[Note: First of all, if you've never visited the "Deadstick FS" Sub-Forum, here, in Avsim, do take a look at that one screenshot there (or/and the referenced URL links) - the SIM is WIP, but still see if that picture does not excite your aviation senses...! In fact, a re-visit there, last week, had prompted me for this post....and this topic that has always fascinated me...]

There are many in aviation (from RW pilots of the smallest GA planes to those of the largest jetliners), that are also fans of bush-planes and bush-flying, including, surely, (non-pilot/arm-chair) enthusiasts like me/us around here. The history (i.e. the stories of courage and endurance) of the bush-pilots, especially those operating in (the mostly inaccessible) parts of northern Canada and Alaska, remain legendary! Consider, the Far North of Canada...This area (sometimes called the Canadian Arctic) covers about 40% of Canada's total land area, but probably has less than 1% of Canada's population.

And, if we're to talk of Alaska's land, the vast majority of it is sparsely inhabited by humans. "No wonder, tourists and amateur adventurists, so often, get lost and die in the wilderness of Alaska, because it's easy to get lost in. There's endless space and forests and many people are never found or heard from again once they get lost out there. Native Alaskans know better and don't usually venture far out there alone because it's too easy to get lost and die."

To such sparsely populated communities and regions, bush flying is the primary and sometimes the only method of access! Of course, bush-plane operations, are not limited only to these parts of the world...It's also prevalent e.g. in the the Australian Outback, the Siberian regions of Russia and northern Asia, and much of the African continent, where the terrains are equally challenging, the distances are long, and the road-systems are under-developed - what the (bush) airplanes are called for! [Note: Hoping, the new MSFS will help in these regions!!]

Bush-pilots did it (and do it) for the sense of love and adventure....The early bush pilots faced the challenges of deep cold weather (with high winds and heavy snows), and the vast distances between communities. Navigation was basically by recognition as pilots (often) followed the course of rivers...For example, in North America, they would have to negotiate the dangerous mountains and narrow valleys of the Alaskan Range, in the south, and the Brooks Range, in the north and Yukon territory. In Alaska, the summer air of the North Slope, would get so dense with mosquitoes and black flies that would make human co-existence impossible. And, given the rarity of airstrips, the bush-planes were often equipped with skis or floats so that they could take off and land on water or snow or even sandbars. Add to that, low altitude ceiling, no Air-conditioning and (little or no) Heating, in their planes. Imagine, e.g. being stranded on the frozen (Arctic) tundra, in the middle of nowhere, and, having to work, protecting oneself from the bone-chilling winds, in a portable “nose hangar”, if lucky to be so equipped, inside which the mechanic/pilot (usually the same person) could work on a (broken-down) plane’s engine by the heat of a stove!

In summary, it's the intrepid breed of bush pilots, that were instrumental in pushing back the (final) frontiers beyond what was humanly conceivable, all the way, to the northernmost (and coldest) edges of continental landmass! They were carrying passengers (and patients), mapping new territories, hauling necessities, discovering hidden gold-mines and conducting daring rescues...!

So, here, below, to typify an Alaskan flight, in the SIM, and to re-create just a tiny bit of ambience and romance, I've chosen to fly, one of my old favorites, an unusual and little seen Cessna design, the C195 (Side Note: The C190/C195 were Cessna's only postwar radial-engined aircraft). The (random) pictures are taken in the vicinity (and within the nearby mountains) of the two Airports (Skagway (PAGY) and Haines (PAHN)) - just about 100 miles north of Juneau (PAJN), so, it's not really deep bush-country, but rugged and rough, all the same!! The take-off is from PAGY and touch-down is into PAHN.

Also, please find, below, a list of 15 (classic) planes (no pictures, sorry), and, in no particular order, that may fall under the category of "bush-planes" (Please feel free to add your own, because the list is not exhaustive).

Hope you enjoy these images, below, from the above flight.

List of Bush-planes (not exhaustive):

1. Piper Super Cub
2. Pilatus Porter
3. Aviat Husky
4. Antonov An-2
5. Cessna 206
6. Noordyun Norseman
7. Stinson 108
8. PZL Wilga
9. Britten Norman BN2
10. dHC Beaver (DHC-2)
11. Zenith CH-701
12. Beech 18
13. Fairchild 71
14. Dornier 27
15. Yak-12

[And, for a bit of fun, for the Russian plane lovers (of the Siberian bush!), I add "Yak-40" here to the list! Yes, a jet...and that too a tri-jet...!! So, please don't expect to see Yak-40s landing on river sandbars along with Super Cubs and Annushkas! But, Yak-40's ability to operate safely and reliably out of poorly equipped airports with short, unpaved runways, in poor weather, is legendary. Aeroflot carried 354 million passengers with their Yak-40 fleet, alone, into the (deep) interiors destinations of Russia, at a time, when those local destinations and communities would not be reachable by any other plane...! So, it deserves a mention as a bush-plane, after all!]

Thanks for viewing!! Good weekend!

[Flysimware(C195)/Orbx(SAK)/REX]

Edited April 18, 20206 yr by P_7878

Very nice bush plane 👍
Thanks for showing!

Thanks for the comment, Torsten! Yes, it's such a nice plane..!!

Built, for only a very short, seven (post-war) years period, between (1947-1954)...so, it's considered "one of the finest (and rarest) classics ever built"...!

It's quite amazing, after all these years, as of now, how many (190/195)s are still "registered" and maintained in flyable condition...(by pilots and collectors)...!!

Interesting narration and screenies, P_7878. I once did a bit of bush-flying in Papua New Guinea. Most interesting!! At one such adventure I took my wife along. We had booked a flight from Goroka up in the highlands to Madang on the east coast. When my wife saw the plane (a C 172), she refused to board it, as she was afraid of flying in small aircrafts. I told her that the alternative was a one day bus ride together with the locals. That convinced her. She never came with me to PNG again. That was over thirty years ago and yes, I am still married to her 😊

W O W  Superb....What a Beautiful Classic

Thanks, Bernd and Patrick!!

[And, Bernd, looks like, PNG is, surely, quite a bush-country! During my BN2 post, I'd explored it, a bit, via (virtual) Orbx's mesh...but, you're talking, here, the "real" thing...!!! Glad it all worked out, after all....🙂...I wish we can convince our better-halves, how much we adore the (trusty little) C172 around here...🙂...(and yes, C172, is definitely also a "bush-plane" with floats/skis/wheels and what not)...!!]

Always enjoy your reading! Good stuff here again.