The Noorduyn Norseman, also known as the C-64 Norseman, is a Canadian single-engine bush plane designed to operate from unimproved surfaces.
Distinctive stubby landing gear protrusions from the lower fuselage make it easily recognizable.
Introduced in 1935, the Norseman remained in production for almost 25 years with over 900 produced.
A number of examples remain in commercial and private use to this day.
Norseman aircraft are known to have been registered and/or operated in 68 countries and also have been based and flown in the Arctic and Antarctic regions.
Designed by Robert B.C. Noorduyn, the Noorduyn Norseman was produced from 1935 to 1959, originally by Noorduyn Aircraft Ltd. and later by the Canadian Car and Foundry company.
With the experience of working on many ground-breaking designs at Fokker, Bellanca and Pitcairn-Cierva, Noorduyn decided to create his own design in 1934, the Noorduyn Norseman.
Along with his colleague, Walter Clayton, Noorduyn created his original company, Noorduyn Aircraft Limited, in early 1933 at Montreal while a successor company was established in 1935, bearing the name Noorduyn Aviation.
Noorduyn’s vision of an ideal bush plane began with a high-wing monoplane airframe to facilitate loading and unloading passengers and cargo at seaplane docks and airports; next, a Canadian operator utilizing existing talents, equipment and facilities should be able to make money using it; last, it should be all-around superior to those already in use there.
From the outset, Noorduyn designed his transport to have interchangeable wheel, ski or twin-float landing gear.
Unlike most aircraft designs, the Norseman was first fitted with floats, then skis and, finally, fixed landing gear.
The final design looked much like Noorduyn’s earlier Fokker designs; a high wing braced monoplane with an all-welded steel tubing fuselage.
Attached wood stringers carried a fabric skin.
Its wing was all fabric covered wood, except for steel tubing flaps and ailerons.
The divided landing gear were fitted to fuselage stubs; legs were secured with two bolts each to allow the alternate arrangement of floats or skis. The tail strut could be fitted with a wheel or tail skid.
Specifications
Crew
1
Capacity
10
Length
32 ft 4 in (9.86 m)
Wingspan
51 ft 6 in (15.70 m)
Height
10 ft 1 in (3.07 m)
Wing area
325 sq ft (30.2 m2)
Airfoil
NACA 2412
Empty weight
4,240 lb (1,923 kg)
Max take-off weight
7,400 lb (3,357 kg); 7,540 lb (3,420 kg) with floats
Fuel capacity
100 imp gals (120 US gal; 450 l) in two wing roots
+
Optional 37.4 imp gal (44.9 US gal; 170 l)
Or
2x 101.6 imp gal (122.0 US gal; 462 L) auxiliary tanks in the cabin
Powerplant
1 × Pratt & Whitney R-1340-AN1,
9-cylinder air cooled radial piston engine,
600 hp (450 kW)
Propellers
3-bladed Hamilton Standard, 9 ft 0.75 in (2.7623 m) diameter constant-speed propeller
Performance
Maximum speed
155 mph (249 km/h, 135 kn) landplane
138 miles per hour (120 kn; 222 km/h) skis
134 miles per hour (116 kn; 216 km/h) floats
Cruise speed
130 mph (210 km/h, 110 kn) KTAS at 10,000 ft (3,000 m)
Stall speed
68 mph (109 km/h, 59 kn)
Range
932 mi (1,500 km, 810 nmi) at 10,000 ft (3,000 m)
Service ceiling
17,000 ft (5,200 m)
Rate of climb
591 ft/min (3.00 m/s) at 100 miles per hour (87 kn; 161 km/h)
