Good morning from Innisfail, Alberta!
My name is Alex, and welcome to this sort-of trip report.
A few weeks ago, I got word that a particularly rare aircraft type was flying around Beiseker,
a town about 50 kilometres northeast of Calgary.
That aircraft was a Short SC.7 Skyvan, a twin engine turboprop designed by Northern Irish
aircraft manufacturer Short Brothers.
Nicknamed the “Flying Shoebox”, it was designed as a Short Takeoff and Landing (STOL)
multi-role transport aircraft that could carry either 19 passengers or around 5000 pounds
of cargo.
Only 149 of these aircraft were ever built, and it’s in very limited service these days.
Now it’s not exactly the most elegant looking airplane, but with its boxy design and large
rear door, it serves as a very useful platform for skydiving!
That weekend, they were doing some skydiving flights with the plane out of Beiseker Airport,
but I unfortunately didn’t make it to see it there.
However, some emails and phone calls later, I found out that the next weekend they would
be heading to Innisfail, another small town just south of Red Deer, to do some more skydiving
flights.
The Skyvan in question is registered as Charlie Golf Tango Bravo Uniform, and is operated
by Whitehorse-based Nomad Air.
This bird is a Skyvan Series 3, built in 1967!
Along with, obviously, skydiving, they were offering “observer flights” in the aircraft
where you could tag along in the copilot seat for just $95.
Being able to fly up front in one of the rarest airplanes in North America for that price?
I knew I had to come check it out.
Settled into the… surprisingly spacious flight deck of the Skyvan, you can tell it’s
definitely from another era!
Plus it is kinda funny to look out the side doors which remind me of UPS trucks more than
anything.
As the thrill seekers piled into the back, the engines were started and soon we were
on our way out.
Here’s our departure from Innisfail, off of runway 16.
Today’s flight path was essentially us climbing while circling over the airport up to 15,500
feet, before dropping the skydivers and then heading back down.
It was a gorgeous September morning in Central Alberta, and we were treated to some great
views of Innisfail Airport, the town of Innisfail, and Red Deer in the distance on the 20-minute
or so climb.
As it turns out, at 54 years old, this is actually the oldest airplane I’ve ever flown
on!
Its history is a little trickier to verify than some other more common types, but it’s
been flown by a number of smaller operators around the US, and actually flew with NASA
for a couple of years.
It eventually joined Nomad Air in 2012, and I’ll leave some links to some historical
photos I found in the description.
Despite the type being exceedingly rare these days, there are actually 5 registered in Canada.
Two of them are registered to Nomad Air, or Ten Barrel Inc., and Summit Air also has another
two that seem to be flying around the UK.
There’s also one registered to a Quebec-based skydiving company.
I can definitely appreciate what an opportunity this was, and for the $95, it was an absolute
steal.
This being a skydiving flight, some of you are bound to ask the question - no I didn’t
jump, but funny enough, to do so would actually cost close to $400.
So to put that in perspective, I paid $95 to ride along in the plane all the way up
and all the way back down again, but to leave the plane midway through the flight actually
costs 3 to 4 times as much.
And yes, obviously parachutes and skydiving instructors aren’t free, but when you think
about it in terms of price, it’s kind of amusing.
Anyway, we eventually reached 15,500 feet, and I quickly noticed some light out the back
of the plane.
With the skydivers away, down we went, quite rapidly, I might add. Here’s our arrival back into Innisfail,
landing again on runway 16.
So, that was the Short SC.7 Skyvan!
What a unique aircraft, and what a great experience that was.
Seriously, this is the sort of stuff that I live for, flying on rare airplane types
in the most random scenarios.
Thanks as well to the pilot who flew us today, I had a great time and I really enjoyed our
conversation, if you happen to be watching.
I stuck around afterwards to get some spotting footage of the Skyvan in action, so I’ll
leave you with that!
Thank you so much for watching as always, and I’ll see you next time.