The
Seabee has a special place in my heart as my Dad, Lloyd Atkinson,
owned 3 Bee's during the 50' and 60's (purchased from Leavens Brothers).
Your website has allowed me to trace these S/N's.
S/N 424
(CF-FVS) which crashed in
July of 1953 after shortly taking off water in Midland Ontario. He hit
several air downdrafts (pockets) and mushroomed (wings level) on a
beach. No major injuries to 4 occupants but the Bee's undercarriage and
wings (from struts out) were severely damaged and was scrapped for
parts. Have newspaper photos of wreck! Plus other (B&W) photos and 8
mm color movies.
S/N 963 (CF-GAB) flew from 53'
through 62' and was sold to unknown. Have some 8 mm movies and stills
(B&W). I still have his business letterhead showing the Bee in the
bottom corner with the slogan "Service by air anywhere".
S/N 392 (CF-FRX) Purchased around
1960-62 from Lake Lauzon in northern Ontario. He took her off on
her belly & landed (belly) on frozen Georgian Bay Midland)
Eventually sold to a Doctor in Ontario who flipped the aircraft wheels
down on Lake Since Ontario (no major injuries). This aircraft may still
be registered!
FOUR
FLEE BEACH BLANKET BEFORE PLANE DROPS ON IT
 Midland,
July 14 (1953) - Provincial Police Constable William Mohan's
wife and three children were sun-bathing on the beach near here
Sunday while the Mohan's fourth child, Ricky, eight, went for a
ride in a neighbor's seaplane. Five minutes later the
plane crashed - right on the blanket where the Mohans were
enjoying the Sun. Ricky, somewhat shaken, landed near his
mother's feet.
Ricky escaped with minor cuts and
bruises, and his three sisters and mother, who scrambled for
safety seconds before the aircraft crashed, were unhurt.
Owner of the plane, Lloyd Atkinson, 33, machine shop operator,
was slightly hurt, as were his two sons, Dough, four, and Tommy,
seven, also passengers in the plane. The fifth plane
passenger, Fred Thompson, 32, of Barrie, is in hospital with a
fractured pelvis. The plane and blanket were both
destroyed.
While others on the sunny beach
watched in horror, the craft dropped "like a stone from the
sky", Mrs. Mohan said, and the next thing she knew her son,
Ricky, had bounced, unhurt, out of the wreckage to land near her
feet. Her other children, Mary Jane, Maureen and Debby,
were unhurt.
Pilot of the plane - Lloyd Atkinson, was only slightly
hurt. Shown in front of him is Ricky Mohan, who escaped
with minor bruises. Atkinson's 2 sons, Doug (4) and Tommy
(7), at the right, passengers in the plane, escaped serious
injury.
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There
are 2 more non-flying Seabees in Midland which were to be made
into 1 flying plane by a local pilot (Bruce Tinney). I will
find the s/nos of these Seabees for you. Is it possible Mr.
Tinney has visited your website or has investigated the Robinson V8
conversion? It
is also possible that he has sold these aircraft... I will find out
their status.
I
remember a Seabee crashed to destruction at Muskoka Airport in
the late 70's (apparently a control failure) and Canadian Transportation
records should indicate a serial number... I will pass
this info on to you.
A Bee also flew out of Collingwood, Ontario, in the 90's. I should be
able to trace this craft.
My fathers 1st Seabee, s/n 424, CF-FVS, was owned by the Robinson Family
prior to Dad's ownership and subsequent crash on July 14,1953. I would
never have known this without your website!
I
do have several stories concerning Seabees that I can
share with you that include... a bullet hole into a pontoon,
the loss of a pontoon locking pin, an engine failure and
emergency landing to a wilderness fishing trip finding Muskrats
all over the aircraft, seemingly in love with the taste of aluminum?
A family friend and pilot borrowed our Seabee, he
couldn't take off in calm water and didn't know enough to
"bounce the aircraft". This gentleman parked the Seabee
and declared he "refused to fly an airplane that needed
to be "bounced to fly".
I
remember the sound of the Franklin inside and out! I could
easily pick one out today! As a child, I loved to watch the water
on the pontoons and I even flew the Bee while sitting on my Dads knee.
Of
course none of the Seabees that my Dad owned had modifications or
electronics. All had 2 bladed props and seemed to land at the same
speed they took off at.
Loyd
flew the Bees so much that when he was asked to land a Cessna
with trike gear, later in his days, he just couldn't get the nose
wheel down, much to the dismay of the owner / pilot. He used up much
of the landing strip with the nose in the air! We all had a good
laugh!
E-mails from
Dave Atkinson
September 2006
Thank you very much for your
stories, Dave! We look forward to hearing more from you!
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