Viking air

[Maverick]

Nice to see! Here's hopin'

Viking Air has added Russia and Libya as international customers for its new and improved Twin Otter turboprop, set for first certification later this year. In line with the company's business plan - production for attrition - both countries are purchasing the $3.9 million aircraft to replace existing Twin Otters.

Robert Mauracher, vice-president of business development for Vancouver-based Viking Air, says the two initial orders from Russia are for replacement aircraft for the country's Siberian market while the Libyan aircraft will work in the African country's oil and gas industry - a large user of Twin Otter 200 and 300 series aircraft, almost a dozen of which are "parked", says Mauracher. Produced between 1965 and 1988, about 600 Twin Otter aircraft continue to fly in revenue service around the world.

After achieving Transport Canada certification later this year, followed by European approval about a month later, Viking plans to begin delivering as many as five aircraft this year. By 2012, the company plans to reach a steady-state production rate of 24 aircraft a year. "Our business plan is based on a low production rate," says Mauracher, "feeding the attrition rate that's out there."

US Federal Aviation Administration certification is planned for late in 2010, a lag based on a limited number of orders from the USA. Mauracher says seven of the more than 40 orders for the aircraft are from the country. Viking reports a total of $177 million in backlog for the 400.

Technical issues with the aircraft's Honeywell Primus Apex integrated flight deck were responsible for a slip in the certification date from July, says Mauracher. Difficulties centred on data acquisition units used to convert more than 200 of the aircraft's traditional analogue control signals to digital. Mauracher says the conforming aircraft is now flying again.

[J.O.]

Good for them. Hopefully their hard work will continue to pay dividends. But somehow, the thought of putting a high tech FMS into a Twin Otter seems just ..., well ..., wrong. Data acquisition units? I'm sure there are some members of this board who will remember the day when all they needed for data aquisition in the DHC2 was a needle, ball and airspeed!

[Guest woxof]

You can now buy open cockpit Waco biplanes straight from the factory with glass.

http://www.airport-data.com/aircraft/photo/357832.html

[boestar]

There are hundreds if not thousands of Homebuilt aircraft that have glass cockpits. there are also retrofit glass cockpits for many aircraft.

The reason that the glass is better for the Twatter is the maintenance cost is reduced. Thos steam gauges are getting expensive to fix.

[canadairguy]

I don't understand the reference to certification. Would it be an STC for changes to the original design that they're talking about?

[boestar]

I believe they need to seek ful certification for the airframe due to a number of changes in the design of the avionics and electrical systems.

[xmikes@imap.cc]

Due to the glass the aircraft is temp limited to -20. Below this temp you have to have heat on the aircraft before you can start the engines because all the engine instruments are glass. Very limiting for Arctic and Antarctic ops. I think guys are just going to start her up and hope things work out.

On the Indian Ocean aircraft made it between two to three years before requiring an almost total rebuild. The electrical problems started in the first couple of months.

I am very surprised that Viking is not offering a high end steam package. If they expect to operate in the same environments that many Otter currently are, I think all this glass is going to be a major headache for the pilots and engineers.

[Guest woxof]

There are less and less Twin Otters each year and no real replacement for them. Three fatal accidents this year alone, so I think there will be a long term demand for them.