Inuvik (Dec 22/06) - Four years after it last plummeted to earth, a Cessna 170 is back on top of a pole near the visitors' centre.

GNWT public works and services regional superintendent Roy Clarke said the new support system being used to hold the plane on the pole is stronger than the previous one.

This 1956 Cessna 170 has been hoisted once again on its perch outside the visitors' centre. The aircraft has fallen off the post three times, but designers of the new support post are hoping for the best. - Dez Loreen/NNSL photo

"The plane is being held up by a different system, designed specially for the project," said Clarke.

The plane originally belonged to Carl Falsnes, who was a pilot in the region.

Though the plane belonged to someone else, it was placed to pay respects to Fred Carmichael, a former pilot in the Mackenzie Delta.

At first, the plane was set atop the pole with its seats and interior intact.

After its first crash, the structure of the plane was re-examined. The inside was hollowed out and a special frame was made to balance the small-winged machine.

Then the problem wasn't a weight issue, but one of physics.

Clarke said the previous support system worked like a paper clip. It would spin, but winds would bend it back and forth, until the plane fell off again.

The plane has been in storage, being repaired from the back to front.

"The tail was replaced and the structure was changed," said Clarke.

"The structural frame is what keeps the plane stabilized to the supporting column."

Clarke knew that the plane needed to stand up to the harsh conditions and winds.

"We needed a new design that would stand the weather stresses," he said.

The plane doesn't look too different from before because the changes are all internal.

"There is quite a support system in the fuselage," said Clarke.

With new designers and a strong support system, only time will tell how long the steel bird will fly this time.