Viking Air
| Type | Corporation |
|---|---|
| Industry | General Aviation |
| Founded | 1973 |
| Headquarters | Victoria, British Columbia |
| Key people | David Curtis President and CEO |
| Products | DHC-2T Turbo Beaver DHC-6 Twin Otter Series 400 |
| Employees | 450[1] |
| Website | VikingAir.com |
Viking Air Ltd. is a manufacturer of aircraft, as well as aircraft parts and systems, based in Victoria, British Columbia. The company produces new versions of the DHC-6 Twin Otter, upgraded versions of the DHC-2 Beaver, spare parts for older de Havilland Canada aircraft, and components for Bell Helicopter Textron.
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[edit] History
The company was established in 1970 as an aircraft modification, sales, and repair facility in Victoria.
Viking acquired the exclusive rights to spare parts manufacturing and distribution for the DHC-2 Beaver and the DHC-3 Otter aircraft in 1983. The company subsequently purchased the parts and service business for all the older de Havilland Canada aircraft from Bombardier.[2]
On February 24, 2006, Viking purchased the type certificates from Bombardier for all the discontinued de Havilland Canada designs[3] including
but excluding the DHC-8 Dash 8, which is still produced by Bombardier Aerospace.
Since 2008 Viking has been producing both the Beaver and Twin Otter.
The ownership of the certificates gives Viking the exclusive right to manufacture new aircraft.
[edit] New production
On April 2, 2007 Viking announced that with 27 orders and options in hand, it was restarting production of the Twin Otter with more powerful Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-34/35 engines.[4] The first flight of the Series 400 technical demonstrator took place on October 1, 2008 at Victoria International Airport.[5] In February 2010 the first new production Twin Otter Series 400 equipped with Honeywell's Primus Apex IFR digital flight deck and configured with a commuter interior took its first flight.[6]
Viking Air also produces upgraded DHC-2 Beavers called the DHC-2T Turbo Beaver. The DHC-6-400 series Twin Otter design has all around better performance, it includes more power, space, and now can haul up to 4,280 lbs of freight.[citation needed]
[edit] References
- ^ [1]
- ^ Viking Air Limited acquires certain assets of Bombardier Commercial Service May 2, 2005
- ^ Viking acquires DeHavilland type certificates February 24, 2006
- ^ Viking restarts Twin Otter production April 2, 2007
- ^ First Flight For New Twin Otter A "Boring" Success October 01, 2008
- ^ First Flight For New Twin Otter AvFlash News, February 27, 2010
[edit] External links
- Official Site
- Company Profile at Industry Canada
- "Victoria-built planes fly around the globe", Times-Colonist, 6 Dec 2011
[edit] External reading
- Sean Rossiter The Immortal Beaver: The World's Greatest Bush Plane , Douglas & McIntyre, 2005 ISBN 1550547240,
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