Category Archives: De Havilland Aircraft of Canada

De Havilland Canada selects a new assembly plant site in Alberta

De Havilland Aircraft of Canada Limited has announced that the site of its new aircraft manufacturing facility will be in Wheatland County, Alberta, approximately 30 minutes east of Calgary.

This new facility will be called De Havilland Field and will consist of a new, state-of-the-art aircraft assembly facility, runway, parts manufacturing and distribution centres and maintenance repair and overhaul centre. In addition, educational space for training the workforce of the future is planned as well as general office buildings and a De Havilland Canada aircraft museum.

These operations will complement our current parts manufacturing facilities in Victoria, British Columbia as well as our new engineering and customer support centre of excellence in Toronto, Ontario.

De Havilland Field will be the site of final assembly for the DHC-515 Firefighter aircraft which was launched earlier this year, the DHC-6 Twin Otter as well as the Dash 8-400 aircraft.  We are currently working towards bringing the DHC-6 Twin Otter and Dash 8-400 aircraft back into production.

The location of De Havilland Field is ideal, having access to a large, young and diverse labour pool in Alberta, family-friendly cost of living, and a world-class international airport that can support efficient parts distribution to our global customer base.  We anticipate that once in full operation, there will be up to 1500 jobs located at De Havilland Field.

The development of De Havilland Field is subject to an amendment to the Wheatland County Area Structure Plan as well as re-zoning by the County.  De Havilland expects to submit these applications shortly and is committed to working with Wheatland County and Wheatland County residents as we move through the Area Structure Plan and re-zoning processes.  In addition, there are approval processes required by Transport Canada and the Impact Assessment Agency of Canada.

De Havilland Canada increasing operational flexibility of Dash 8-400 aircraft with design weight increases and cabin enhancements

De Havilland Aircraft of Canada Limited (“De Havilland Canada”) today announced design weight increases and cabin enhancements for the Dash 8-400 aircraft.

“As we work toward relaunching the production of the Dash 8-400 aircraft, our design weight increases and cabin enhancements, which are available to retrofit in-service aircraft, illustrate De Havilland Canada’s ongoing commitment and investments to support the worldwide fleet,” said Jean-Philippe Côté, Vice President, Programs, De Havilland Canada. “Our solutions offer our operators many opportunities to increase operational flexibility and to provide a passenger experience that is equivalent to that on new production aircraft. In addition, our design weight increases for the Dash 8-400 aircraft will allow operators to meet the increasing passenger weight allowance requirements mandated by Transport Canada, the FAA and various other aviation authorities, without any impact on revenue.”

DESIGN WEIGHT INCREASES

The design weight increases will provide an increase of up to 3,000 lb (1,360 kg) in payload (maximum zero fuel weight) and an increase of up to 2,000 lb (907 kg) to the maximum take-off weight of the Dash 8-400 aircraft. These weight increases significantly enhance the operational capability of the aircraft to carry more passengers, more bags, more cargo, and more fuel, and provide more range than ever before. The weight increases are offered in multiple standard categories and De Havilland Canada can also provide customized weight increases to meet the specific needs of a particular operator. The increased fuel tankering capability offers operators options to refuel at points of the network that provide greater operational flexibility and cost optimization.

In addition, an increase of 650 lb (295 kg) is being developed to the aft baggage compartment for operators who require additional baggage weight carrying capability.

De Havilland Canada and ZeroAvia sign MOU to develop hydrogen-electric engine for Dash 8-400 aircraft

ZeroAvia, the leading innovator in zero-emission aviation powertrains, and  De Havilland Aircraft of Canada Limited today announced that they have entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to develop a line-fit and retrofit program for De Havilland Canada’s aircraft models, using hydrogen-electric propulsion in both new and in-service aircraft.

As part of the MOU, De Havilland Canada will be issued options to purchase 50 ZeroAvia hydrogen-electric engines. These options will be confirmed once a definitive agreement has been completed between De Havilland Canada and ZeroAvia.

The companies intend to work together on a service bulletin for the Dash 8-400 type certificate offering ZeroAvia’s hydrogen-electric engine as a line-fit option for new aircraft, as well as developing an OEM-approved retrofit program for in-service aircraft. This program will target the use of ZeroAvia’s 2MW+ powertrain (ZA2000) for Dash 8-400 aircraft. The Dash 8-400 is one of the world’s most reliable turboprop aircraft with more than 625 delivered to customers. The global fleet of Dash 8-400 aircraft has logged over 11 million flight hours and transported more than 550 million passengers.

As part of the program, ZeroAvia will develop a flight demonstrator, with De Havilland Canada’s support, using a Dash 8-400 aircraft to aid certification and showcase the operational and commercial potential of the engine. The intention is to identify a suitable existing route utilising the aircraft and aim for entry into service within the next five years. ZeroAvia and De Havilland Canada intend to jointly market aircraft powered by the hydrogen-electric engines to operators with power-by-the-hour (PBH) support.

In October, ZeroAvia announced a development collaboration with Alaska Air Group, the parent company of Alaska Airlines, for a hydrogen-electric powertrain capable of flying 76-seat regional aircraft in excess of 500 nautical miles, starting with initial deployment into a full-size Dash 8-400 aircraft.

ZeroAvia expects to fly a 19-seat aircraft using its ZA600 powertrain in the coming weeks in a hybrid configuration (one conventional engine, one hydrogen-electric) before flying the same aircraft using only hydrogen-electric engines in 2022 and building to certification by 2024. On its ZA2000 program, ZeroAvia aims to have full thrust ground demonstrations of its 1.8MW engine variant by the end of 2022. From there, the company plans certification of its ZA2000 powertrain to support 40-80 seat aircraft with a potential range in excess of 700 nautical miles – about the distance from Toronto to Atlanta – by 2026, and eventually extending into aircraft up to 90 seats by 2027.