History

Mr. Robert (R.B.C.) Norduyn founded Norduyn Aircraft Limited in 1933. A Dutch immigrant to Canada, Mr. Norduyn who had spent several years working for Fokker Aircraft in Europe and in the USA came to Canada with the vision of creating a new aircraft adapted to the harsh environments of western and northern Canada where new air routes were being opened for exploration.

Out of this emerging need for a robust freighter aircraft, the Norseman was born in 1935. The fuselage structure was of all-welded steel tubing, a technique that was innovative and a bit controversial at that time.

During the later 1930’s Norduyn-built Norseman aircraft began to appear in the Northwest Territories, Northern Quebec and Ontario, wherever pioneers were breaking open new frontiers by air. The Norseman soon proved itself to be the air freighter by excellence.

When the war began, the Norseman proved itself equally adaptable to the transport purposes of the world under arms. During 1942 a modernized version of the Norseman was accepted by the U.S. Army for utility transport purposes, on wheels, skis and floats. When the contract was terminated in 1945, 759 Norseman aircraft had been delivered to the U.S. Forces.

Breaking new ground, The sturdy Norseman was the first Canadian-designed, Canadian-built aircraft to be sold extensively outside Canada, serving in a number of countries around the world.

Proud of our past, confident in our future, the Norduyn brand stands for credibility, innovation and engagement in our employees and customers. Mr. Norduyn created this company out of the belief that he would be first to develop the best airplane suited for opening vast uncharted lands of the north.

Like our founder our vision looking out to the future is to always be first with new solutions for our customers, solutions which address the many challenges generated from a world in constant motion.