De Havilland Canada DHC-6 and DHC-8 aircraft to be consolidated under one brand

Longview Aviation Capital (LAC) will consolidate all of its aviation assets under the De Havilland Aircraft of Canada brand to simplify the running of their manufacturing and training businesses.

“Our acquisition of the De Havilland Dash-8 program from Bombardier Aerospace in 2019 united the entire De Havilland product line for the first time in decades, and we are proud to consolidate our aviation assets under the iconic De Havilland banner,” the fund’s owner, Sherry Brydson, said.

The consolidation will affect De Havilland of Canada, which owns the DHC-8-Q400 type certificate, Viking Air, which manufacturers DHC-6-400 Twin Otters, training centre Pacific Sky Aviation, lessor Longview Aviation Asset Management, and firefighting aircraft conversion facility Longview Aviation Services. LAC said the consolidation would begin in the coming weeks.

De Havilland Aircraft of Canada is currently transitioning from producing DHC-8-Q400s into a support and maintenance company, as the assembly of new units has been indefinitely suspended due to a lack of new orders. The firm said it was prepared to restart production in the future at a new site, as the lease at its former Toronto Downsview facility expired at the end of 2021.

In turn, Viking Air remains active as a manufacturer of Twin Otter -400s, assembling them at its sites at Calgary and Victoria Int’l airports. The company also owns the type certificates for DHC-1, DHC-2, DHC-3, DHC-4, DHC-5, and Dash 7, Canadair CL-215 and CL-415 firefighting aircraft, Shorts 330, Shorts 360, and Sherpa aircraft, and continues to support in-service aircraft while manufacturing spare parts for them.