Yes Folks, it's true.
If blood is indeed thicker than water, then the “Brotherhood of the Beaver” must be the mud that dams are made of.
The good news is there is a resurgence of Vintage diesel combat in the Vancouver B.C. area, the bad news is ... they're Beavers. Not just any beavers mind you, Canadian beavers and they can be the most dangerous of all.
The most recent addition to the colony of Norwest beavers is one Denis Cousineau. Denis is a recovering stunt flyer and back in the day was pretty dam good. (Pun intended.) Denis won first place at the Sandpoint contest in 1962, 63 and 64. The BBB were just kids then, watching and wondering how on earth such building skills were possible! The stunter pictured is one built 50 years ago by Denis. The Eureka as published in Model Airplane news 1962. Is shown below and may have been the inspiration for Greg Davis to build his Great looking Regal.
What appeared to be a tiny beaver blip on the ol' Bod Buster radar, has turned out to be something of substance. The now famous “Butcher, Killer and Cheese” have added to their numbers. Secret photographs from Dirty Dan (the stunt Guru) who was hiding in the brush at Rice Mill flying site, shows that not only have they added “The Alien” to their ranks, but Denis Cousineau as well!! Just barely escaping detection, Dirt was able to get one last picture of the gang of Beavers.
If you look closely, you will see that Denis has fallen into bad company and is ensconced between The Butcher and Cheese. Killer Kelley is somehow missing and we suspect was following The Stunt Guru as he tramped through the Canadian wilderness. Yet closer inspection shows still another suspicious character . On the left is one Pat Meehan. The Stunt Guru's research shows him to have once been an active modeler who was president of the Vancouver Gas Model club some 10 years ago, possibly more. Pat has been involved in the community and runs a program teaching Cub Scouts to build gliders. One can only guess where this may lead to ... more beavers!
As stated previously, we ain't scared a no Beavers and to prove this, Kenny-b and the Bod Busters are hosting another Diesel Fizz contest, spring of 2012.(Vintage Diesel Combat). As is the tradition of the world renown and much ballyhooed Diesel Fizz contest, the event will bring back (by popular demand) the much loved DUCK-DUCK-GOOSE rules, as well as the Piñata event. Trophies through third and the possibility of another deep fried turkey.
There seems to be some infighting going on, possibly the more aggressive beavers are showing symptoms of the effects that d-bat can have on one. Dan was fortunate to get this quick snapshot and we have been trying to break the code on it for several weeks! It seems to have some sort of ritualistic meaning but we're just not sure.
But have no fear dear readers, the BBB will take on the new onslaught of Northern Beavers as well as the Southern variety. We do seem to be penned in a bit but that's just the way things go.
Stay tuned right here on Flying lines for more details on Diesel Fizz 2012.
-- Kenny-b
Barrie Hobkirk and Vintage Diesel Combat planes.
Who needs a boat horn? Trombone works fine for combat start signal.
Greg Davis (left) and Barrie Hobkirk.
This page was upated Dec. 2, 2011