Twin Otter Spotter : October 2014

Friday, 31 October 2014

DHC-6-300 C-FUGT Maldives Bound

Pictured below this afternoon in Calgary is MSN 382 C-FUGT being prepared for delivery to Island Aviation Services in the Maldives. This will be their third Twin Otter, and it is the second time that this aircraft has been in the Maldives. It was previously with Maldivian Air Taxi from 2004 to 2009.

C-FUGT returned from Seabird Airlines in Turkey back in Jan-2014, and had remained at Calgary since.

MSN 382 - DHC-6-300 C-FUGT
Kenn Borek Air (Island Aviation Services)
Calgary, AB 31-Oct-2014

Thursday, 30 October 2014

MSN 889 C-GVZQ Cancelled to Russia

889 - DHC-6-400 C-GVZQ Viking Air Ltd., Sidney, BC

Registration cancelled 30-Oct-2014 to RA-

Aircraft had arrived Vladivostok, Russia 26-Oct-2014 on delivery to Aurora.

Vanuatu Visions

A couple of nice photographs from Port Vila, Vanuatu taken earlier this year.

Immediately below is Series 400 N153QS, which positioned to the South Pacific in Sep-2013. Through mid-2014 the aircraft was noted regularly in Vanuatu, New Caledonia and Fiji, and some three weeks after the picture below was taken, it departed back to Nadi, Fiji.

MSN 869 - DHC-6-400 N153QS
Wells Fargo Bank Trustee, Salt Lake City, UT
Port Vila, Vanuatu 20-May-2014
R Stretton Photo

Air Vanuatu's latest Twin Otter was acquired via Aviation Management Sales in Florida, and was delivered in Oct-2013. It still carries the paint scheme that was applied in Carrollton, GA for Bald Mountain Air Services of Alaska.

MSN 564 - DHC-6-300 YJ-AV11
Air Vanuatu
Port Vila, Vanuatu 20-May-2014
R Stretton Photo

Wednesday, 29 October 2014

U.S. and Canadian Register Updates

805 - DHC-6-300 N805WJ CAAMS LLC, Wilmington, DE

Registered 28-Oct-2014

N805WJ was previously operated by Nature Air, and crashed on approach to Tamarindo, Costa Rica on 16-Dec-2005. The aircraft was recovered and acquired by CAAMS LLC in Aug-2006 for rebuild and sale.

872 - DHC-6-400 N901VK Bank of Utah Trustee, Salt Lake City, UT (Viking Air Ltd., Sidney, BC)

Registration cancelled 28-Oct-2014 and officially imported to Canada 28-Oct-2014

885 - DHC-6-400 N902VK Bank of Utah Trustee, Salt Lake City, UT (Viking Air Ltd., Sidney, BC)

Registration cancelled 28-Oct-2014 and officially imported to Canada 28-Oct-2014

Again, another instance of paperwork having to catch up with the aircraft, as occurred with MSN 867 back in Jun-2014.

Both of the aircraft above were delivered to the Vietnam Navy in Aug/Sep-2014 direct from the U.S.A. by contractor Southern Cross Aviation, and became VNT-771 and VNT-778 respectively. The import below ties up the official records to show the export to Vietnam is from Canada. There had always been continuous ownership by Viking, even while registered in the U.S. under the trustee.

Saturday, 25 October 2014

Aircraft Movements & Photo Update - Australia, Antarctica, Russia, Maldives and New 400's

MSN 90 VH-BVS has had the paintwork completed, as well as the addition of CJ Aerospace titles. Thanks to Michael Greenhill for these two photographs taken in Wagga Wagga yesterday. In the lower photo you can also see the avionics/panel upgrade that was completed during the rebuilding process.

MSN 90 - DHC-6-100 VH-BVS
CJ Aerospace
Wagga Wagga, NSW 25-Oct-2014
Michael Greenhill Photo

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338 - DHC-6-300 C-FDHB Kenn Borek Air Ltd., Calgary, AB

25-Oct-2014

Calgary, AB (CYYC/YYC) - Denver-Centennial, CO (KAPA/APA)
Denver-Centennial, CO (KAPA/APA) - McAllen-Miller Int'l., TX (KMFE/MFE)

C-FDHB departed Calgary this morning for Antarctica, and at the time of writing was just north of the Montana-Wyoming border. It has since filed for the continuation on to McAllen, as well as changing the ident from KBA304 to its registration.

http://flightaware.com/live/flight/KBA304

http://flightaware.com/live/flight/CFDHB

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MSN 701 - DHC-6-300 C-GYXF
Ashe Aircraft Enterprises
Male, Maldives 25-Oct-2014
Joe Nicholas Fernando Photo

C-GYXF arrived in Male 23-Oct-2014, and the painting preparation for Trans Maldivian began straightaway.

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889 - DHC-6-400 C-GVZQ Viking Air Ltd., Sidney, BC

19-Oct-2014

Nome, AK (PAOM/OME) - Anadyr-Ugolny, Russia (UHMA/DYR)

23-Oct-2014

Anadyr-Ugolny, Russia (UHMA/DYR) - Magadan-Sokol, Russia (UHMM/GDX)

24/25-Oct-2014

Magadan-Sokol, Russia (UHMM/GDX) - Khabarovsk-Novy, Russia (UHHH/KHV)
Khabarovsk-Novy, Russia (UHHH/KHV) - Vladivistok-Int'l., Russia (UHWW/VVO)

MSN 889 has completed its delivery flight to Aurora Air Company in Vladivostok. The aircraft had departed Victoria, BC on 16-Oct-2014. The next step will be the cancellation of the Canadian marks and addition to the Russian register. This is the second Series 400 for Aurora, and the third is currently in Victoria.

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MSN 911 C-GUVT arrived Victoria yesterday afternoon, and is seen below in Tim Martin's photo. The aircraft is expected to be for Fuerza Aérea del Perú.

MSN 911 - DHC-6-400 C-GUVT
Viking Air Ltd.
Victoria, BC 24-Oct-2014
Tim Martin Photo

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The two latest Series 400's have joined the register this week, 915 becomes the second C-GVEP while 916 takes up version 5 of C-GVVA

915 - DHC-6-400 C-GVEP (2) Viking Air Ltd., Sidney, BC

Registered 21-Oct-2014

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916 - DHC-6-400 C-GVVA (5) Viking Air Ltd., Sidney, BC

Registered 21-Oct-2014

Friday, 24 October 2014

Aircraft Movements - MSN 911 Exits the Paint Shop

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

24-Oct-2014

Spokane, WA (KGEG/GEG) - Victoria, BC (CYYJ/YYJ)

C-GUVT departed Spokane this afternoon, bound for Victoria. It is expected to be destined for Fuerza Aérea del Perú.

Aircraft Movements - Polynesian Introduces Third Twin Otter

402 - DHC-6-300 5W-STF Polynesian Airlines, Apia

Registered Oct-2014, ex C-FHKB

Yesterday Polynesian Airlines formally introduced their third Twin Otter, which had arrived in Samoa on 04-Oct-2014. The aircraft will be named "Savaii".

MSN 402 - DHC-6-300 5W-STF
Polynesian Airlines
Apia, Samoa 24-Oct-2014
Samoa Government Press Secretary Photo

Aircraft Movements - C-GYXF arrives in Male on delivery

701 - DHC-6-300 C-GYXF Ashe Aircraft Enterprises, Calgary, AB

23-Oct-2014

Salalah, Oman (OOSA/SLL) - Male, Maldives (VRMM/MLE)

C-GYXF has landed safely in Male, completing the delivery flight which began in Springbank, AB on 18-Oct-2014. After being painted, it should be ready to enter service shortly.

Thursday, 23 October 2014

Photo Update

Just a few photographs that I have scanned and prepared for upload to TwinOtterArchive

Looking a little neglected sitting in the hangar at Whitehorse in Aug-1980, C-FQHC had been in the hands of the Receivers of Northward since March 1980. It was back in the air by the fall of that year, and soldiered on until 2010.

MSN 21 - DHC-6-100 C-FQHC
Northward Airlines
Whitehorse, YT Aug-1980
Gary Vincent Photo

Minus a fair number of components, but still intact the former C-FQHC is seen below in 2014.

MSN 21 - DHC-6-100 C-GBPE
Ashe Aircraft Enterprises
Springbank, AB 29-Sep-2014
Kenneth I Swartz Photo

Having lost her wings, but otherwise not looking too bad, David Boatman's N927BA is seen below at Springbank in 1989. The aircraft was built for Aeralpi of Italy in 1967, and returned to North America shortly after with Mackey and Metro Airlines, and then to Boatman Airlift in 1982.

MSN 50 - DHC-6-100 N927BA
Boatman Airlift Inc.
Springbank, AB - Sep-1989
Anthony J. Hickey Photo

The fuselage of N927BA remains part of the pile-o-twinotters at Springbank, as seen in the picture below from Sep-2014

MSN 50 - DHC-6-100 N927BA
Boatman Airlift Inc.
Springbank, AB - Sep-2014
Kenneth I. Swartz Photo

Alaska Aeronautical Industries' airplanes were seldom ever much to look at, but N332MA below certainly takes the ugly trophy for its rhinoplasty gone wrong. In Jan-1980 the aircraft undershot the runway at Kenai, AK and was patched up and taken to Calgary for repair.

MSN 32 - DHC-6-100 N332MA
AAI-Alaska Aeronautical Industries
Calgary, AB Mar-1980
M. J. Ody Photograph

Aircraft Movements

244 - DHC-6-300 CC-PQI Minera Barrick Servicios Ltda., Santiago

Sold to Gravitas Aviation Ltd., West Vancouver, BC, however does not appear on Canadian register as yet.

This is the second of the South American based Barrick Twin Otters to return to Canada, SN 701 came back from Peru in 2013 (and is now en route to the Maldives as noted below).

The departure of the 300 series from Chile is likely related to the recent delivery of 400 series CC-AMM which left Canada on 03-Oct-2014.

MSN 244 - DHC-6-300 CC-PQI
Minera Barrick Servicios
Santiago, Chile Jan-2008
Photographer Unknown (TwinOtterArchive files)

701 - DHC-6-300 C-GYXF Ashe Aircraft Enterprises, Calgary, AB

23-Oct-2014

Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt (HESH/SSH) - Salalah, Oman (OOSA/SLL)

Today, C-GYXF has departed from Sharm el Sheikh, and is currently crossing over Yemen to the west of Salalah, Oman.

Wednesday, 22 October 2014

Photo Update

Since learning of the rebuild of MSN 90 back in Aug-2014 we have been following the progress as Australia's CJ Aerospace prepares the aircraft for delivery to Suriname.

Built in 1967 for Skymark Airlines of Sacramento, CA, it went on to serve with Aero Commuter, Golden West, Frontier Airlines, Mountain Air Cargo, and finally Umatilla Aviation Services, a skydiving outfit from Florida. It went down under in 1995, and flew for the next ten or so years with Sydney Aerial Tours.

The before and after pictures below clearly show the amount of work that has been accomplished to bring SN 90 back to top condition.

Always great to see that the demand for the legacy Twin Otters is such that rebuilding projects like this are viable. MSN 90 first flew in November of 1967, forty-seven years ago!

MSN 90 - DHC-6-100 VH-OTA
Sydney Aerial Tours/Sydney Skydiving Center
Mar-2007

MSN 90 - DHC-6-100 (VH-BVS)
CJ Aerospace Pty Ltd.
Oct-2014

Viking Series 400 Order News

As originally published in the blog on 30-Sep-2014 from the Government of Scotland release, today Viking has confirmed:

Viking Sells Series 400 Twin Otters to Scotland

Highlands and Islands Airports Limited Becomes Inaugural Series 400 Operator in UK

Orlando, Florida, October 22nd, 2014: Viking Air Limited of Victoria, BC, Canada and Highlands and Islands Airports Limited (“HIAL”), of Inverness, Scotland, have entered into an agreement for the purchase of two Twin Otter Series 400 aircraft, making HIAL the first Twin Otter Series 400 operator in Scotland.

The two aircraft, scheduled for delivery starting in mid- 2015, will be configured as standard 19-passenger commercial landplanes based in Glasgow and providing Public Service Operation (“PSO”) routes to Campbeltown, Barra and Tiree, off the West coast of Scotland. The Series 400 Twin Otter was selected by HIAL to operate on these lifeline service routes due to its robust design, STOL performance, and reliability when operating in extreme conditions, all prerequisites for operations on Barra’s short beach landing strip.

Provisions for operator flight and maintenance training were also included in the contract, and will be provided through Flightsafety International in Toronto, Ontario, and Viking’s sister-company, Pacific Sky Aviation Inc, in Victoria, BC.

“While the legacy de Havilland Twin Otter has been reliably servicing remote communities in Scotland for decades, the introduction of the Viking Series 400 aircraft will no doubt be considered a welcome upgrade to HIAL’s offerings while providing taxpayers with the best value for money,” commented Evan McCorry, Viking vice president International Sales & Marketing. He continued, “We are pleased to provide a cost effective solution for Scotland’s infrastructure requirements, and welcome HIAL to the growing Series 400 Twin Otter family.”

MSN 666 - DHC-6-300 G-BVVK
Loganair Ltd.
Barra 26-Mar-2013
Angus MacLean Photo

MSN 696 - DHC-6-300 G-BFZP
Loganair Ltd.
Barra 19-Aug-2010
Robbie Shaw Photo

Aircraft Movements

351 - DHC-6-300 HB-LUC Zimex Aviation Ltd., Glattbrugg

Registered 21-Oct-2014, ex PK-BAE

HB-LUC has been with PT Air Born in Indonesia since Oct-2012. It flew via Egypt on delivery to Indonesia on 04-Oct-2012. It can be seen in the photo below prior to departure to Indonesia.

MSN 351 - DHC-6-300 PK-BAE
PT Air Born
Bratislava, Slovakia 24-Sep-2012
Peter Psenica Photo

701 - DHC-6-300 C-GYXF Ashe Aircraft Enterprises, Calgary, AB

21-Oct-2014

Nis, Serbia (LYNI/INI) - Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt (HESH/SSH)

C-GYXF is nearing the end of today's flight from Serbia to Egypt, as it continues toward the Maldives. At the time of writing, the aircraft has just crossed the Gulf of Suez south of Ras Sedr, Egypt.

Tuesday, 21 October 2014

Aircraft Movements

701 - DHC-6-300 C-GYXF Ashe Aircraft Enterprises, Calgary, AB

21-Oct-2014

Malmo. Sweden (ESMS/MMX) - Nis, Serbia (LYNI/INI)

C-GYXF has completed today's flying, having landed earlier at Nis, Serbia. The next stop is expected to be Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt, as it continues to make its way towards the Maldives.

725 - DHC-6-300 C-GKBO Kenn Borek Air, Calgary, AB

21-Oct-2014

McAllen-Miller Int'l., TX (KMFE/MFE) - Liberia, Costa Rica (MRLB/LIR)

C-GKBO continues its flight to Antarctica with today's sector on to Liberia, Costa Rica - and the point at which we lose the ability to follow it.

Historical Twin Otter Operator Profile

Ameriflight LLC
1515 W. 20th Street, Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, TX 75261
800-800-4538
administration@ameriflight.com

Formed: 1968
IATA: A8
ICAO: AMF
Callsign: Amflight

Ameriflight, formerly California Air Charter is currently the largest regional air cargo carrier in the world, operating 1700 flights a week to 250 desinations in the U.S., Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean. The company is now headquartered in Dallas/Fort Worth, TX and has bases in Seattle, Portland, Salt Lake City, Hayward, Burbank, Ontario, Phoenix, San Antonio, Omaha, Louisville, Cincinnati, Lansing, Buffalo, Miami, San Juan and Borinquen.

Currently, the airline operates 29 Piper PA-31-350's, 57 Beech 99's, 46 Fairchild Metroliners, 25 Beech 1900's and 8 Embraer Brasilias.

California Air Charter/Ameriflight's association with the Twin Otter began in 1984 with the lease of two Series 300 aircraft from Bradley Air Services, and a further 7 would be operated over the next six years. The aircraft were generally operated in Southern California, most would never carry any titles, and all would remain in whatever paint scheme they arrived in.

MSN 53 DHC-6-100 N203E Jul-1986 toAug-1989