when I was a child back in the 1960s. A neighbour liked to go fishing on a lake in northern Ontario. Nobody lived on the lake and the Pike fishing was amazing.

[marksamuelsen]

Many years ago the Hawaii Civil Air Patrol had 2 Dehaviland Beavers and I had the opportunity to get checked out in it and I flew both of those Beavers for about 3 years. I was a junior birdman at the time and didn’t realize how lucky I was to fly these aircraft. When I saw the movie I immediately recognized the Beaver and said to my wife “Hey look it’s a Beaver!” She just shook her head kinda saying Who Cares. I cared.
I’ve got 9 Type Ratings and I’m retired but if I could fly any airplane again it would be the Beaver.

[GordCurry-itxo]

Flew the Beaver, turbo Beaver, Twin Otter, DHC-8-100, and other aircraft during my career, Fokker F, -28 1000 & 2000, Boeing 727 & 757 as Captain, I was fortunate 2 do so!!

[charlesdensford]

My experience with the Beaver started in the 25th Aviation Company (25th Infantry Division) in Hawaii in 1960. Fresh out of Army flight school, I was assigned to the 25th Avn Co at Wheeler Field. We had 5 Beavers, used daily for transporting people and equipment to the Pohakuloa Training Area (PTA) on the Island of Hawaii. The airstrip at Pohakuloa (Bradshaw AAF) was a 3500 ft strip that rose several hundred feet along its length, and it was at about 5.000 ft ASL. We newly trained pilots were immediately checked out in the Beaver (U-6) to begin flying the daily PTA run. I became one of the Instructor Pilots (IPs) in the Beaver that summer, and did a number of checkouts, training the new guys on how to fly the Beaver. That included short field landings and takeoffs, which that airplane did exceedingly well. I also taught the new guys how to start the engine using the hand crank and inertia reel, and how to use the wobble pump when the engine began to run rough on a nearly empty fuel tank. The Pratt & Whitney R-981 engine was a superbly powerful and reliable engine, making short field operations easy. We even had a practice carrier deck (650 ft asphalt pad) on the north side of Oahu which became the ultimate test of skill at the end of a checkout, and most of us who accomplished this feat never forgot it. I also flew the Beaver in Thailand (1962) at Ft Benning (1963-1964), Ft Hood (1964 -1965), in Korea (1965-1966), Ft Lewis (1966), Viet Nam (1967), and last at Ft Rucker (1968-1969). Those of us that have been privileged to fly the Beaver will always hold that airplane in the highest esteem. It is a great airplane!

[careymitchell]

I made my first parachute jump from a Beaver. 1967 Old WWII airfield in VA. Had to learn to pack my own chute. I was the newbie, so I went first from 1200 ft., while the other went up to 12, 000. In the middle of this 2 square mile filed sat a derelict forklift. Every turn I made, the wind pushed me toward that forklift. Thoughts of tombstone with "here he lies with a forklift up his ass." Actually missed it by 200 yards. Other guys went into the trees.