Misplaced Pages

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50-513: The civil airport Andøya Airport, Andenes and the civilian sounding rocket launch facility Andøya Rocket Range are also located nearby. The first idea of building a military airport was launched at a NATO meeting in Lisbon in 1951. In March 1952 the Norwegian Minister of Defence, Nils Langhelle announced that the airport was going to be built. There were multiple suggested locations, and

100-602: A cargo and medical evacuation aircraft. In addition, the Twin Otter has been popular with commercial skydiving operations, and is used by the United States Army Parachute Team and the 98th Flying Training Squadron of the United States Air Force . Development of the aircraft began in 1964, with the first flight on 20 May 1965. A twin-engine replacement for the single-engine DHC-3 Otter retaining

150-731: A passenger terminal and maintenance hangar in Clear Lake City, Texas , near the Johnson Space Center . The Clear Lake City STOLport was specifically designed for Twin Otter operations. According to the February 1976 edition of the Official Airline Guide , Houston Metro operated 22 round-trip flights every weekday at this time between Clear Lake City (CLC) and Houston Intercontinental Airport, now George Bush Intercontinental Airport , in

200-550: A private Cessna 172 crashed west of the airport just after take-off on 31 July 1988. The accident took place 4.5 kilometers (2.8 mi) west of the airport in a cliff, 250 meters (820 ft) altitude. Twin Otter The de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter is a Canadian STOL (Short Takeoff and Landing) utility aircraft developed by de Havilland Canada in the mid-1960s and still in production today. Built by De Havilland Canada from 1965 to 1988, Viking Air purchased

250-477: A scheduled passenger airline shuttle operation. Houston Metro had agreements in place for connecting passenger feed services with Continental Airlines and Eastern Air Lines at Houston Intercontinental, with this major airport having a dedicated STOL landing area at the time specifically for Twin Otter flight operations. The Clear Lake City STOLport is no longer in existence. The Walt Disney World resort in Florida

300-501: A small number of Oslo flights until 1976, when they withdrew from the service. At the time the military chartered aircraft for their own needs, so Andøy Mayor Johan Kleppe took initiative to coordinate the civilian and military routes, without the military supporting the proposal. Parliament decided in 1982 that Andenes would be the base for operating helicopters offshore to oil installations off Troms . However, when operations commenced operations flew out of Tromsø Airport because of

350-722: A total of 270 Twin Otters were in airline service, and 14 on order: 111 in North/South America, 117 in the Asia Pacific and Middle East (14 orders), 26 in Europe and 13 in Africa. In 2020, there were a total of 315 Twin Otters worldwide with 220 in service, 95 in storage and 8 on order. By region there were 22 in Africa, 142 in Asia Pacific (8 orders), 37 in Europe, 4 in the Middle East and 110 in

400-491: A total of 584 Twin Otter aircraft (all variants) remained in service worldwide. Major operators at the time included: Libyan Arab Airlines , Maldivian Air Taxi , Trans Maldivian Airways , Kenn Borek Air , and Grand Canyon Scenic Airlines . Some 115 airlines operated smaller numbers of the aircraft including Yeti Airlines in Nepal, Malaysia Airlines (which used the Twin Otter exclusively for passenger and freight transportation to

450-651: Is mentioned in the "Air Commuter Section" of the 6 September 1972 Eastern Air Lines system timetable as a connecting service to and from Eastern flights. This STOL airfield is no longer in use. Another commuter airline in the United States, Rocky Mountain Airways , operated Twin Otters from the Lake County Airport in Leadville, Colorado . At an elevation of 3,026 m (9,927 ft) above mean sea level, this airport

500-419: Is the highest airfield in the United States ever to have received scheduled passenger airline service, thus demonstrating the wide-ranging flight capabilities of the Twin Otter. Rocky Mountain Airways went on to become the worldwide launch customer for the larger, four-engine de Havilland Canada Dash 7 STOL turboprop, but continued to operate the Twin Otter, as well. Larger scheduled passenger airlines based in

550-504: The Fokker 50 , and thus also serving Andenes, to concentrate their efforts on becoming a low-cost carrier . From 1 January 2004 the route was served by Widerøe, who won the extraordinary tender. The state paid NOK 68 million for 27 months, up 25 percent from the Norwegian bid, including a service from Tromsø to Lakselv Airport, Banak . The tender for the three years starting on 1 April 2006

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600-615: The Grumman HU-16 Albatross . These were replaced by the Lockheed P-3 Orion in 1969. Construction and further expansion of the air station resulted in the villages of Haugnes being expropriated . Construction was prohibited from 1953, but the expropriation was not carried out until 1971. With the establishment of the air station, plans arose to take advantage of the infrastructure for civilian flights. The airport's location made it suitable to serve Vesterålen , although it

650-754: The Kelabit Highlands region in Sarawak ), and in the United Kingdom, the Scottish airline, Loganair which uses the aircraft to service the island of Barra in the Outer Hebrides . This daily scheduled service is unique as the aircraft lands on the beach and the schedule is partly influenced by the tide tables. Trials at Barra Airport with heavier planes than the Twin Otter, like the Short 360, failed because they sank in

700-507: The type certificate and restarted production in 2008, before re-adopting the DHC name in 2022. In 2023 DHC restarted production of the 300 series, in addition to the Series 400 produced by Viking. The aircraft's fixed tricycle undercarriage , STOL capabilities, twin turboprop engines and high rate of climb have made it a successful commuter airliner , typically seating 18–20 passengers, as well as

750-486: The type certificates from Bombardier Aviation for all out-of-production de Havilland Canada aircraft ( DHC-1 through DHC-7 ). The ownership of the certificates gives Viking the exclusive right to manufacture new aircraft. On 17 July 2006, at the Farnborough Airshow , Viking Air announced its intention to offer a Series 400 Twin Otter. On 2 April 2007, Viking announced that with 27 orders and options in hand, it

800-710: The AC electrical system, modernization of the electrical and lighting systems, and use of composites for non load-bearing structures such as doors. The 100th Series 400 Twin Otter (MSN 944) was displayed at the July 2017 EAA AirVenture Oshkosh . At the time 38% were operated as regional airliners , 31% were in military aviation use, 26% in industrial support and 5% were in private air charter . Seventy were on regular landing gear wheels, 18 were configured as straight or amphibious floatplanes , 10 had tundra tires and two had wheel skis . In 2019, Viking started making plastic components for

850-687: The Albatrosses were replaced by P-3B Orion aircraft. The P-3B lacked the ability to work with the Norwegian Coast Guard, and in 1989 they were sold to the Spanish Air Force . They were replaced with new P-3C aircraft. Following the end of the Cold War in the 1990s the air station has been reduced. The Norwegian parliament decided in November 2016 to close the air station. Prior to 30 June 2023,

900-564: The DHC-3's STOL qualities, its design features included double-slotted trailing-edge flaps and ailerons that work in unison with the flaps to boost STOL performance. The availability of the 550 shaft horsepower (410 kW) Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-20 turboprop in the early 1960s made the concept of a twin feasible. A DHC-3 Otter with its piston engine replaced with two PT6A-4 engines had already flown in 1963. It had been extensively modified for STOL research. To bush plane operators,

950-435: The Series 400 on 21 July 2010. Six years after, in July 2016, 100 series 400 have been delivered to 34 customers operating in 29 countries. In June 2017, 125 have been made since restarting production in 2010. In 2016, there were 281 Twin Otters in airline service with 26 new aircraft on order: 112 in North/South America, 106 in Asia Pacific and Middle East (16 orders), 38 in Europe (10 orders) and 25 in Africa. In 2018,

1000-583: The Series 400 technical demonstrator, C-FDHT, took place 1 October 2008, at Victoria International Airport . Two days later, the aircraft departed Victoria, British Columbia for a ferry flight to Orlando, Florida , site of the 2008 National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) Conference and exhibition. The first new build Series 400 Twin Otter (SN 845) made its first flight on 16 February 2010, in Calgary , Alberta . Transport Canada presented Viking Air Limited with an amended DHC-6 Type Certificate including

1050-530: The Twin Otter by 3D printer to help reduce cost. Twin Otter production was suspended in 2019 during the COVID-19 pandemic . In July 2022, DHC announced that it was reviewing the program and supply chain, with a decision on when to resume production expected "in the near future". In 2023, its equipped price was $ 7.25M. In June 2023 Viking, now operating as De Haviland Canada started production of new DHC-6 Classic 300-G. Twin Otters could be delivered directly from

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1100-615: The Twin Otter is used in skydiving operations in many countries. The United States Air Force operates three Twin Otters for the United States Air Force Academy 's skydiving team. On 26 April 2001, the first ever air rescue during polar winter from the South Pole occurred with a ski-equipped Twin Otter operated by Kenn Borek Air . On 25 September 2008, the Series 400 Technology Demonstrator achieved "power on" status in advance of an official rollout. The first flight of

1150-676: The United States, Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean and Australia, particularly jetliner operators, also flew Twin Otters, with the aircraft providing connecting feeder service for these airlines. Jet aircraft operators which also flew the Twin Otter included Aeronaves de Mexico , Air BC , Alaska Airlines , ALM Antillean Airlines , Ansett Airlines , Cayman Airways , Frontier Airlines , LIAT , Norcanair , Nordair , Ozark Air Lines , Pacific Western Airlines , Quebecair , South Pacific Island Airways , Time Air , Transair , Trans Australia Airlines (TAA), Wardair and Wien Air Alaska . In many cases,

1200-760: The air station started in 1952 to host the 333 Squadron . Civilian operations started in 1964, when Scandinavian Airlines System (SAS) started flights to Oslo. Widerøe started serving the airport as part of the regional network in 1972, with SAS withdrawing four years later. Widerøe originally used the Twin Otter , replacing it with the Dash 7 from 1981 and the Dash 8 between 1993 and 1995. Routes have been subject to PSO flights since 1997; these have been operated by Norwegian Air Shuttle for part of 2003 and by Coast Air for part of 2006 og 2007, and otherwise by Widerøe. Andøya Air Station

1250-607: The airport. The airport had an operating deficit of 34 million Norwegian krone in 2012. Widerøe serves Andenes with Dash 8 aircraft on public service obligations with the Ministry of Transport and Communications. These routes are mixed with commercial services and operate to Bodø, Harstad-Narvik, Svolvær and Tromsø. Norwegian Air Shuttle flies irregularly to Oslo, typically during holidays and summer. The airport handled 48,625 passengers, 3,208 aircraft movements and 1 tonne of cargo in 2014. All four people on board were killed when

1300-457: The beginning of Series 200 production included improving the STOL performance, adding a longer nose that was equipped with a larger baggage compartment (except for aircraft fitted with floats), and fitting a larger door to the rear baggage compartment. All Series 1, 100, and 200 aircraft and their variants (110, 210) were fitted with the 550 shp (410 kW) PT6A-20 engines. In 1969, the Series 300

1350-473: The decision fell on the village Haugnes . The entire village with 310 residents was expropriated to give enough area for the airport. The community at Andøy only had 2000 residents at the time, and a large growth was expected. A Douglas Dakota was the first aircraft landing on September 17, 1954. The air station was operational from the fall of 1957. The headquarters were located about 13 km away at Skarsteindalen , as part of NATOs spread tactic. In 1961

1400-518: The difficult weather conditions at Andenes. Operations were moved to Hammerfest Airport following the discovery of Snøhvit . Widerøe introduced the larger, 50-seat de Havilland Canada Dash 7 in 1981, followed by the Dash 8 between 1993 and 1995. The routes were made subject to public service obligations with the Ministry of Transport and Communications from 1 April 1997. Widerøe won the initial tender. A proposal to make Andenes an international airport

1450-652: The excellent operating economics of the Twin Otter allowed airlines large and small to provide scheduled passenger flights to communities that most likely would otherwise never have received air service. Twin Otters are also a staple of Antarctic transportation. Four Twin Otters are employed by the British Antarctic Survey on research and supply flights, and several are employed by the United States Antarctic Program via contract with Kenn Borek Air . On 24–25 April 2001, two Twin Otters performed

1500-449: The factory with floats , skis , or tricycle landing gear fittings, making them adaptable bush planes for remote and northern areas. Areas including Canada and the United States, (specifically Alaska ) had much of the demand. Many Twin Otters still serve in the Arctic and subarctic , but they can also be found in Africa, Australia, Asia, Antarctica, and other regions where bush planes are

1550-634: The first squadron, the 333, was moved to the air station, from Sola Air Station , with HU-16B Albatross aircraft. After a period of solely military use, civilian services commenced on April 2, 1964. The first scheduled commercial flight was flown by Scandinavian Airlines with a Metropolitan . In 1968 the second runway was completed. In the 1970s the airport became part of the new network of regional airports in Lofoten and Vesterålen with government subsidised operations using de Havilland DHC-6 Twin Otter aircraft seating 20 and operated by Widerøe . In 1969

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1600-516: The first winter flight to Amundsen–Scott South Pole Station to perform a medical evacuation. On 21–22 June 2016, Kenn Borek Air's Twin Otters performed the third winter evacuation flight to Amundsen–Scott South Pole Station to remove two people for medical reasons. The Argentine Air Force has used the Twin Otter in Antarctica since the 1970s, with at least one of them deployed year-round at Marambio Base . The Chilean Air Force has operated

1650-491: The improved reliability of turboprop power and the improved performance of a twin-engine configuration made it an immediately popular alternative to the piston-powered Otter which had been flying since 1951. The first six aircraft produced were designated Series 1, indicating that they were prototype aircraft. The initial production run consisted of Series 100 aircraft, serial numbers seven to 115 inclusive. In 1968, Series 200 production began with serial number 116. Changes made at

1700-409: The main runway is 3,002 by 45 meters (9,849 by 148 ft) and aligned 14–32, but only has a declared length of 2,467 meters (8,094 ft); the other is 1,671 by 45 meters (5,482 by 148 ft) and aligned 03–21. Runways 14 and 32 are equipped with instrument landing system category I. The airport is located two minutes' drive from Andenes. Taxis, car rental and free parking spaces are available at

1750-423: The optimum means of travel. Their versatility and manoeuvrability have made them popular in areas with difficult flying environments such as Papua New Guinea . In Norway, the Twin Otter paved the way for the network of short-field airports, connecting rural areas with larger towns. The Twin Otter showed outstanding reliability, and remained in service until 2000 on certain routes. Widerøe of Norway was, at one time,

1800-450: The sand. The Twin Otter is also used for landing at Juancho E. Yrausquin Airport , the world's shortest commercial runway, on the Caribbean island of Saba , Netherlands Antilles . The Twin Otter has been popular with commercial skydiving operations. It can carry up to 22 skydivers to over 5,200 m (17,000 ft) (a large load compared to most other aircraft in the industry); presently,

1850-461: The station was the base for the 333 squadron. Since 30 June 2023, that squadron operates from Evenes Air Station . According to a white paper from the Defense Ministry in 2022, Andøya will be a “permanent military reception base for allied forces.” And%C3%B8ya Airport, Andenes Andøya Airport ( Norwegian : Andøya lufthavn ; IATA : ANX , ICAO : ENAN ) is a domestic airport in

1900-560: The type since 1980, usually having an example based at Presidente Frei Antarctic base of the South Shetland Islands . Alfredo Stroessner , Paraguayan head of state from 1954 until 1989, used a Twin Otter as a presidential aircraft; although the Twin Otter remained in the Paraguayan Air Force inventory after he was deposed, subsequent presidents switched to other, private aircraft for official duties. As of August 2006,

1950-691: The village of Andenes in Andøy Municipality in Nordland county, Norway . It is situated on the northern tip of the island of Andøya . The airport is the civilian sector of Andøya Air Station and is operated by the state-owned Avinor . The airport consists of two runways, 2,468 and 1,672 meters (8,097 and 5,486 ft) long, and served 48,254 passengers in 2012. Widerøe operates public service obligation (PSO) flights to Bodø , Tromsø , Stokmarknes and Harstad / Narvik , while Norwegian Air Shuttle operates seasonal flights to Oslo . Construction of

2000-478: The world's largest operator of Twin Otters. During one period of its tenure in Norway, the Twin Otter fleet achieved over 96,000 cycles (take-off, flight, and landing) per year. A number of commuter airlines in the United States got their start by operating Twin Otters in scheduled passenger operations. Houston Metro Airlines (which later changed its name to Metro Airlines ) constructed their own STOLport airstrip with

2050-545: Was US$ 680,000, In 1976, a new -300 would have cost $ 700,000 ($ 3 million 31 years later) and is still worth more than $ 2.5 million in 2018 despite the -400 introduction, many years after the -300 production ceased. 844 had been produced by the time the first production end run ended in 1988. After Series 300 production ended, the remaining tooling was purchased by Viking Air of Victoria, British Columbia , which manufactures replacement parts for out-of-production de Havilland Canada aircraft. On 24 February 2006, Viking purchased

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2100-500: Was about 24 aircraft per year. In April 2015, Viking announced a reduction of the production rate to 18 aircraft per year. On 17 June 2015, Viking announced a partnership with a Chinese firm, Reignwood Aviation Group ; the group would purchase 50 aircraft and become the exclusive supplier of new Series 400 Twin Otters in China. Major changes introduced with the Series 400 include Honeywell Primus Apex fully integrated avionics , deletion of

2150-620: Was also served with scheduled airline flights operated with Twin Otter aircraft. The Walt Disney World Airport , also known as the Lake Buena Vista STOLport, was a private airfield constructed by The Walt Disney Company with Twin Otter operations in mind. In the early 1970s, Shawnee Airlines operated scheduled Twin Otter flights between the Disney resort and nearby Orlando Jetport, now Orlando International Airport , as well as to Tampa International Airport . This service by Shawnee Airlines

2200-431: Was built with North Atlantic Treaty Organization funds as a combined Supreme Allied Commander Europe and Supreme Allied Commander Atlantic project as a base for maritime surveillance. Construction started in 1952 and all installations not required to be physically located at the air station were placed at Skarsteindalen, 12 kilometers (7 mi) away. Andøya became the base for the 333 Squadron, which initially operated

2250-516: Was introduced on Northern Norway flights from 1965 and later these were replaced with the Douglas DC-9 . It soon proved difficult to provide sufficient patronage to keep operations profitable. With the opening of a network of short take-off and landing airports elsewhere in Central Hålogaland in 1972, Widerøe started serving the airport using the de Havilland Canada Twin Otter. SAS retained

2300-626: Was introduced, beginning with serial number 231. Both aircraft performance and payload were improved by fitting more powerful PT6A-27 engines. This was a 680 hp (510 kW) engine that was flat rated to 620 hp (460 kW) for use in the Series 300 Twin Otter. The Series 300 proved to be the most successful variant by far, with 614 Series 300 aircraft and their subvariants (Series 310 for United Kingdom operators, Series 320 for Australian operators, etc.) sold before production in Toronto by de Havilland Canada ended in 1988. In 1972, its unit cost

2350-548: Was launched in 2000, which also proposed that the airport change its name to Lofoten Airport. Unlike the two airports in Lofoten , Leknes Airport and Svolvær Airport, Helle , Andenes is able to handle jetliners . The name change was rejected by interests in Lofoten, which accused Vesterålen of stealing the more well-known Lofoten name. From 1 April 2003 Norwegian Air Shuttle took over the route from Andenes to Bodø and Tromsø. However, they decided to terminate their operations with

2400-441: Was located at the northern tip of the archipelago. SAS started serving Andenes from 1964 with their 56-seat Convair Metropolitans , which consisted of three night flights with intermediate stops at Bodø Airport and Bardufoss Airport before continuing to Oslo Airport, Fornebu . The night flights caused difficulties corresponding with the flights as there was a limited ferry and bus service during night. The Sud Aviation Caravelle

2450-477: Was restarting production of the Twin Otter, equipped with more powerful Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-34 engines. As of November 2007, 40 firm orders and 10 options had been taken and a new final assembly plant was established in Calgary , Alberta . Zimex Aviation of Switzerland received the first new production aircraft, serial number 845, in July 2010. By mid-2014, Viking had built 55 new aircraft at its Calgary facility. The production rate as of summer 2014

2500-549: Was won by Coast Air , which used an ATR-42 on the route. Coast Air was not able to make money on the route and abandoned the PSO contract from 1 April 2007. Widerøe won the subsequent tender and started flights from that date. Norwegian started irregular scheduled flights to Oslo Airport, Gardermoen , using the Boeing 737-800 from June 2012. The airport is located at an elevation of 13 meters (43 ft). It has two asphalt runways:

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