U-6A Beaver

Prime Contractor: de Havilland Canada

Service: United States Navy

Propulsion: One Pratt & Whitney 450 hp R985 Wasp Junior SB-3 reciprocating radial engine

Speed: 163 miles per hour

Range: 455 miles

Crew: 2 pilots and 5 crew

The U-6A Beaver is used by U.S. Navy test pilots to tow the X-26 Frigate sailplane for test pilot school trainees. The Beaver was designed as an all-purpose utility capable of being equipped with wheels, skis, standard floats, or amphibious floats.

The wings are high-mounted and rectangular with blunt tips. One piston engine is mounted in the nose section. A later development, MK III, has a turboprop engine, which changes the configuration of the nose significantly. The fuselage is club-shaped with blunt nose and sharply tapered tail section.

The tail flats are high-mounted on body and equally tapered with blunt tips. It was equipped with a belly camera hatch and could be fitted with canoe racks. It has seen wide service around the world for all types of transportation requirements.

Among its many uses were forest patrol, water bombing, parachute drops, aerial photography, aerial fish stocking, transportation, and cargo delivery.