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 and, as we profile in an AVweb Exclusive Video, it's an idea whose time has come.
A few years ago, Viking bought the type certificates for all early deHavilland aircraft, from the Chipmunk to the Twin Otter. The Twin Otter obviously offered the best opportunity for immediate sales and, within a year, a proof-of-concept model was at NBAA in Orlando. Orders are steadily mounting for the aircraft. The U.S. Army bought three for use by its skydiving team, and an airline that serves the myriad of islands in the Maldives recently ordered two of the $4 million aircraft.
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