First Flight - New Production Series 400 Twin Otter
Thread Starter
First Flight - New Production Series 400 Twin Otter
Hello All:
I've been kind of busy at work lately (an understatement if there ever was one) and forgot to post a picture of the first flight of the first new production Twin Otter to come off the assembly line. This is serial number 845, which will be delivered to Zimex Aviation.
The first flight took place at Calgary, Alberta (the location of the final assembly plant) on March 10th. This aircraft has now completed production flight test and has gone to the paint shop.
The white colour components visible on the aircraft are parts that are made using composite construction (rather than aluminum). Composite construction was chosen for these non-structural parts because it gives a simpler, lighter assembly. All of these parts are the same 'size' as Series 300 parts, and could be used as spares on a Series 300 aircraft in the future if the need arises.
Final testing of the integrated avionics suite is taking place now. I think everyone will be very happy with the new avionics, which are much lighter than the legacy federated system. Note also that all of the switches and controls for aircraft systems are now on the instrument panel. The only switch that remains on the roof (aft of the power levers) is a single switch to control the flight compartment dome light.
I've posted some photos below.
Michael
First Flight - SN 845 (March 2010)
Flight Compartment - Series 400
Primary Flight Display (note altitude!)
Upper Multifunction Display (situational awareness display)
Lower Multifunction Display (systems display)
I've been kind of busy at work lately (an understatement if there ever was one) and forgot to post a picture of the first flight of the first new production Twin Otter to come off the assembly line. This is serial number 845, which will be delivered to Zimex Aviation.
The first flight took place at Calgary, Alberta (the location of the final assembly plant) on March 10th. This aircraft has now completed production flight test and has gone to the paint shop.
The white colour components visible on the aircraft are parts that are made using composite construction (rather than aluminum). Composite construction was chosen for these non-structural parts because it gives a simpler, lighter assembly. All of these parts are the same 'size' as Series 300 parts, and could be used as spares on a Series 300 aircraft in the future if the need arises.
Final testing of the integrated avionics suite is taking place now. I think everyone will be very happy with the new avionics, which are much lighter than the legacy federated system. Note also that all of the switches and controls for aircraft systems are now on the instrument panel. The only switch that remains on the roof (aft of the power levers) is a single switch to control the flight compartment dome light.
I've posted some photos below.
Michael
First Flight - SN 845 (March 2010)
Flight Compartment - Series 400
Primary Flight Display (note altitude!)
Upper Multifunction Display (situational awareness display)
Lower Multifunction Display (systems display)
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Awesome
Thanks for the update. It is great to see the "Twotter" back in production.
The only thing I would like to know is how are the new avionics, EFIS, gonna hold up to the rigours of bush flying. (Dust, heat, vibration from dirt runways, etc??)
Maybe one of my mates at Zimex will take me for a ride some day
Sir O
The only thing I would like to know is how are the new avionics, EFIS, gonna hold up to the rigours of bush flying. (Dust, heat, vibration from dirt runways, etc??)
Maybe one of my mates at Zimex will take me for a ride some day
Sir O
Thread Starter
Originally Posted by Sir Osis
...The only thing I would like to know is how are the new avionics, EFIS, gonna hold up to the rigours of bush flying...
Of course the stuff will hold up. In fact, it will hold up a heck of a lot better than legacy instruments because there are no moving parts. Honeywell provides a three year warranty on everything, and offers longer warranty extensions if a customer would prefer a longer warranty.
The same company that makes the display screens for the Twin Otter also makes the display screens used in the US Army Abhrams battle tank. We thank the US Army for doing our durability testing for us during the last 7 years that they have been in Iraq.
Michael
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Electronics
V1,
"Fer goodness sakes, Back in the day when I was bush flying, there were no cellphones, laptops etc"
Seriously, the only "real" electronics I had was a CD player, which did not like the dust in Loki.
Anyway I am impressed that the stuff is guaranteed for three years and hopefully it will stand the test of time. It sure will be a lot better than the legacy instrumentation and I am mildly jealous that we never had kit like that.
Are there any major performance increases with the new airframe, or are all the numbers the same.
Onward and upward,
Sir O
"Fer goodness sakes, Back in the day when I was bush flying, there were no cellphones, laptops etc"
Seriously, the only "real" electronics I had was a CD player, which did not like the dust in Loki.
Anyway I am impressed that the stuff is guaranteed for three years and hopefully it will stand the test of time. It sure will be a lot better than the legacy instrumentation and I am mildly jealous that we never had kit like that.
Are there any major performance increases with the new airframe, or are all the numbers the same.
Onward and upward,
Sir O
Thread Starter
Hi again Sir O:
My CD player didn't like the dust in Huambo either - but that was back in the 1980s. Problem with those CD players is that they had moving parts, which is why they have been made extinct by iPods...
Anyway, there is no "official" performance increase, because we are using all of the same performance charts that the Series 300 aircraft uses. This is so that operators don't have to make a distinction between the 300 and the 400 when they have mixed fleets.
Unofficially - well, that's another story. You can get full 50 PSI take-off torque all the way up to ISA +27°, which provides really zippy performance. There is no need whatsoever to use reduced power on takeoffs (in fact, it is prohibited), because the normal redline for the -34 engine is 61 PSI torque, and the flat rating limit remains at 50 PSI. So, when you are making a 50 PSI torque takeoff at ISA, you're not only asking the engine for about 78% of what it was designed to deliver.
The new aircraft also flies faster than the older planes, most probably because we are now building them to 1/1000 of an inch tolerance with laser measurement every step of the way (rather than the 1/10th of an inch that DH was lucky to get in the 60s and 70s). It is very easy to hit the airspeed indicator redline in level cruise - in fact, if you set maximum cruise power, you WILL hit the redline every time. Another possible reason why the new aircraft are faster could be because all the older ones I ever flew had probably been rolled up into a ball and then rebuilt once or twice in their lives... The new ones are all straight and true.
Other than going faster, and letting you command the full 620 HP for takeoff under just about every environmental circumstance imaginable - it's pretty much the same thing. We didn't change anything that would affect flight characteristics.
Michael
My CD player didn't like the dust in Huambo either - but that was back in the 1980s. Problem with those CD players is that they had moving parts, which is why they have been made extinct by iPods...
Anyway, there is no "official" performance increase, because we are using all of the same performance charts that the Series 300 aircraft uses. This is so that operators don't have to make a distinction between the 300 and the 400 when they have mixed fleets.
Unofficially - well, that's another story. You can get full 50 PSI take-off torque all the way up to ISA +27°, which provides really zippy performance. There is no need whatsoever to use reduced power on takeoffs (in fact, it is prohibited), because the normal redline for the -34 engine is 61 PSI torque, and the flat rating limit remains at 50 PSI. So, when you are making a 50 PSI torque takeoff at ISA, you're not only asking the engine for about 78% of what it was designed to deliver.
The new aircraft also flies faster than the older planes, most probably because we are now building them to 1/1000 of an inch tolerance with laser measurement every step of the way (rather than the 1/10th of an inch that DH was lucky to get in the 60s and 70s). It is very easy to hit the airspeed indicator redline in level cruise - in fact, if you set maximum cruise power, you WILL hit the redline every time. Another possible reason why the new aircraft are faster could be because all the older ones I ever flew had probably been rolled up into a ball and then rebuilt once or twice in their lives...
The new ones are all straight and true.Other than going faster, and letting you command the full 620 HP for takeoff under just about every environmental circumstance imaginable - it's pretty much the same thing. We didn't change anything that would affect flight characteristics.
Michael
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Where’s the rubber surgical tube.....
...for sucking out cockpit flys through the "cracked open" sliding window? ...and did they think to make a place for the two box lunches and thermos bottle?
Still though, its quite a sight to see.
Still though, its quite a sight to see.
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Thanks for the good news
Michael, thanks for the good news! I have many fond memories of the Otter, I absolutely loved flying that bird, floats, wheels skis, or ski-combo... I just hope that Viking has left the little coffe cup holder that swings out underneath the instrument panel.... can the 400 also go on floats? Are all the mountings still present?
I want to fly this bird...
6to8
I want to fly this bird...
6to8
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The Flight Compartment looks like.....
Four laptops and an eight day clock. Can you go online and play games while in route? Heck there is so much room on the panel now you could put in a small microwave oven.
Thread Starter
Originally Posted by Spadhampton
...The propeller Ice shield behind the cockpit door is gone!
If a customer orders an aircraft with equipment for FIKI (flight in known icing) installed, the ice shields come as part of that package.
Below is a photo of our company technical demonstrator, which has the complete FIKI package installed. The ice shields are still there...
Note that this picture was taken about a year ago on the ramp outside our hangar - the maintenance technicians had just removed the cuff fairing from where the wing root meets the fuselage - no, we did not forget to install it...
Michael
The Series 400 Technical Demonstrator (with ice shields)
Thread Starter
Originally Posted by Spadhampton
...Four laptops and an eight day clock.
Michael
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V1....
You don't have to apologize for anything. The 400 is beautiful. You need the wing hard point mod and cargo bay camera MOD for atmospheric research, and, uh....ahem....other purposes since the airplane is renowned as SAM survivable. You’ve secured a place in the history books by bringing this incredibly reliable and versatile airplane back to life.
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Great to see this wonderful aircraft back in production. The upgrades look fantastic too. Who could've imagined the Twotter so remarkably reborn 10 years ago? Hope I get a chance to try one out one day!
Definitely one of my all time favourite airplanes.
Definitely one of my all time favourite airplanes.
Thread Starter
Originally Posted by Spadhampton
...since the airplane is renowned as SAM survivable.
Michael