De Havilland Canada

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De Havilland Aircraft of Canada Limited
Company type Subsidiary
Industry Aerospace
Founded2019;6 years ago (2019)
Headquarters Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Key people
 Brian Chafe (CEO) [1]
Products
Number of employees
2,100 [2]
Parent Longview Aviation Capital (Until 2024) [3]
Subsidiaries Viking Air (Until 2024)
Website dehavilland.com OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg

De Havilland Aircraft of Canada Limited (DHC) is a Canadian aircraft manufacturer founded in 2018 that purchased the aircraft programs of the original the de Havilland Canada, which was founded in 1928. The aircraft types currently in production or planned for production include the DHC-6 Twin Otter, DHC-8 Dash 8, and DHC-515 Firefighter turboprop aircraft. [4] The company's primary facilities were located in the Downsview area of Toronto, Ontario, but in 2022, it was announced that it would relocate primary manufacturing to De Havilland Field, under development near Calgary, Alberta. [5]

Contents

The original the de Havilland Aircraft of Canada, Limited was created in 1928 by the British de Havilland Aircraft Company to build Moth aircraft for the training of Canadian airmen, and subsequently after the Second World War, designed and produced indigenous designs. [6] In the 1980s, the government of Canada under Prime Minister Brian Mulroney privatized DHC and in 1986 sold the aircraft company to then Seattle-based Boeing. [7] DHC was eventually acquired by Montreal-based Bombardier Aerospace in 1992 [8] after cumulative losses of US$636 million over five years under Boeing. [9]

In 2006, Viking Air of Victoria, British Columbia, purchased the type certificates for all the original out-of-production de Havilland designs (DHC-1 to DHC-7). [10] In November 2018, Viking Air's holding company, Longview Aviation Capital, announced the acquisition of the Dash 8 and Q400 program, the last DHC designs still held by Bombardier, along with the rights to the DHC name and trademark. The deal, which closed on 3 June 2019 following regulatory approval, brought the entire Canadian de Havilland product line under the same banner for the first time in decades, under a new holding company named De Havilland Aircraft of Canada Limited. [3] In addition, the company has acquired the Canadair CL-415 program to produce the DHC-515.

History

Original Company (1928-1992)

The de Havilland Canada name was originally used by the de Havilland Aircraft of Canada, Limited, which was established as a subsidiary of de Havilland Aircraft (UK) in 1928. It was first located at De Lesseps Field in Toronto, before moving to Downsview in 1929. The company was founded to build Moth aircraft for the training of Canadian airmen.

Following the Second World War, de Havilland Canada began to build its own designs uniquely suited to the harsh Canadian operating environment. The company also continued production of several British de Havilland aircraft and later produced a licence-built version of the American-designed Grumman S2F Tracker. In 1962 the Avro Canada aircraft production facility was transferred to de Havilland Canada by their then-merged parent company, UK-based Hawker Siddeley.

In the 1980s, the Government of Canada privatized DHC and in 1986 sold the aircraft company to then Seattle-based Boeing. [11] [12] Boeing discontinued several popular product lines including the DHC-6 Twin Otter and the DHC-7 Dash 7, before putting the company up for sale. DHC was eventually acquired by Montreal-based Bombardier Aerospace in 1992 and incorporated into the Bombardier group of companies. [13] During this time, the Dash 8 line remained in production, with the produce line being expanded to four models, with the largest being the Q-400.

Purchase of Type Certificates

On 24 February 2006, Viking Air of Victoria purchased the type certificates from Bombardier Aerospace for all the original de Havilland designs, [14] including:

The ownership of the certificates gave Viking the exclusive right to manufacture new aircraft; previously, Viking had purchased in May 2005 the right to manufacture spares and distribute the de Havilland heritage aircraft product line. [10]

In addition to the de Havilland type certificates, Viking Air also acquired the Canadair CL-415 program in October 2018. [15]

Formation

In November 2018, Viking Air parent Longview Aviation Capital acquired the Bombardier Dash 8 program and the de Havilland brand from Bombardier, in a deal that was expected to close by the second half of 2019. [16] In January 2019, Longview announced that it would establish a new company in Ontario, De Havilland Aircraft of Canada Limited, to continue production of the Q400 model and support the Dash 8 range. [17] The deal closed on 3 June 2019; the newly formed company inherited an order book of 51 Q400s. [3] Longview did not intend to merge Viking Air and De Havilland. Some 1200 Bombardier staff transferred to the new De Havilland company, which intended to continue Dash 8-400 production at Downsview until a lease expires in 2023 and hopes to negotiate an extension to that date. Other Dash 8 variants are also under consideration, in particular to target the North American 50-seater market. [18]

In 2019, the company acquired the Short C-23 Sherpa. DHC currently has interest in restarting the program for the defense and firefighting markets, and is looking to the feasibility of doing so. [19] [20]

In February 2022, Longview consolidated its activities, with Viking Air, Longview Aviation, Pacific Sky Training, De Havilland Canada, and Longview Aviation Capital itself all being rebranded as De Havilland Aircraft of Canada. [21] In June 2022, after a celebration with 10 DHC types present, from a 1942 Tiger Moth to a 2019 DHC-8-400, the last DHC aircraft left the Downsview site [22] and the offices were relocated to nearby Mississauga. [23]

In September 2022, DHC announced its plans to construct a new manufacturing facility, De Havilland Field, in Wheatland County, Alberta. The new facility is intended to merge its two manufacturing facilities and produce the Twin Otter and Dash 8 planes, as well as the new DHC-515 firefighting aircraft. First production at the new site is planned to begin in 2025. [24]

Aircraft

Product list and details [25]
AircraftPurposeCapacityFirst flightSpan of productionNumber built
DHC-6 Twin Otter STOL utility aircraft Two crew and 20 passengers19651966–1988 (original DHC)

2008–present (Viking and DHC)

150 (844 by the original DHC) [26]
Dash 8 Turboprop regional airlinerTwo or three crew and 37 to 90 passengers19831984–2021 (original DHC and Bombardier)

c. 2025 – c. 2027 (DHC)

0 (1,100 by the original DHC and Bombardier)
De Havilland Canadair 515 Turboprop firefighting aircraft Two crew, additional passenger capacity optionalTBDc. 2025 (DHC)0 (95 CL-415s by Canadair)

The company also owns the type certificates for aircraft produced by the original de Havilland Canada and the Short C-23 Sherpa.

De Havilland Field

De Havilland Field is an announced aircraft production facility in Wheatland County, Alberta to replace the previous sites including the one at Downsview Airport. The new facility is to be built just east of Cheadle. The facility will initially manufacture the DHC-515 fire-fighting aircraft; the DHC-6 Twin Otter and the Dash 8-400 will also be assembled at De Havilland Field once production resumes. [27]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Canada, De Havilland Aircraft of. "Longview Aviation Capital Announces Consolidation of Companies under De Havilland Aircraft of Canada Limited and Appoints Brian Chafe Chief Executive Officer". www.newswire.ca.
  2. ↑ "De Havilland brand preps for takeoff after Bombardier's Dash 8 sale to Longview | The Star". The Star. The Canadian Press. 3 June 2019.
  3. 1 2 3 Hemmerdinger, Jon (3 June 2019). "Longview completes Dash 8 buy and forms De Havilland Aircraft". Flightglobal.com.
  4. ↑ "About". De Havilland Field. Retrieved 4 January 2023.
  5. ↑ "News Release | De Havilland". dehavilland.com. 21 September 2022. Retrieved 4 January 2023.
  6. ↑ GlobalSecurity.org
  7. ↑ "Canada Sells de Havilland to Boeing Co". Los Angeles Times. 3 December 1985. Retrieved 29 December 2014.
  8. ↑ Farnsworth, Clyde (23 January 1992). "COMPANY NEWS; Bombardier Agrees to Buy De Havilland From Boeing". New York Times. Retrieved 29 December 2014.
  9. ↑ Farnsworth, Clyde H. (28 December 1991). "Bombardier Returns to Earth". New York Times. Retrieved 10 October 2023.
  10. 1 2 "wingsmagazine.com: "Viking Air acquires assets of Bombardier" 5 May 2005". Archived from the original on 28 May 2014. Retrieved 28 May 2014.
  11. ↑ "Canada Sells de Havilland to Boeing Co". Los Angeles Times. 3 December 1985. Retrieved 29 December 2014.
  12. ↑ "de Havilland Aircraft of Canada Limited – The Canadian Encyclopedia". 15 December 2013. Retrieved 29 December 2014.
  13. ↑ Farnsworth, Clyde (23 January 1992). "COMPANY NEWS; Bombardier Agrees to Buy De Havilland From Boeing". New York Times. Retrieved 29 December 2014.
  14. ↑ "Viking acquires de Havilland Canada type certificates." Archived 2006-08-24 at the Wayback Machine Viking Press Release, 24 February 2006.
  15. ↑ "Viking Canadair 515". Viking Air Ltd. Archived from the original on 6 May 2020. Retrieved 17 June 2020.
  16. ↑ "Longview Aviation Capital Corp. Acquires Dash 8 Program from Bombardier Inc" (PDF) (Press release). Longview Aviation Capital Corp. 8 November 2018.
  17. ↑ Warwick, Graham (18 January 2019). "Canada's Longview Plans To Continue Q400 Production As De Havilland". Aviation Week .
  18. ↑ Hemmerdinger, Jon (23 August 2019). "ANALYSIS: De Havilland eyes Dash 8 resurgence". Flightglobal.com.
  19. ↑ "De Havilland Canada celebrates the 50th anniversary of Shorts Brothers SD 3-60 C-23 B+ Sherpa". Skies Mag. Retrieved 10 September 2025.
  20. ↑ Columnist, E. T. (10 June 2024). "As US, China Chase 6th-Gen Jets, Canada To Revive 'Almost Forgotten' C-23 Sherpa As Military Variant". EURASIAN TIMES. Retrieved 10 September 2025.
  21. ↑ "Viking Air rebrands within consolidation of LAC companies". Business Air News. 8 February 2022.
  22. ↑ "De Havilland Canada says goodbye to Downsview". Skies Mag.
  23. ↑ Curtis, Clint (3 February 2023). "What Happened To De Havilland Canada?". Ontario Bakery. Retrieved 19 February 2024.
  24. ↑ Villamizar, Helwing (22 September 2022). "De Havilland Canada Chooses Alberta for New Site". Airways Magazine . Archived from the original on 16 December 2023. Retrieved 24 September 2022.
  25. ↑ date information from de Havilland Canada
  26. ↑ Mike Ody; Erik Johannesson; Ian Macintosh; Neil Aird (August 2019). "Twin Otter Archive".
  27. ↑ "De Havilland Canada Announces Site of New Alberta Aircraft Manufacturing Facility" (Press release). De Havilland Canada. 21 September 2022. Retrieved 23 September 2022.
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