The Boeing Beaver was an evolution from the P-26A Peashooter and Westland
Wasp.
The Beaver came out of a requirement to address the need to fly urgent medical supplies to remote Canadian communities which had no land access.
This aircraft belonged to Wilfrid Reid "Wop" May OBE DFC (March 20, 1896 – June 21, 1952),. May was a Canadian flying ace in the First World War and a leading post-war aviator. He was the final Allied pilot to be pursued by Manfred von Richthofen before the German ace was shot down on the Western Front in 1918. After the war, May returned to Canada, pioneering the role of a bush pilot while working for Canadian Airways in Northern Alberta and the Northwest Territories.
May made Canadian Aviation history when in December 1928, Bert Logan, an employee of the Hudson's Bay Company was posted to Little Red River, Alberta, on arrival he was unpacking when he suddenly became very ill. His wife, a nurse, realized he had diphtheria, and a desperate effort started to get inoculations to the town before anyone else was seriously infected. Simply getting the word out that help was needed was an adventure in its own. At the time, there were no roads in the north, and the nearest telegraph station was miles away over a frozen landscape. The message eventually reached Edmonton, and on January 1, May was asked if he could deliver the medicine. He left in an Avro Avian with another flying club member, Vic Horner, the next day around noon, and landed on Kimiwan Lake, McLennan for the night just before 4 p.m. when it was becoming dark. They refueled on the Peace River and continued their flight, arriving in Fort Vermilion at 3 p.m. A group had just arrived from Little Red River and the drugs were quickly distributed. They had to stop in Peace River on the return flight due to engine damage from the low quality fuel, and did not arrive back in Edmonton until January 7. By this point, his flight had become known across Canada as "the race against death", and he and the mayor arrived to find a media circus waiting for them in town. Note the Avro Avian’s maximum speed was105 mph (169 km/h)
Commercial Airways purchased three Bellanca Pacemaker CH-300s in 1929. CF-AKI was May’s personal aircraft after Canadian Airways Limited purchased Commercial Airways.
But May wanted something faster. So he called his best buddy Bill in Seattle and said: Hey Bill, I want something that is fast, has floats and an enclosed cockpit so I don’t freeze up like I did in 1929. What can you do for me?
So Bill scratched his head and remembered that Westland had updated his P-26A so he had one shipped over, added floats, a full canopy and a heated storage box behind the cockpit.
As well Canadian Airways Limited was no stranger to Boeing products having also purchased Boeing 40s.
Note the Bellanca Pacemaker’s maximum speed was 165 mph (266 km/h) while the Boeing Beaver could reach a maximum speed of 234 mph (377 km/h). Less with floats.
Bill of Materials:
Revell P-26A
Hasegawa He-51B for the floats
DML FW-190 canopy
Other home made items
Thunderbird Models Bellanca CH-300 Pacemaker Decals. Wop May flew CF-AKI.