Bush plane
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A bush plane is a general aviation aircraft serving remote, undeveloped areas of a country, usually the African bush, Alaskan and Canadian tundra or the Australian Outback. Among the most common bush planes are the Cessna 180 and 206, de Havilland Otter, Beaver and DHC-6 Twin Otter, Douglas DC-3/C-47 and Piper Super Cub, although countless other aircraft types serve in these hostile, demanding environments.
[edit] Common traits
- High wings provide improved ground visibility during flight and greater distance between the bush and the wing during landing.
- Conventional or 'taildragger' landing gear — two large main wheels and a small rear wheel result in a nose-high attitude on the ground and increase prop clearance, convenient when operating from rough-surfaced runways. Bush pilots are often proud of the fact that most of their landings are logged in taildraggers.
- High-lift devices such as flaps, vortex generators, and slots or slats improve low speed flight characteristics, allowing for shorter ground rolls on landing.
- Very large, low-pressure tundra tires enable the pilot to land and take off in unimproved areas. It is not uncommon for a bush pilot to land (and take off) where no airplane has been before.
- Removable floats and skis permit operation on water or snow.
