The Found family’s name is famous among bush pilots worldwide for having built a tough little freight-hauling aircraft designed for hard service in Canada’s wilderness. The S.R.'s (Rick) father, Sherman, along with his uncle Nathan (Bud) Found, and with financial backing from department store magnate John David Eaton, took on the Herculean task of gaining FAA certification for their dream aircraft.
Despite both financial and engineering setbacks, they hung in and produced an airplane that outperformed anything then being imported from the United States. So why, with an industry begging for the plane, were only 27 aircraft produced?
The updated edition of the Bush Hawk story he adds a chapter dealing with the sale by the receiver of the Found Aircraft Company’s assets to Pacific Aerospace Limited (PAL) of Hamilton, New Zealand. PAL is a 70-year-old company noted for its manufacture of agricultural-spraying aircraft. The transfer details the fact that the Found FBA-2C aircraft, now marketed by PAL, is newly designated as the FBA-2C3 Expedition; the first one has been sold into the United States. Sadly, all that is left of Bud Found’s original design is the planform and area of the wing. One cannot escape the irony that the aircraft had to go to the other side the world and come back to achieve Bud Found's long-held dream for its success.