A big thank you to JetTip for sponsoring this video.
The de Havilland Canada Dash 8 is a widely popular regional turboprop aircraft that has
sold in the hundreds and thousands.
But before this regional success story came another aircraft.
That aircraft is the de Havilland Canada Dash 7.
While the Dash 7 may look similar in that it is also a high-winged, T-tail turboprop,
it was designed with a much different mission in mind.
By the late 1960s, de Havilland Canada had become known as a world leader in producing
Short Take-off and Landing, or STOL aircraft, from the DHC-2 Beaver,
all the way to the DHC-6 Twin Otter.
At the time, according to some United States government studies, it seemed that the future
of short-haul traffic between densely populated cities would be served by STOL-ports, or specialized
airports designed with short-field aircraft in mind.
These would be built close to city centres, with multiple daily flights performing feeder
services to larger existing airports.
And so, the Dash 7 was born, as a STOL turboprop airliner capable of carrying up to 50 passengers.
Powered by four Pratt and Whitney PT6-50 turboprop engines, the Dash 7 was offered in both a
passenger only configuration, and a combi version, with a large cargo door at the front.
The Dash 7 has a maximum takeoff weight of 44,000 pounds and can operate from runways
as short as 2,000 feet long.
The aircraft’s large flaps extend as far as 45 degrees for STOL landings, and thanks
to the high engine and wing arrangement, it can operate on virtually any type of runway -
dirt, gravel, and even ice.
With an approach speed as low as 76 knots (depending on the payload) in many ways, the
Dash 7 is essentially a larger, four-engine version of the Twin Otter.
Now obviously, the STOL-port concept never materialized.
The aircraft though, quickly found a niche operating from existing airports with challenging
approaches like London City.
It also saw use as an effective 50-seat regional airliner, although its STOL capabilities weren’t
necessarily needed.
However, the pure and simple fact still remained that
two engines are less expensive to operate than four.
With the introduction of the Dash 8 in the early 1980s, being more focused on economics
rather than performance, the Dash 7 was no longer needed in typical airline service.
Production ended in 1988 with 113 aircraft built.
These days, there are only 15 or so Dash 7s flying around the world.
The majority of these are flown by the United States Army, along with two belonging to Air Kenya.
There are also a couple more aircraft flying with other operators, including the British
Antarctic Survey.
Canada, however, has three distinct operators of the Dash 7, the most of any country in the world.
These include Transport Canada, Trans Capital Air, and Air Tindi.
Transport Canada currently operates one aircraft.
This bright red Dash 7 flies as part of the National Aerial Surveillance Program.
Along with two other Dash 8s, this aircraft monitors shipping activities, ice conditions,
marine security, as well as pollution along Canada’s waterways.
The Dash 7’s slow flight capabilities make it a very useful aircraft for this type of
work, as well as its high payload.
With that ability, the Government of Canada has outfitted the aircraft with advanced equipment like:
and so on.
The aircraft is based in Ottawa during the winter months, patrolling the Great Lakes,
and moves to Iqaluit, during the Arctic shipping season in the summer.
Moving on, to Trans Capital Air, which is a charter airline based in Toronto, Ontario.
They have 10 Dash 7s on the Canadian Civil Aircraft Register, although most of these
are currently parked at Toronto City Centre Airport.
Trans Capital Air’s aircraft have mostly been flying for the United Nations on peacekeeping
and humanitarian missions.
While not necessarily flying within Canada, the Dash 7’s ability to operate from nearly
any surface makes it the ideal choice for this type of operation.
At least one of these aircraft was still flying as of August 2019, but it’s not clear what
the future holds for these airframes.
And finally - Air Tindi, a Northern Canadian airline based out of Yellowknife, Northwest Territories.
Air Tindi bought their first Dash 7 in 1996, a few years after the discovery of diamonds
just a couple hundred kilometers from Yellowknife.
These aircraft would soon become indispensable during the construction of these diamond mines,
and still provide a lifeline to this day.
One of the advantages of the Dash 7 is the payload it can carry, and the large cargo
door on the combi versions is hugely beneficial.
On Air Tindi’s aircraft, the combi configuration allows the airline to adjust capacity as needed.
They can fly anything from a full load of 46 passengers, or up to 10,000 pounds of cargo
only, depending on the aircraft.
For Air Tindi, the STOL abilities of the Dash 7 are incredibly useful in the Canadian Arctic.
The vast majority of Northern settlements can only be accessed by air.
Other aircraft like the 737-200, and ATR 42, can serve the larger airports.
However, for communities with even smaller and shorter runways, the Dash 7 provides a
vital service, connecting these Canadians to the outside world.
For the past two summers, Air Tindi has been operating fishing charter flights with the
Dash 7.
These fly from Vancouver International Airport to Bella Bella, on Campbell Island in northwestern
British Columbia - a 3500 foot runway!
However, that pales in comparison to some high arctic destinations, including this 1950
foot gravel strip at 76 degrees North in Grise Fiord, Nunavut!
And the Dash 7’s performance is no joke.
Myself and 30 other aviation enthusiasts were treated to a short field takeoff in one of
Air Tindi’s aircraft earlier this year.
Although we had more than enough runway to begin with, with a total takeoff weight of
42,000 pounds, we were airborne in roughly 1200 feet!
Experiencing that kind of performance on what is effectively a regional airliner shows you
just how useful a Dash 7 can be.
As always though, the question remains - How long will operators be able to
keep the Dash 7 in the air?
Another Northern Canadian airline, Buffalo Airways, is able to keep their vintage Douglas
DC-3s flying, because of the sheer number that were produced.
With, quite literally, thousands of DC-3s built, parts can still be found even 75 years later.
So with just over a hundred Dash 7s built, scattered all around the globe, you can see
why operators like Air Tindi face an issue when it comes to parts.
By limiting their fleet, Air Tindi believes they can keep the Dash 7 flying for another 10 years.
Eventually, though, the Dash 7 will have to be retired.
But because it’s such a versatile aircraft, there really is no better alternative without
compromising on performance or payload.
Viking Air of Victoria, British Columbia, currently owns the type certificate for the
Dash 7, along with that of every other De Havilland Canada aircraft.
Essentially, this gives Viking the:
Now obviously, a newly built Dash 7 would be a dream for operators like Air Tindi.
However, as Viking stated when they bought the type certificate back in 2006, they need
to assess the market first.
For an aircraft as niche as the Dash 7, the demand may not be enough to warrant completely
restarting production, as Viking has done with the Twin Otter.
Viking remains the only source of certified, factory-new spare parts, and their spokesperson
told Skies Magazine earlier this year that:
In the meantime though, this aircraft will continue to fly within Canada.
From supplying and supporting the North to safeguarding the pristine waters of the Great Lakes,
the Dash 7 is a truly Canadian aircraft, and will remain that way for the foreseeable future.
So the next time a Dash 7 visits your local airport, you’d probably want to know.
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A genuine thank you to those of you who have made it this far in the video.
This has been a project I’ve been working on for well over a month now, and I’m very
thankful to the wonderful people at Air Tindi for helping me out along the way.
The inflight footage you saw throughout was recorded on board a special aviation enthusiast
charter flight in August.
I’ll leave a link to that video in the description below.
I also owe a huge thank you to my good friends Mark Brandon and YQBSpotting.
They were both kind enough to let me use their Dash 7 footage.
This video wouldn’t have been possible without their help, so please go check them out!
If you enjoyed the video, please leave a thumbs up.
It would really help me out, and if you’re new to the channel, subscribe if you’d like
to see more like this!
Once again, thank you so much for watching, and I’ll see you in the next one.