'Twotter' to make a comeback?

[Ex FSO GRIFFO]

From the AVWEB site...

"A NEW TWIN OTTER
In its element (and that's pretty varied) there is no more highly-respected aircraft than the deHavilland DHC-6 Twin Otter. Made famous by the Antarctic rescue of a sick scientist in -75° temperatures, the high-wing twin has toiled for almost 40 years in some of the harshest (and most idyllic) environments on Earth. But the fleet is getting old, and there is really nothing to replace it, except a new Twin Otter. Viking Air, of Sidney (near Victoria), British Columbia, has brought the irreplaceable design into the 21st Century..."

So there guys and gals...Seems t'ain't nuthin like a Twotter to replace a .......Twotter!

[Howard Hughes]

See here, (http://www.vikingair.com/content2.aspx?id=276) who is going to ask the price?:eek:

[RadioSaigon]

As reported in Australian Aviation Express on Tuesday, she recently made her maiden flight on Wipline floats...

Viking Air's Series 400 Twin Otter technology demonstrator made its first flight on October 21, marking an important step in the program to put the venerable 19 seater backing production.
The flight was made from Viking Air's facility in Victoria International Airport in British Columbia, Canada.
“The aircraft performed beautifully,” remarked Steve Stackhouse, Viking's manager of flight operations and pilot-in-command. Michael Moore, engineering test pilot and co-captain added “the first flight went smoothly and the aircraft handled exactly as expected.”
The Technology Demonstrator aircraft, officially dubbed ‘Viktoria', is a modified DHC-6-300 which incorporates a number of modifications which will be standard on the new built DHC-6-400. These include Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-34 turboprop engines and a modern Honeywell Primus Apex avionics suite. The particular aircraft was also fitted with Wipline 13000 amphibious floats.
The Series 400 program was launched last year by Viking Air, which also provides OEM support to the full ‘heritage' de Havilland Canada range of aircraft from the DHC-1 to the DHC-7 Dash 7. The company has orders for over 40 Twin Otters from customers including Zimex Aviation, Trans Maldivian Airways, Loch Ard Otters and the US Army, while Malaysian Airlines is also expected to firm up an order for its MASWings subsidiary.

Worth keeping an eye on I reckon

[bushy]

It has never gone. It is still in service in many parts of the world, doing important work the jets cannot do.
Propellor driven aircraft will be here for a long time yet.

[Jabawocky]

I sent the youtube AVweb video link through to Chimbu Chuckles last night on what they had done to his beloved Twin Otter. I am sure he will not mind me posting his comments back to me on this thread.

**** a Twotter with TV...Dennis never woulda put up with that sh1t

and

real men don't fly Twotters with TV, or waterproof doors

just how long do you think that Twotter will last in the Jungle

I am sure the Otter boys would love to get a hold of a new one!

J:}

[Chimbu chuckles]

:ok:

A few of our -300 Twotters at Talair had the -34s near the end. They certainly had more get up and go at high DAs but their reverse thrust weren't nuffink to write home about..the first time I taxied RDY up the hill at POM in Beta I suggested the engineers might wanna check the primary blade angle but maybe it was to do with no low/ground idle in the Twotter set up as opposed to the same engine/prop in a Bandit. Don't remember that ever being resolved.

My weapon of choice going into the mountain strips was always a -200...my beloved RDB in particular...even if the doors leaked in rain:ok:

Can't help but feel the EFIS will be a maintenance issue in the rough and tumble that the Twotter revels in.

Truly one of the great aircraft.

[tipsy2]

How old is this "news"

"made its first flight on October 21"

My calender says today is October 9th :confused::confused:

tipsy:ok:

[sms777]

I do not think it is fair to blame the Twotter in the unfortunate accident in Nepal. If you look at the facts it was foggy with 400m vis and the aircraft hit a fence on short final. Just as well the pilot survived to tell us what happened if his memory recovers too :(
The Twotter is continously surviving -60 degrees C in the Antarctic and has a service ceiling of 28000ft so i do not think it would have complained about the "cold" in Nepal


:ok:

[puff]

Amazing that there are only three registered in Oz these days, TZR, XFM and ZKF. All 100 and 200 series.

[Skystar320]

There were comment of US$2.5million for a basic sheet [customer does the interior etc]

I have the magazine at home, I'll dig it up

[puff]

Not bad considering looking on the net that used ones are still being sold for around the 1.6 million mark!

[Pluto's gone]

$4.2 USD Mil comes to mind for a -400.

With the piss poor AUD now makes it expensive.

Read something about a government GA white paper, where did that get to?

[Top of Descent]

http://i205.photobucket.com/albums/bb123/tonyzimex/download.jpg

http://i205.photobucket.com/albums/bb123/tonyzimex/download2.jpg

http://i205.photobucket.com/albums/bb123/tonyzimex/download1.jpg

[sms777]

I wonder how will that glass cockpit and fancy electronic gagetry survive in the environment the Twotters been proven so useful :hmm:

[VH-ABC]

Top of Descent...

Great photos! I am now emotionally erect at the thought of all things twotter. I always thought, however, that an otter on floats had to be a -100 series style?? Something to do with forward loading in the nose locker?? Have they changed that or is my memory a bit rusty?

[Jet_A_Knight]

I wonder how will that glass cockpit and fancy electronic gagetry survive in the environment the Twotters been proven so useful

My understanding is that the Garmin glass is far more reliable and useful than traditional gauges.

BTW - that 'fancy electronic gadgetry' is now becoming the standard. :ok:

[sms777]

I have no doubt in an airliner but my point was survivability in the harsh enviroment like sea mist, high humidity, corrosion due to seawater or the other extrames the Otters exposed to like dust or -60 C cold etc.
What do you reckon now that i explained myself more clearly? :(

[neville_nobody]

The glass is also lighter than the traditional instruments. Also depending on the setup you can move your PFD around if you get a display failure on the captains side.

[TWOTBAGS]

In reply to ABC.

Otters only need the short nose when on CAP floats, it was a certification thing and is retro fitable to all 100/200/300 aircraft I do not know if it will be available for the 400.

Wipline 13000's either straight or amphib can be on either the long or short nose. I found the short nose to be better for on the water ops especially when docking nose in in confined areas.

Either way the nose locker was unreachable in normal ops as the side loader was simply too far from the front of the float to reach, this in turn did make some rather interesting aft c of g issues. Which if they have taken all the clockwork out of the front office will only be even more restricting on the 400.

(:E)

[Jet_A_Knight]

sms777 - thanks for the english comprehension assessment.:rolleyes:

You're correct, there is cause for concern that equipment like Garmin glass to have reliability issues in the conditions you list - likewise, analogue gauges using mechanicals are probably more susceptible to humidity,sea water, dust etc than solid state units.

With the Garmin (or avidyne) GA glass systems, key components like the Attitude Heading Reference System, Air Data Computers and PFD's are line replaceable, with the PFD's having reversionary modes (like neville mentioned) and redundancy in the electronic units (some setups use multiple GPS receivers).

Overall, for the kind of flying the Twotter does, having a good integrated dispay/nav system - in my opinion - outweighs the reliability issues.

I haven't heard or found any concrete evidence that states the glass systems are less reliable than traditional AH's and RMI's - and I'd be glad to be pointed in the directions of such.

Insofar as my comment about this sort of equipment becoming standard - most new aircraft are being fitted with these systems, and the analog gauges used usually as standby instruments only.

[Top of Descent]

The beauty with glass is, if she don't work..... take it out and replace it !

http://i205.photobucket.com/albums/bb123/tonyzimex/Garmin430.jpg

http://i205.photobucket.com/albums/bb123/tonyzimex/Desert003.jpg

[Fission]

That new Twotter that has appeared on the register is destined for WA and I know the operator is looking for experienced crew.

I guess that with a bit of experience in one then many exotic locations become available

Airlines or fun ?:E

[V1... Ooops]

I have no doubt in an airliner but my point was survivability in the harsh environment like sea mist, high humidity, corrosion due to seawater or the other extremes the Otters exposed to like dust or -60 C cold etc.

Well, the answer to that is easy: Just ask yourself how well other fancy electronics like cell phones, iPods, and laptop computer survive in harsh environments. I haven't heard any reports of rampant failures of these type of consumer electronics in any of the environments you talk about, and the Twin Otter electronics are built to a far more robust Military Spec than any consumer electronics.

FYI, the four big display screens in the Twin Otter are manufactured by Barco (Netherlands) for Honeywell, and they are the same size and basic specification of screen as what the US Army uses in the Abrahms M-1 battle tank at both the gunner and the driver station. The American Army has been kind enough to test these screens out for the last 5 years during their little sojourn in Iraq - so, I think that they should be robust enough for a Twin Otter.

Lastly - Honeywell provides a full 3 year warranty (no exceptions, no ifs, ands, or buts) on all the avionics, and Honeywell also offers extended warranties up to 10 years duration in case an operator has any concerns, or wishes to fix their maintenance costs in advance.

[V1... Ooops]

...this in turn did make some rather interesting aft c of g issues. Which if they have taken all the clockwork out of the front office will only be even more restricting on the 400.

Ah, but you have forgotten that the AC electrical system that lived in the back of the aircraft has also been deleted - thus negating any aft movement of the C of G.

[neville_nobody]

Here is an interview with David Curtis from Viking. The cockpit is from the PC12NG and he talks about the design process and the engineering changes to the aircraft.

US$3.25 Million if you're interested in buying one.

YouTube - Viking Reinvents The Twin Otter (http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=W2vwMg8Q7uw)

[V1... Ooops]

Here's a link to a video of the first flight. The video is kind of lengthy - the plane actually takes off at about 7:40 into the video.

New Viking Air Twin Otter First Flight (http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=WAOKDqB82c4&feature=related)

[TWOTBAGS]

No AC system is a good thing and yep your right that if its not there then yes the c of G issues will be negated.

Will you be able to put a short nose on it for CAP floats??

That first pic TOP looks like Benguela to Luanda or maybe Sumbe to Luanda and the bottom pic looks like it is LRO in Algeria.


close???

[ROH111]

Ahhhhhhh fantastic to see this work of art back in production!

Long live the twotter!

[Propstop]

It certainly looks like the cockpit of one of the Angolan ones. I will work it out in the next few days.

[Top of Descent]

Top pic, Angola, D2 EVH Luanda to Lubango , 2nd pic Algeria, HB LRN somewhere around Hassi on the Exxon contract.

Best Regards

TO'D

[TWOTBAGS]

Funny that we obviously move in the same circles..... now I think I know who you are. Did you here Vivien is off to the 777:ok:

I think LRN in in either Tunis or Libya now.

EVH..... with the bullet hole patches in the wing. Brings back memories of the fun times!

[V1... Ooops]

...Did you hear Vivien is off to the 777?

Vivien R.? 777 as in Boeing? For whom? When did this happen?

[TWOTBAGS]

Yes Mike, VR is off to his ancestral roots flying a 777 from a little itty bitty island in the Indian Ocean.

Been on the cards for a while, there has been a bit of card shuffling going on in Zurich since he made the announcement.

Flysafe boys, and keep up the good info on the 400!

[Fission]

Rumour has it there is a Aus. Twotter for sale after a mining company pulled the plug on it at short notice. :oh:

Shame for the crew that were ramping up to fly a truly fantastic machine.

Anybody want an aircraft with crew? Could probably find an AOC if interested.

Fission
(First time out of work in aviation)

_____________________
Lots of time for free Beer!

[Skystar320]

Is it the DHC6-200 in Karratha?

[troppo]

Have often thought a twotter on floats could do downtown Lae to downtown Moresby (MSA and performance dependent) or downtown Lautoka/Nadi to Suva on a scheduled basis. A bit on the slow side but would be great flying and would beat the **** out of the drive and wait at respective airports. You could pull up beside most yacht clubs as well.
More bia please

[tinpis]

The floats would get stolen http://www.augk18.dsl.pipex.com/Smileys/cannibal.gif


http://www.augk18.dsl.pipex.com/Smileys/boat2.gif

[troppo]

Bawahahaha! Always on fine form after the afternoon nap and meds. I reckon you could rent the floats out at night as water proof housing.

[TowerDog]

I always thought, however, that an otter on floats had to be a -100 series style?? Something to do with forward loading in the nose locker?? Have they changed that or is my memory a bit rusty?



Well, the twotter on floats I flew way back was a -300 series with a -100 nose.

Don't think we had any cargo in the nose or under the belly.

Best flying gig I had: 1984 in the Virgin Islands, 16 flights a day between STT and STX. (8 round-trips, 16 "legs")

[V1... Ooops]

...I always thought, however, that an otter on floats had to be a -100 series style??

Not so. If the aircraft is equipped with CAP (Canadian Aircraft Products) floats, which were the floats originally supplied by de Havilland, then it must be equipped with a short nose. The CAP floats were never certified for use on an aircraft with a long nose.

If the aircraft is equipped with Wipaire floats (straight or amphibious), the STC for that float installation permits the use of the long nose.