De Havilland to build large aircraft manufacturing complex east of Calgary, Alberta

They will produce the DHC-515 water scooping air tanker, DHC-6 Twin Otter, and Dash 8-400 (Q400)

Artist concept of De Havilland Field
Artist concept of De Havilland Field, with construction scheduled to be begin in 2023. De Havilland image.

In a discussion Wednesday about the numerous massive wildfires in France this year, and what that may portend for fire seasons to come, Gérald Moussa Darmanin, Minister of the Interior, said, “We want to increase the number of Canadair [water scooping air tankers] in our own fleet from twelve to sixteen. But the problem is not to buy them, it is to produce them. Today there are no longer any factories that do so.”

France is also in the process of replacing their S-2 air tankers with six Dash 8-400 (Q400) air tankers.

The De Havilland CL-215 and CL-415 water scooping air tankers are no longer in production. But in March the company announced that a new modernized variant, the DHC-515, first teased in 2018, will be assembled in Calgary, Alberta with deliveries beginning by the middle of the decade.

De Havilland has facilities in Calgary where work on the existing CL-215, CL- 415, and CL-415 EAF aircraft currently takes place employing about 1,000 people at six buildings.

Introduction of De Havilland Field
Introduction of the planned construction of De Havilland Field, September 21, 2022. De Havilland photo.

The same day Mr. Darmanin said production of new firefighting air tankers is not occurring, De Havilland made a grand announcement at the Calgary airport. The company has acquired nearly 1,500 acres of land east of the city on which they expect to build a very extensive complex of aircraft manufacturing facilities. It will include a runway and will be known as De Havilland Field with construction beginning as early as 2023 with the first buildings operational by 2025.

“De Havilland Field, like Rome — I have to warn you — won’t be built in a day. We anticipate the full build-out will take somewhere between 10 and 15 years,” said company co-owner Sherry Brydson. “We’re planning to take it slowly and seriously, and we’re going to make sure it works.”

The company expects to employ 1,500 workers to produce at least three lines of aircraft — DHC-515, DHC-6 Twin Otter, and Dash 8-400 (Q400).

Work on the Twin Otter and Dash 8-400 paused at the start of the pandemic in 2020.

In February, the company announced the consolidation of Viking Air, Longview Aviation, Pacific Sky Training, and De Havilland Canada under the operating brand De Havilland Aircraft of Canada.

The European Union coordinates and funds the deployment of 12 fixed wing firefighting airplanes and one helicopter pooled by EU countries. We reported in July that the EU plans to purchase additional air tankers.

“European customers have signed letters of intent to purchase the first 22 aircraft pending the positive outcome of government-to-government negotiations through the Government of Canada’s contracting agency, the Canadian Commercial Corporation,” an announcement from De Havilland read. “De Havilland Canada expects first deliveries of the DHC-515 by the middle of the decade, with deliveries of additional aircraft to begin at the end of the decade, providing other customers the opportunity to renew existing fleets or proceed with new acquisition opportunities at that time.”

Bridger Aerospace uses Twin Otter to train air tanker pilots

Then they can graduate to the new CL-415EAF

Bridger Twin Otter, by Jarrod Wilkening
Twin Otter used by Bridger Aerospace. Photo by Jarrod Wilkening.

Bridger Aerospace is using a DeHavilland DHC-6-300 Twin Otter, N532CV, to train pilots to fly their new CL-415EAF water-dropping amphibious air tankers. The Twin Otter itself is not tanked, but K. Mita of Bridger said, “Essentially the Otter and [CL-415EAF] fly similar enough that it’s a great platform for new amphib pilots to train on. Once they graduate Otter school, they get to hop in the right seat of the CL.”

The CL-415EAF amphibious air tanker can skim across a body of water to refill the 1,400-gallon tank then drop it on a fire.

The scooper team will be training near Conroe, Texas from the end of January through March.

Tanker 281 Cedar Fire Nevada
Air Tanker 281, a CL-415EAF, completed over 60 water drops in support of firefighters at the Cedar Fire south of Elko Nevada on its first ever mission. Photo July 21, 2020 by K Mita, Bridger Aerospace.

The first CL-415EAF was delivered to Bridger Aerospace’s facility in Bozeman, Montana in April, 2020 as part of a contract that with all options exercised is valued at $204 million covering the purchase of six of the amphibious scooping air tankers.

The first use of one on a wildfire was Tanker 281 on the 6,000-acre Cedar Fire 15 miles south of Elko, Nevada where it completed over 60 water drops in support of firefighters.

The CL-415EAF modification program consists of converting CL-215 airframes to turbines using Viking-supplied conversion kits and replacing all obsolete components. It features a new Collins Pro Line Fusion integrated digital avionics suite, Pratt & Whitney PW123AF turbine engines, and increased water tank capacity with a higher delivery two-door water drop system. The conversion work is done in Canada by Longview Aviation Services in collaboration with Cascade Aerospace.

Bridger Aerospace’s Pilatus PC-12 will be coming online soon with a new paint scheme. It will be going into service as an air attack platform.

“We are pushing hard to demonstrate that the single-engine airframe is reliable and also quite comfortable,” Mr. Mita said. “So far, the response has been positive.”

Plans underway to convert Twin Otter to air tanker

They expect first delivery in 2022

Twin Otter air tanker water retardant fire firefighting
Photo mock-up of a DHC-6 Twin Otter in an air tanker configuration. Image via Viking Air Limited.

Viking Air Limited has plans to provide an option to convert the Twin Otter DHC-6 300 and 400 aircraft into air tankers. The company has signed a contract with PAL Aerospace Canada to support the Twin Otter Fire Attack System, including the design, manufacturing, installation, and certification of the 700-gallon transformation. They expect the first unit will be delivered to an international customer in 2022.

Viking says the Twin Otter will be able to transition effortlessly between firefighting missions and its more traditional mission profiles of transporting passengers and cargo.

With over 50 years in the Canadian Aerospace industry, Viking is the manufacturer of the Twin Otter Series 400 and Guardian 400 Twin-engine turboprop aircraft. The company is the Type Certificate holder for all out-of-production De Havilland Canada aircraft (DHC-1 through the DHC-7) and all Canadair amphibious aircraft, including CL-215, CL-215T and CL-415 aerial firefighter aircraft, and the Shorts Skyvan, 360, 330 and Sherpa family of aircraft.

PAL’s website emphasizes aircraft engineering, certification, and configuring aircraft for special missions.

Thanks and a tip of the hat go out to Eric.

Smokejumper aircraft at Missoula

I was able to get some photos of some smokejumper aircraft at Missoula International Airport last week while attending the Fire Continuum conference. Parked, were two Twin Otters and two C23B Sherpas, and a third Sherpa taxied in while I was there.

Previously I had seen a Sherpa flying through the hills north of the airport. The Sherpa that just landed may have been dropping jumpers for training. The U.S. Forest Service has authorization to obtain 15 of the Sherpas from the U.S Army. So far six have been refurbished and Neptune Aviation is working on a seventh with an eighth soon to follow. It is possible that the remaining seven will be used for parts.

C23B Sherpas twin otter
A Sherpa taxis in after landing at Missoula.

C23B Sherpas

C23B Sherpas
Two C23B Sherpas at Missoula, May 25, 2018.
C23B Sherpa twin otter
Twin Otters have served smokejumpers for many years.

Building Twin Otters, in time-lapse

The production facility for Viking’s Twin Otter Series 400 is seen in time-lapse in this video. Twin Otters have transported many smokejumpers over the last few decades.

I looked, but didn’t see any CL-415’s in the background being built. Viking  bought the rights from Bombardier in 2016 for the scoopers, but to date have not publicly committed to manufacturing more.

USFS Twin Otters refreshed for 2016

Above: N143Z, better known as Jump 43, showing off a new paint job at McCall, Idaho, April 18, 2016. Photo by Stuart Palley.

Yesterday Stuart Palley spotted two U.S. Forest Service Twin Otter smokejumper planes at the McCall, Idaho jumper base, N141Z and N143Z. They were sporting new paint jobs but that was not all that was new. Jennifer Jones, a spokesperson for the USFS, told us that over the last two years they have received new nose gears, nose wheel steering actuators, fuel bladder tanks, fuel pumps, and floor boards.

Annually, the U.S. Forest Service Intermountain Region mechanics go over each aircraft and make sure that they are prepared, equipped, and ready for the upcoming fire season.

Dehavilland DHC-6-300 Twin Otters were manufactured in 1974 and 1984. Even though the USFS has acquired a bunch of military surplus C-23B Sherpas for smokejumping and other purposes, they plan to hang on to a couple of the Twin Otters. One of the reasons is they have better performance at higher elevation airports.

Thanks and a tip of the hat go out to Stuart.