Norseman Ski

[Stian]

Hi, Buffalo Joe put a set of Norseman Skies in his terminal. I tried last winter to do some restoration for hem. I invite you to have a look if you come by in town or if you are in town. He made a nice display.
Befor


After


unfortunatly, they was on the floor for months, with people droping cofee on it, so they don't look that shiny anymore.

[beech 18]

Feb 11, 2013

Stian - You did a beautiful job restoring the ski.
It looks great.

[Just another canuck]

Very cool!!

They would look really good on the Norseman... with me driving.

[Stian]

Very cool!!

They would look really good on the Norseman... with me driving.

I don’t know if it is a good idea to put hem back on the plane. They are old and not on very good condition for be use.

[Siddley Hawker]

You did a nice job Stian. What do those things weigh, I seem to recall they were pretty heavy. Many years ago me and Jules Blouin moved a set at Squaw Lake, in Schefferville, and it took the two of us to lift them.

[Stian]

They are pretty heavy. I have lot of difficulty to move one ski around. I believe the weight is more then 200 pounds.

The tail ski


For people who are curious to know the mechanism inside.



Sorry for my poor english.

[beech 18]

Feb 12, 2013

Stian - It is really nice that these skis are on display for
others to see.

[Jonathan Goldsmith]

Those look like Mayson & Campbell skis which were made in Prince Albert.

[roscoe]

An M&C pedestal for sure.

[Antique Pilot]

Does anyone know if the Elliot Bros. Skis made in Sioux Lookout had a pneumatic pedestal similar to the M&C ski or were they just straight boards?

[Stian]

This ski are from Prince Albert. but I don't know if they are M&C production.
A plate on the ski say Saskatchewan government Airways.

I did an other set of ski a couple of years ago. And this one I think they are from Sious Lookout. I will tri to go have a look this week end to confirm.

But on the both ski the system for attach on the plane are excactly the same.

[Siddley Hawker]

Those are M&C pedestals for sure. The skis could be Elliots, but I seem to recall Elliot's had one ply that went crossways. Here's the description of the Elliot Type 16 Noorduyn ski that I got from Bob Noorduyn Jr.

<<Elliot Type 16:
#1 white ash boards all rivetted together throughout with #10 copper nails. Bottom of runners sheeted with brass and 16 guage dural between runners. Pneumatic ski pedestal - M&C Aviation Company Ltd. Model P40.>>

Here's a link to an article on aircraft ski development. Be advised it's about a beer long.

http://books.google.ca/books?id=F1xHwJL ... is&f=false

[Antique Pilot]

Thanks HS, that helps a lot. So it is probable that the MC pedestals were placed on Elliot boards. In my bush flying days 40+ odd years ago I saw lots of Norsemans on the pedestal skis and 1 on wheel skis.

On a separate subject I also worked with Beech 18's on Bristol wheel skis and straight skis (gear was fixed down and unable to retract).

Stian: Is it possible that the Sask Gov't built up those skis under licence from M & C?

Cheers,
AP

[Stian]

This week end I go back to Buffalo, try to find more information on the skis. Take a picture of the (plates). Not to much information on the plate but we never know.

I will try to find Joe, and ask hem some question, he is very knowledgeable.

[Stian]

So I fund some information. The skies are made at Sioux Lookout by Elliott Bros.
And the pedestrals are made in Prince Albert. It is what Joe told me. But I don’t know who made the pedestrals.

Sorry I don't have more information

[beech 18]

Feb 16, 2013

Stian - What a beautiful display.

[Beefitarian]

Yeah, say what you will about Joe people but he is keeping some nifty little pockets of history alive,

[Siddley Hawker]

Wow, that's really nice Stian.

[Stian]

Thank you!

[JD - Researcher]

Hi Stian,

These skis look great, sorry to reply to such an old thread. My name is James and I am currently doing research for a TV series being produced in the UK. I am actually looking into the history of Aviation Skis in Canada during the 1930s/40s. Especially looking at these via kind of skis.

Can you please tell me, do you still have the skis? And would it be possible to maybe come and film the skis as part of our film?

Please let me know if you can help, I'd be happy to discuss via email.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Kind Regards,
James

Researcher - Impossible Engineering

[NWONT]

This past summer our local museum had a display about bush pilots so I volunteered to help anyway I could. They asked if I could find an old ski for the center display. With some help I got these old Norseman boards. They have been out in the elements for 25 or 30 years. Too rotten to do much with and full of ants and other bugs. I wanted to make one presentable but no easy to work with rotten wood. I replaced the part that held the pedestal and ground off as much deteriorated wood as I could. Sprayed it with bug killer and wrapped it in plastic for a day until bugs gone. Then put the stain to it, paint stripped and repainted the pedestal.

[NWONT]

I haven't worked on Norseman skis for about 40 years so I did enjoy the memory this brought back. I found the tag under layers of rust and old paint and it read "Saskatchewan Government Airways, Model No PAE 8200, Insp Date 23-12-50" So I figure that this Engineer certified these skis just before going off for Christmas in 1950.

[NWONT]

Digging around on the net I found this photo of a Saskatchewan Government Airways Norseman taken in Stony Rapids in 1951. It's possible that these same skis are on this plane.

[NWONT]

Here is the ski on display at the museum. It seems a lot of people were interested enough to take time to come to the museum to see all the artifacts on display. There is a huge amount of aviation history in the Red Lake/Pickle Lake area and very few know about it. Little was ever recorded and many would like to see it forgotten. There have been more crashes in this area than you can imagine but due to liabilities the accident reports were altered to protect those involved including Transport Canada. There was a thread about DC-3's on here a few years ago and that caused some panic so it was quickly shit-canned!! Oh well, maybe best that way.

[valleyboy]

I have flown both "Sask" gov skis and Elliot boards. The ones I flew both had the M&C pedestals. The design was very different. The Elliot skies were laminated which was the secret to their success because of the ability to flex. The Sask gov design was a solid board design (at least the ones I flew) which was very thick and much stubbier. Everyone much preferred the Elliots. Much better performance on sticky snow and breaking free.