AOPA Pilot Magazine - June 2013 - 57

“Getting some stick time in a float Beaver is a bucket-list item
for some people. And I understand why. It’s a rare
and totally unique experience.” —Tripp Wacker

But a series of strange and shadowy
events conspired to bring this one, serial
number 526, all the way to sunny Florida.
The airplane was sent from the Canadian
factory where it was built in 1953 to
Pakistan, where it stayed for more than 30
years spraying insecticide on mosquitoes.
Then it went to Bangladesh and supposedly
belonged to a flying club, but records are
spotty. An aircraft broker in Alaska tracked
the airplane down and purchased it, along
with two other DHC-2s in various states of
disrepair, in the mid-1990s and had them
sent back to Canada for restoration.
This one, N450RA, underwent a
long series of modifications that include
Wipline amphibious floats, a Barron STOL
kit, extended baggage, a fishing rod holder,

CRESCENT LAKE (left) provides an ideal

training area for a variety of water
conditions. The supporting structures
for the floats are like a jungle gym,
and the cable between the floats (above,
center) is a tightrope.

new avionics—in all, a total of 81 STCs and
Form 337 field approvals. It has won major
restoration prizes at airshows including
the Sun ’n Fun Fly-In.
Wacker bought it in 2005 and planned
to use it as a promotional tool for an outdoor firm that caters to hunters and
fishermen. When that didn’t pan out, he
decided to test the flight-training market
because he’d become attached to the airplane and wanted to find a way to keep
it. “It’s such a great airplane that I really
didn’t want to let it go,” he said.
Wacker specializes in seaplane instruction, and he also uses an Aviat Husky on
amphibious floats for that purpose (see
“Water Dog,” February 2012 AOPA Pilot).
The Husky is a workhorse, but Wacker has
been pleasantly surprised by demand for
the Beaver.
Some students are prospective Beaver
owners who want aircraft checkouts.
Others are seeking initial seaplane ratings
and are willing to pay a premium to fly the
big, complex airplane. A few are seeking
advanced ratings such as a seaplane ATP

and need a complex, instrument-equipped
airplane in which to do it. And some are
aficionados who simply want to fly for an
hour or so in what is widely regarded as
the classiest airplane in its category. A twoday checkout that consists of five flying
hours and four hours of ground school sells
for $2,950.
“Getting some stick time in a float
Beaver is a bucket-list item for some people,” Wacker said. “And I understand why.
It’s a rare and totally unique aviation
experience.”
The amphibious floats are the most
complex portion of the checkout, and Ryan
Seaplanes has created animated computer
graphics to show how the landing-gear
hydraulic system—with its three pumps,
two electric motors, circuit breakers, and
gear advisory—all work. A wall-mounted
screen in one of the classrooms allows
students to review normal operations and
multiple failure scenarios.
Ryan Seaplanes also provides a detailed
manual, performance charts, and everything else needed to prepare for checkrides.
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AOPA Pilot Magazine - June 2013

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