On the Move

9 - DHC-6-100 DQ-FEZ Pacific Sun (Fiji Airways), Nadi

Reserved as N806RT 24-Aug-2012 and registered 29-Aug-2012 to Ikhana Group Inc., Murietta, CA as N806RT.

MSN 9 DHC-6-100 DQ-FEZ
Pacific Sun (Fiji Airways)
Nadi, 17-Jul-2006
Thomas Posch Photo

87 - DHC-6-100 DQ-FEY Pacific Sun (Fiji Airways), Nadi

Reserved as N807RT 24-Aug-2012 and registered 29-Aug-2012 to Ikhana Group Inc., Murietta, CA as N807RT.

MSN 87 DHC-6-100 DQ-FEY
Pacific Sun (Fiji Airways)
Nadi, 17-Jul-2006
Thomas Posch Photo

281 - DHC-6-300 F-OIJL Topscore Management S.A., Geneva

Flew Tallard-Gap, France (LFNA) - Hurghada, Egypt (HEGN) 29-Aug-2012 on delivery to Skydive Dubai. This aircraft has been resident in Switzerland since 2010, noted at both Bern and Altenrhein.


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Viking Series 400 Gallery

Check out the new Viking Series 400 Gallery in the Image Archive & Other Pages section. Many thanks to the intrepid Tim Martin in Victoria for his photo work, which has made it possible to put the gallery together.

 

The registration sequences are shown with each serial number that has been either officially registered and/or painted on the aircraft.

 

If anyone has any contributions for some of the gaps, they would be much appreciated!

Contributions

 

In the six months since beginning TwinOtterSpotter there has been a consistent increase in regular readers – certainly helped to a great degree by our partnership with DHC-2.com and TwinOtterArchive.com . While the bulk of our readership is strongly North American, there are daily regular visitors from most every corner of the globe.

One area where we could all benefit is by an increased amount of contribution from the readers. Currently a lot of our content comes from regulatory sources and publications, and various flight tracking programs. Additionally, each day I do a broad sweep through about 50 web sources, including other blogs looking for changes around the world.

How can you help?  The first thing is don’t get hung up on whether something is “newsworthy” – if I’ve learned anything in the last six months, it is that a report or photograph of a seemingly common Twin Otter can often answer long standing mysteries. Aircraft that have been “off the radar” for months or even years often pop up in regular everyday type reports.

I’d be happy to receive any Twin Otter sighting reports – I can easily sift through the content for anything that is noteworthy. The same applies for photographs as well – although I can’t guarantee that every photo contribution will be published, photos are invaluable in helping understand an aircraft or operator history. My only request is that if you would like to see it published it should ideally be a size of about 1024 pixels width or larger. Photos will always be credited in the manner requested by the contributor, and can be linked to a location of the contributors choice. Any photo can also be contributed anonymously as well – as long as you hold the rights to the photo.

There are many geographical areas where there are considerable Twin Otter operations, but not always a lot of information – Africa and South America in general, The Maldives, Nepal, Papua New Guinea & Indonesia specifically. Any information, sightings or photographs from these regions would be great. Here in North America any reports and/or photographs from the following locations in particular would be helpful:

·         Calgary-International, AB (CYYC) and Calgary-Springbank, AB (CYBW)

·         French Valley Airport, Murietta, CA (F70)

·         West Georgia Regional Airport, Carrollton, GA (KCTJ)

·         Rutherford County Airport, Rutherfordton, NC (KFQD)

·         Atlanta Southern Regional Airport, Hampton, GA (4A7)

Internationally:

·         Altenrhein-Saint Gallen Airport, Switzerland (LSZR)

·         Malta International Airport, (LMML)

Lastly, the blog has received quite a number of regular visitors associated with the sport of Skydiving. Although the number of Twin Otters used for skydiving purposes has seemingly reached a plateau, due to lack of available used airframes, the existing fleet is constantly changing.

These aircraft are notoriously difficult to keep track of – any sightings (and photographs) at all are welcome. Just a simple report of what was seen at Deland, Zephyrhills, Cross Keys or Eloy allows us to keep accurate histories of the aircraft.

All contributions can be sent to the e-mail address in the left column of the blog. Anyone is welcome to contribute anonymously if preferred. Suggestions on things you’d like to see on the blog are also welcome, however please be aware that it must remain non-commercial.

Thank-you for your continuing support.

On the Move

181 - DHC-6-200 N181CS Rampart Aviation, Franklinton, NC (Bank of Utah Trustee)

Flew Glasgow, UK (EGPF) - Stavanger, Norway (ENZV) - Reykjavik, Iceland (BIRK) 29-Aug-2012. The aircraft has been based abroad operating for ARKeX on geological survey work, so it would appear to be on it's return journey to the U.S.





281 - DHC-6-300 F-OIJL ?

Flew Tallard-Gap, France (LFNA) - Hurghada, Egypt (HEGN) 29-Aug-2012. Not exactly clear who currently operates this aircraft; it has been in an all white scheme since at least 2010 and has spent a considerable amount of time sitting in Switzerland.

406 - DHC-6-300 N171GC Cortez Fisher LLC, Kirkland, WA

Flew Del Rio, TX (KDRT) - Brownsville, TX (KBRO) 29-Aug-2012 using it's registration as the callsign, then in Brownsville it is filed to become SXA943 before continuing on to Veracruz, VZ (MMVR)

N171GC can be seen below at Boulder, Nevada in 2010. It later shed the Grand Canyon markings for an all white scheme.

MSN 406 DHC-6-300 Vistaliner N171GC
Grand Canyon Airlines (Cortez Fisher LLC)
Boulder, NV, 18-Aug-2010
J. Wilkening Photo

Lastly for today, a very nice shot of the Mission Aviation Fellowship DHC-6-300 P2-MFT

MSN 565 DHC-6-300 P2-MFT
Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF PNG)
Nov.18, 2005
Michael Duncalfe Photo



On the Move & Image Update

9 - DHC-6-100 DQ-FEZ Pacific Sun (Fiji Airways), Nadi

Reserved as N806RT 24-Aug-2012

87 - DHC-6-100 DQ-FEY Pacific Sun (Fiji Airways), Nadi

Reserved as N807RT 24-Aug-2012

352 - DHC-6-300 C-GIMK Provincial Airlines Ltd., St. John's, NF

Nominal change to PAL Airlines Ltd., St. John's, NF 22-Aug-2012

471 - DHC-6-300 C-GJDE Provincial Airlines Ltd., St. John's, NF

Nominal change to PAL Airlines Ltd., St. John's, NF 22-Aug-2012. The report actually indicates a cancellation of this registration 22-Aug-2012, however the register itself (as of today) shows it as current, with the revised name.

572 - DHC-6-300 C-GOYX Avmax Aircraft Leasing Inc., Calgary, AB

Cancelled 23-Aug-2012 to ?

600 - DHC-6-300 C-GIED Provincial Airlines Ltd., St. John's, NF

Nominal change to PAL Airlines Ltd., St. John's, NF 22-Aug-2012

675 - DHC-6-300 C-FUMY Provincial Airlines Ltd., St. John's, NF

Nominal change to PAL Airlines Ltd., St. John's, NF 22-Aug-2012

731 - DHC-6-300 C-FWLG Provincial Airlines Ltd., St. John's, NF

Nominal change to PAL Airlines Ltd., St. John's, NF 22-Aug-2012

865 - DHC-6-400 C-GFAP Viking Air Ltd., Sidney, BC

Flew Spokane, WA (KGEG) - Victoria, BC (CYYJ) 27-Aug-2012, all white c/s (see photo below)

865 - DHC-6-400 C-GFAP
Viking Air Ltd.
Victoria, BC 27-Aug-2012
Tim Martin Photo

MSN 647 was built in 1979 for Pennsylvania Airlines, and went on to fly for Holiday Airlines in the U.S. and Flight West Airlines of Australia before returning to North America in February 1998. It was then operated on amphibs out of south Florida by Huizenga Holdings until being sold by CAAMS to Guatemala in 2009.



647 - DHC-6-300 TG-JCA
Aero Ruto Maya S.A.
Guatemala City-La Aurora 28-Oct-2011
Roger Botting Photo



MSN 433 was built for Guyana Airways, and originally delivered in 1974. It was sold to Scenic Airlines in 1989, and transferred to Twin Otter International in 1993. Operated on lease in Fiji 1993-1995 & 1995-1997, it went to Nature Air in Costa Rica in 2002.




433 - DHC-6-300 Vistaliner TI-AZC
Nature Air
San Jose-Tobias Bolanos, Costa Rica 25-Oct-2011
Roger Botting Photo 

MSN 198, the somewhat legendary (amongst Skydivers anyway) and aptly named "Frankenotter" was built in 1968 for Imperial Oil. Following a rather devastating fire while operated by Skydive Chicago it was rebuilt by the experts at Rocky Mountain Aircraft in Springbank in 1998 and delivered to Fayard Enterprises. It shed it's unique paint job several years later, adopting the standard blue & white Fayard scheme.

A full history of the aircraft can be found here


198 - DHC-6-200 N226CS
Fayard Enterprises Inc.
Lake Wales, Florida 11-Apr-2001
Peter Fitzmaurice Photo

 

Image Update

A couple of contributed historical photogaphs with thanks to Roger Botting.



MSN 112 DHC-6-100 ST-ADD
Sudan Airways
Khartoum, Sudan 1975
Roger Botting Photo

MSN 112 was built in 1968 and went on to have a colourful history once it left Africa in 1976. It remains in service in 2012 in Guatemala. The full history can be found here.

 

 

MSN 581 DHC-6-300 5H-MRD
Air Tanzania
Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania 30-Dec-1978
Roger Botting Photo



MSN 581 was delivered to Air Tanzania in March 1978 and was lost at Kerege, Tanzania in December 1984.

Incident Report

14 - DHC-6-100 N121PM Freefall Adventures Inc., Williamstown, NJ

Door separated from fuselage while in-flight near Cross Keys, NJ 21-Aug-2012. The FAA report does not specify which door.

On the Move & Image Update

834 - DHC-6-300 N463BA Aviation Management Sales LLC, Port Saint Lucie, FL

Registered 20-Aug-2012, ex FAE-449 - given the assignment of a U.S. registration the aircraft is likely under rebuild (or has been rebuilt). Further information on the current status and location is welcome!

Delivered new to the Ecuadorian Air Force in 1986, it crashed 15 minutes after departure from Pastaza-Shell Mera Airport en route to Tena, Ecuador on 20-Jan-2011.


Image Update

Nepal Airlines DHC-6-300 9N-ABT (MSN 812) seen at Pokhara, Nepal. This aircraft was delivered new in 1984.

MSN 812 - DHC-6-300 9N-ABT
Nepal Airlines Corporation
Pokhara, Nepal
N. Bhattarai Photo

Nepal Airlines DHC-6-300 9N-ABQ (MSN 655) seen at Kathmandu, Nepal in Feb-2009. Delivered new in 1979 it remained idle (as seen below) for many years before being acquired and subsquently rebuilt by Tara Air in 2012. This is also the aircraft that was involved in the minor incident at Jomsom, Nepal on 19-Aug-2012 noted in the earlier blog entry.



MSN 655 - DHC-6-300 9N-ABQ
Nepal Airlines Corporation
Kathmandu, Nepal 04-Feb-2009
Steve Homewood Photo



Image Update

A trio of Twin Otters from Fiji, with thanks to Wayne Grant for the contribution.

MSN 414 DHC-6-300 DQ-PSD
Pacific Sun (Fiji Airlines dba)
Nadi, Fiji 09-Aug-2012
Wayne Grant Photo

MSN 414 was built in 1974 for Brymon Airways in the U.K. and operated for a variety of U.S. operators before arriving in Fiji in 2011

MSN 660 DHC-6-300 DQ-FIE
Pacific Sun (Fiji Airlines dba)
Nadi, Fiji 09-Aug-2012
Wayne Grant Photo

MSN 660 was built in 1979 for Surinam Airways, and came to Fiji back in 2002

MSN 838 DHC-6-300 DQ-KVV
Air Kaibu
Nadi, Fiji 09-Aug-2012
Wayne Grant Photo

MSN 838 was a 1988 build for Air Lesotho, and had spent most of it's career in Africa before arriving in Fiji in November 2010.

On the Move & Image Update

692 - DHC-6-300 N692AR Bristol Ltd., Las Vegas, NV

Change of registered location effective 16-Aug-2012, now registered to Bristol Ltd., Grand Junction, CO. Aircraft continues to be operated by Twin Otter International.

814 - DHC-6-300 9N-ABU
Nepal Airlines Corporation
Phaplu Airport, Nepal 07-Nov-2005
N. Bhattarai Photo

The photo above shouldn't be construed as related to the accident involving Tara Air at Jomsom on 19-Aug-2012 (see blog entry below). More just a a coincidence of receiving a photo contribution from Nepal in the same time frame.

Tara Air did however earlier this year take over at least two former Nepal Airlines DHC-6-300's, MSN 455 9N-ABM and MSN 655 9N-ABQ, both of which had been idle at Kathmandu for over a decade.

On the Move & Image Update

867 - DHC-6-400 C-GUVT Viking Air Ltd., Sidney, BC

Registered 15-Aug-2012

868 - DHC-6-400 C-FAFI Viking Air Ltd., Sidney, BC

Registered 15-Aug-2012



Courtesy of TwinOtterArchive webmaster, Neil Aird a couple of shots of the OMNR DHC-6-300 C-FOPG at Kingston, ON yesterday.

MSN 232 - DHC-6-300 C-FOPG
Province of Ontario, Ministry of Natural Resources
Kingston, ON 18-Aug-2012
Neil Aird Photo

MSN 232 - DHC-6-300 C-FOPG
Province of Ontario, Ministry of Natural Resources
Kingston, ON 18-Aug-2012
Neil Aird Photo



The aircraft arrived from Sault Ste. Marie, ON and departed to Bromont, QC.

Incident Report

655 - DHC-6-300 9N-ABQ Tara Air, Kathmandu

Left runway following nose gear linkage failure on line-up at Jomsom, Nepal 19-Aug-2012. The aircraft was recovered, and is undergoing repairs. There were no injuries.

On the Move - Viking Series 400 Delivery

859 - DHC-6-400 C-GVAQ Viking Air Ltd., Sidney, BC

Flew Darwin, NT (YPDN) - Cairns, QLD (YBCS) 15-Aug-2012 on the final leg of it's delivery flight to OK Tedi Mines.

On the Move

859 - DHC-6-400 C-GVAQ Viking Air Ltd., Sidney, BC

Flew Davao City-Bangoy, Philippines (RPMD) - Darwin, NT, Australia (YPDN) 13-Aug-2012 and is now nearing the end of it's delivery flight to Cairns, QLD (YBCS).

On the Move

I've also added a contributed photograph of C-GVAQ, taken at Khabarovsk, Russia (UHHH) to the 10-Aug-2012 entry below

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223 - DHC-6-200 N223AL Win Win Aviation, Wake Forest, NC

Status Update from previous entries - it continues to fly pretty well daily from Parachutisme NouvelAir in Farnham, QC, where it had arrived on 05-May-2012.

464 - DHC-6-300 C-GPOQ Kenn Borek Air, Calgary, AB

Status Update from previous entries - the last time this aircraft was being picked up on SBS in the Montreal area was 01-Aug-2012, and about 12 hours later it was picked up again approaching Calgary. Given that, it would appear that whatever contract it had been operating since 02-Jun-2012 has now ended.


492 - DHC-6-300 C-GIGK Osprey Wings Ltd., Saskatoon, SK

Flew Saskatoon, SK (CYXE) - Springbank, AB (CYBW) 13-Aug-2012

MSN 492 - DHC-6-300 C-GIGK
Osprey Wings, La Ronge SK
25-Dec-2011
Dennis J. Fisher Photo via Ruud Leeuw.com



859 - DHC-6-400 Viking Air Ltd., Sidney, BC

Flew Taipei-Taoyuan International, Taiwan (RCTP) - Davao City-Bangoy, Philippines (RPMD) 12-Aug-2012


In other Series 400 updates the following new aircraft have been noted flying in the past week:

MSN 862 C-GLVA - Victoria/Vancouver area 09-Aug-2012, 12-Aug-2012
MSN 864 C-GUVA - Victoria/Vancouver area 07-Aug-2012
MSN 865 C-GFAP - Calgary area, 06-Aug-2012, 12-Aug-2012, 13-Aug-2012, 14-Aug-2012

On the Move - Viking Series 400 Delivery

859 - DHC-6-400 C-GVAQ Viking Air Ltd., Sidney, BC

Flew Vladivostok-Nevichi, Russia (UHWW) - Taipei-Taoyuan International (RCTP) 11-Aug-2012.

On the Move - Viking Series 400 Delivery

859 - DHC-6-400 C-GVAQ Viking Air Ltd., Sidney, BC

Flew Magadan-Sokol, Russia (UHMM) - Khabarovsk-Novy (UHHH) -Vladivostok-Knevichi, Russia (UHWW) 09-Aug-2012.

859 - DHC-6-400 C-GVAQ
Khabarovsk-Novy (UHHH)

On the Move - Viking Series 400 Delivery

859 - DHC-6-400 C-GVAQ Viking Air Ltd., Sidney, BC

Flew Anadyr-Ugolny, Russia (UHMA) - Magadan-Sokol, Russia (UHMM) 08-Aug-2012.

Image Update

Another couple of nice action shots kindly contributed by Sergio Komori in Mexico, and Marseno Bremer in Saint Maarten

The Twin Otter has a long history in México dating back to 1966, and although there have never been extremely large numbers, there have always been several aircraft in service at any given time. The Mexican Attorney General's Office has operated four examples over the years.

MSN 368 XC-ALA DHC-6-300
Procuraduría General de la República
México City Licenciado Benito Juarez Int'l, Mar-2011
Sergio Komori Photo

Saint Maarten's own Winair is an omnipresent sight at Maho Beach, and can usually be counted on to demonstrate the STOL qualities of the Twin Otter to the crowds. Here we have PJ-WIS climbing off runway 28.

The Twin Otter has been the mainstay of the Winair fleet for the past 45 years.

MSN 447 PJ-WIS DHC-6-300
Winair - Windward Islands Airways International
Saint Maarten-Princess Juliana International, Jul-2012
Marseno Bremer Photo



On the Move - Viking Series 400 Delivery

859 - DHC-6-400 C-GVAQ Viking Air Ltd., Sidney, BC

Today 07-Aug-2012 flew Anchorage, AK (PANC) - Nome, AK (PAOM); and continued on to Anadyr-Ugolny, Russia (UHMA).

Image Update - Viking Series 400 Delivery

With thanks to a friend and reader of DHC-2.com & TwinOtterArchive.com a couple nice shots of MSN 859 after arrival in Anchorage yesterday 06-Aug-2012.

MSN 859 DHC-6-400 C-GVAQ
Viking Air Ltd.
Anchorage, AK (PANC) 06-Aug-2012
Ben Cogger Photo

MSN 859 DHC-6-400 C-GVAQ
Viking Air Ltd.
Anchorage, AK (PANC) 06-Aug-2012
Ben Cogger Photo

C-GVAQ is expected to continue it's delivery today, and if previous ferry flights are any indication, the next stop will likely be Nome, AK (PAOM)

Image Update

A nice selection of photos from Atlanta-Southern Regional Airport (Hampton), Georgia. All were taken in the past several months.



MSN 186 DHC-6-200 N186AL
13500 Air Express LP, Houston, TX
Atlanta-Southern Regional, GA (4A7)
R. Botting Photo 

MSN 601 DHC-6-300 N471SC
Bank of Utah Trustee, Salt Lake City UT
Atlanta-Southern Regional, GA (4A7)
R. Botting Photo

MSN ? DHC-6-300 J8-GAL
Grenadine Alliance - SVG Air/Mustique Airways/TIA
Atlanta-Southern Regional, GA (4A7)
R. Botting Photo

MSN 14 DHC-6-100 N121PM
Freefall Adventures Inc., Williamstown NJ
Atlanta-Southern Regional, GA (4A7)
R. Botting Photo

On the Move - Viking Series 400 Delivery

859 - DHC-6-400 C-GVAQ Viking Air Ltd., Sidney, BC

Has now landed in Anchorage, AK (PANC) on the first sector of it's delivery flight to Papua New Guinea. The aircraft completed the Victoria, BC (CYYJ) - Anchorage, AK sector in 6hrs & 51 mins. 

On arrival in Papua New Guinea it will be become P2-BFW operated by Australia's Cobham Aviation on behalf of OK Tedi Mining.

Image Update & On the Move

Image Update

Seen taxiing at Victoria 02-Aug-2012 is MSN 864 C-GUVA in the colours of Nigeria's Caverton Helicopters, where it will become 5N-SHE. As always, thanks to Tim Martin in Victoria for the photo.

864 - DHC-6-400 C-GUVA
Viking Air Ltd., Sidney, BC
Victoria 02-Aug-2012
Tim Martin Photo

On the Move

866 - DHC-6-400 C-FGAL Viking Air Ltd., Sidney, BC

Registered 01-Aug-2012