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Some things in life are well worth remembering, and the privilege of testing and reviewing the Aerosoft De Havilland DHC-2 Beaver is certainly at the top of that list. The panel appears, and before you have time to twist a knob or flip a switch you are transported back in time several decades, and I admit that I was nearly compelled to shut everything down, run out and buy a checkered wool shirt and a pair of lace-up work-boots, and then grow a scraggly beard before continuing with the flight test!

Does the De Havilland DHC-2 Beaver have a past? Does she ever! In doing some basic research on the Beaver, two words kept popping up: “Timeless” and “Ageless”, and both descriptions fit the Beaver perfectly! She was designed as a utilitarian bird meant to function well under the worst possible conditions, and indeed she does just that. The history trail seems to wander around somewhat, depending on who wrote the research article, but it seems the first Beaver came to life at Downside, Ontario, Canada on August 16, 1947, and she has played a vast number of roles since that day…firefighting, bush-flying, cargo and passenger-hauling, military applications…the list goes on and on! About 1700 “standard” Beavers were manufactured between 1947 and 1966, and another 100 or so turboprop Beavers were manufactured between 1966 and 1968, when Beaver production was halted completely.