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An emergency landing in remote wilderness required ingenuity to return CF-BMI to flyable status. Without onboard spare parts, all materials including rudder and propeller needed to be flown to the site by bush planes such as Fairchilds and Fokkers. (Credit: Hudson’s Bay Company Archives)
bacon or bread went aloft. Occasional medevac flights from Native American villages or trap lines broke routine. The “fastest (air)plane in Canada” began paying its way.
When seaplane season arrived, Starratt began encountering regulatory issues. Export documents specified two-crew operations for the airplane although all Hudson assignments occurred in VFR day-only conditions. A superfluous co-pilot meant 170 pounds of less payload. Aircraft Industries and W. H. Beech negotiated with aviation hierarchies in both countries and arranged a single pilot with a right front seat passenger.
On May 8, 1938, an inspector confirmed CF- BGY’s 4,272-pound empty weight and reviewed the 7,7140-pound seaplane gross weight with nine people, including the pilot. Floats weighed 840 pounds, and takeoff across the water lasted 17 seconds. A ventral fin added surface area for stability and pullup water rudder cables eased steering when taxiing. Considered leaders in an expanding northern transportation industry, the Starratts rejoiced in what author Joseph P. Juptner described as an “odd concept” flagship.
Their smugness did not last. On June 2, 1938, a cracked elevator and rudder hinges appeared in a report and one month later, a snapped diagonal strut resulted in float damage and wrinkled skin panels. “The bottom crown of the left engine nacelle was stove in,” added pilot Humphrey O. Madden. A factory representative rushed from Wichita to oversee repair and within a few days, the fatigued Fairchilds and Fokkers welcomed their sister ship back.
Nightfall in sub-zero-degree winters meant canvas covers every evening to prevent icing. In the early
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morning, mechanics placed blowpots (similar to large blow torches) under nacelles to warm the engines. Ice crystal fog often brought zero visibility and snow squalls created white-out conditions when aircrew could not differentiate between snow and sky for safe landings. Despite mastering hardships and hazards, the Starratts never anticipated the tragic event, which became an unwelcome first in Beech’s history.
On Jan. 17, 1941, 24-year-old Bud Starratt, son of the founder, did not return from a routine trip. Search pilot- operations manager Dale S. Atkinson discovered the vaguely outlined wreckage in snow 32 miles southeast of the mining settlement of Red Lake. The pilot and passenger had lost their lives in Canada’s first Model 18 fatality. Investigators attributed the loss to carbon monoxide from a defective heater.
Shortly after, the Starratts returned to their wood- wing fleet.
Impressed with Beech demonstration tours, the Hudson Bay Company’s Air Transport Division purchased an S18D-224 version April 24, 1939, to reduce transportation times. The “bush-corporate” entity specialized in long-distance hauls above forest or tundra and anticipated reducing three-week dog team and canoe trip travel to three-hour flights. Sadly, the “top-notch backcountry bush airplane,” as Beechcraft historian Robert K. Parmerter called CF-BMI, met its demise within two years of delivery after an Aug. 12, 1941, water touchdown on Richmond Gulf of eastern Hudson Bay.
“I realized the landing would be hard on the aircraft and started to open the throttles to keep in the air when we collided with a second wave. I knew something had
MARCH 2023