Weight in a beaver

[two-feet]

Cant recall how much weight is allowed for a flight in a beaver? 1400 lbs or so?

[butcher]

Yep. Bulk is usually more problem than payload

[Pemby_mess]

depends on the beaver. Some of them are uprated. I remember it being like 2200 lbs gross payload or so.

[Piperdown]

Title of the thread made me chuckle :)

[Blockcaver]

Best answered by the air taxi you plan to fly with. They will have the ultimate say when you are loading up.

[two-feet]

Last trip i did we had a medium moose, deboned, an inflatable boat(80lbs or so), two large guys and a light camp for our flight out, and the pilot said we had room for a little more. It would be nice to leave the quarters whole, deboned meat is a pain in the butt.

[bushpilot]

"Best answered by the air taxi you plan to fly with. They will have the ultimate say when you are loading up." <- This.

Loading an airplane has so many factors that go into it. Aircraft base weight varies from model and how it is setup, how heavy is the pilot, the required amount of fuel for the trip plus contingencies, temperature, departure elevation, air density, lake or strip length and pilot experience all come into play. Once you know where you are going and what you want to bring back the company can recommend an aircraft size. Maybe one trip in a beaver vs 2 trips with a C185, and plan to be under the weight recommended. Better to bring less stuff as you might be leaving it at the dock or paying for an extra flight to haul it out $$$.

[cpwrestler]

Elevation of the lake you plan to fly to also plays a big part in payload. The higher the lake, the lower the payload.

[elknut]

I thought a Beaver load was 1200 lbs ..An Otter 1800 lbs..Distance determines fuel load ..Safety is #1...Overloads cause problems ...Dennis...PS ..Flew with BC Yukon Air ...Ray and Ernie Sandie ..He weighed everything!!!!!!!....They were safe reliable pilots.....

[Cordillera]

Agree with above. Good rule of thumb is 1200 pounds for a beaver. External load like a canoe reduces that.

[MattW]

<- This.

Loading an airplane has so many factors that go into it. Aircraft base weight varies from model and how it is setup, how heavy is the pilot, the required amount of fuel for the trip plus contingencies, temperature, departure elevation, air density, lake or strip length and pilot experience all come into play. Once you know where you are going and what you want to bring back the company can recommend an aircraft size. Maybe one trip in a beaver vs 2 trips with a C185, and plan to be under the weight recommended. Better to bring less stuff as you might be leaving it at the dock or paying for an extra flight to haul it out $$$.
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This exactly. Lot's of variables, err on the light side to avoid surprises and/or disappointments.

[walks with deer]

1big load and go home.

[REMINGTON JIM]

Title of the thread made me chuckle :)

Hmm ! for What Reason ? :smile: RJ

[Piperdown]

Hmm ! for What Reason ? :smile: RJ

I guess i was thinking that i have had a wide range of weights when it comes to beavers :)

[.264winmag]

The turbo beaver is a beast, been in it for take-off with next to no freeboard left. At Sea-level though. IIRC pilots have told me 1500# for the regular beaver and 2400# for the turbine model, again at sea level.

[ryanb]

You'll hear different numbers... remember the pilot and fuel weighs something too. 1100 pounds is a good ballpark for what you and your gear can weigh. Distance of flight (fuel in board), altitude, and length of lake will all change what the aircraft and pilot can accommodate.

[Pemby_mess]

Keep in mind that gross payload is different than net-payload. A full tank of fuel will weigh close to 1000 ibs right there. So a long flight is going to have less capacity than a short one. Some operators will make modifications to their planes specifically to increase net-payload, and the specific configuration effects things of course. Most Beavers have floats, but wheeled beavers will have higher capacities, and the type of floats can make a difference too. As mentioned, the Beavers with turbine conversions are becoming more common, and can easily double or triple net-payload.