Summary
In March 1974, the Beaver Beacon reported preparations to bring the island’s first emergency evacuation airplane to Beaver Island. Jim Janda had traveled to Tucson to retrieve the surplus Beaver aircraft; at the time of publication it was in Fremont for insignia, wing, and fuselage numbers and was expected on the Island in two or three weeks.
The published operating rules made medical evacuation of critically ill or injured people the primary use. They also provided for air searches, assistance to the Coast Guard and sheriff’s department in emergencies, approved volunteer pilots, no-fee medical evacuation, and emergency-or-maintenance-only flights.
The May–June 1974 Beaver Beacon later confirms that the aircraft reached the island and entered emergency service: it reports a first medical evacuation on June 18 and a second on June 24. Those flights are modeled separately as First medical evacuation by Beaver Island emergency aircraft (1974) and Second medical evacuation by Beaver Island emergency aircraft (1974).
Evidence and limits
This is a preparation and policy report, not proof that the aircraft had already The March report itself does not provide a registration, manufacturer serial number, owner, complete pilot roster, medical organization, or later operating record; the later May–June report supplies the first two service episodes but does not resolve those remaining fields. The Boat Company’s separate offer to make a vessel available when weather prevented flying is recorded on the source’s page but is not treated as proof that the aircraft and company formed one legal organization.
Open questions
- What were its registration, serial number, owner, pilots, and later disposition?
- Which later medical evacuations, searches, or emergency flights did it perform?
- What organization administered the aircraft and its volunteer-pilot program?
See also
- Jim Janda (1974 emergency aircraft retrieval)
- Beaver Island Boat Company
- Construction of Beaver Island emergency-aircraft hangar (1974)
- The Beaver (Beaver Island emergency aircraft, 1974)
- First medical evacuation by Beaver Island emergency aircraft (1974)
- Second medical evacuation by Beaver Island emergency aircraft (1974)
- Beaver Island
Sources
- Beaver Beacon, March 1974, “Emergency Plane On Way” and “Rules For Operation of U6A Beaver Aircraft.”Reports that Jim Janda had retrieved a surplus Beaver aircraft from Tucson and that it was in Fremont for insignia, wing, and fuselage numbers before Island delivery. The printed rules designate medical evacuation as the primary use, allow air search and rescue and emergency assistance to other agencies, require approved volunteer pilots, provide no-fee medical evacuation, and limit flights to emergencies or maintenance.