De Havilland Canada this month is celebrating 60 years since the first flight of the iconic Twin Otter turbo-prop.
Since the Pratt & Whitney-powered DHC-6 first took flight on 20 May 1965, De Havilland has delivered nearly 1000 of the high-wing STOL utility aircraft to 100 countries around the world.
“Today, we are celebrating six decades of manufacturing and operating a Canadian-made aircraft that serves the world,” said Brian Chafe, CEO of De Havilland Canada.
“The Twin Otter is more than a machine; it’s a lifeline, a workhorse, and a testament to Canadian ingenuity. We’re proud that it continues to connect the most remote corners of the world with unmatched reliability.”
A development of the radial-powered, single-engined DHC-3 Otter, the DHC-6 entered service in 1966 with the Ontario Department of Lands. De Havilland built nearly 850 by the time production ceased in 1988.
A 20-seater in airline configuration, the Twin Otter became a favoured aircraft for short-haul operations, particularly when short and unimproved runways were involved. Twin Otters have been deployed to some of the world's must rugged and inhospitable regions including Antarctica, Greenland and Papua New Guinea, hauling people, freight or a combination of both.
In 2007, De Havilland subsidiary Viking Air announced it would put the Twin Otter back into production as the Viking 400 to meet growing demand for new aircraft as the original airframes began to show their age.
De Havilland absorbed Viking in 2024, giving the Twin Otter back its original branding. At the time of writing, the 1000th DHC-6/Viking 400 airframe is moving through the production line as the DHC-6 Twin Otter Classic 300-G.