de Havilland Canada DHC-3 Otter

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de Havilland Canada DHC-3 Otter
US Army DeHavilland U-1A-DH Otter.jpg
U-1A in flight
Type: Transport plane
Design country:

Canada 1921Canada Canada

Manufacturer:

de Havilland Canada

First flight:

December 12, 1951

Production time:

until 1967

Number of pieces:

466

DHC-3 Otter with turboprop conversion as a seaplane

The de Havilland Canada DHC-3 Otter is a single-engine propeller aircraft produced by the Canadian manufacturer de Havilland Canada . It is the enlarged version of the DHC-2 Beaver . It was used, among other things, as a bush plane and military transporter. The Otter served as the design basis for the Twin Otter, which is equipped with two turboprop engines .

history

De Havilland Canada began developing a robust STOL -capable multipurpose transport aircraft in early 1951 , after the Beaver had already been successfully introduced. The new, originally known as the King Beaver, single-engine shoulder -wing monoplane should be able to carry higher payloads than its predecessor.

The new design provided for a longer hull and a larger wingspan compared to the Beaver. The number of passenger seats could be increased to up to eleven. The drive consisted of a 450 kW Pratt & Whitney R-1340 Wasp radial engine . Like its predecessor, the Otter could be equipped with skis or swimmers.

The first flight took place on December 12, 1951. In October 1952, the Otter received Canadian approval as a land and seaplane. Series production began shortly afterwards. On March 14, 1955, the first six machines were delivered to the US Army , which should perform observation tasks in the Arctic. 466 copies were built by 1967.

use

Although the Otter met with high demand from Bush airlines, the US Army became the main buyer. 184 U-1A Otters were delivered to this customer . Other military users were Australia, Canada and India.

The Otter is still used in civil aviation today, including parachuting.

variants

  • CSR-123 Otter  : Canadian Air Force DHC-3
  • YU-1 Otter  : six trial versions for the US Army .
  • U-1A Otter  : Production version of the US Army.
  • UC-1 Otter  : Version of the US Navy in the designation system valid until 1962 ( C stood here for the manufacturer de Havilland Canada ); from 1962 referred to as U-1B Otter .
  • DHC-3T Turbo-Otter  : Turboprop version with a 494 kW PT6A-27 drive
  • Texas Conversions Super Otter  : Turboprop version with a 662 kW Garrett-Honeywell TPE 331-10 drive
Turbo otter with skis

Conversions

Some machines were converted to turboprop aircraft and received either a Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6 drive, the Czech Walter M601 engine or a Garrett / Honeywell TPE331-10 engine . These aircraft were named Turbo Otter , the latter also Texas Conversions Super Otter .

Occasionally, the machines were Airtech Canada on radial engines of the type ASz-62IR-M18 converted to the Polish manufacturer PZL were license-produced. They were then called DHC-3/1000.

Accidents and incidents

  • Up to and including March 2011, four DHC-3 had an in-flight breakup (detachment of structurally important parts during the flight).
  • June 25, 2015: Another DHC-3 machine, equipped with floats, crashed due to bad weather in Alaska. All 9 occupants were killed (1 pilot and 8 passengers).

Military users

U-1A of the US Army

Technical specifications

Parameter Data
span 17.69 m
length 12.80 m
height 3.83 m (seaplane: 4.57 m)
Empty mass 1860 kg (seaplane: 2055 kg)
Takeoff mass 3630 kg (seaplane: 3613 kg)
Passengers 10-11
crew 1
Top speed 258 km / h (seaplane: 245 km / h)
Service ceiling 5,730 m (with S1H1-G)
Range 1,545 km
Engines a radial engine Pratt & Whitney R-1340 S1H1-G or S3H1-G Wasp with 447 kW

See also

Web links

Commons : De Havilland Canada DHC-3 Otter  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. Transport Safety Board of Canada: Loss of Control - In-flight Breakup. Black Sheep Aviation & Cattle Co. Ltd. ... , Aviation Investigations Report A11W0048, Ottawa, March 31, 2011, p. 6 (accessed March 9, 2015)
  2. https://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19690726-1
  3. Archive link ( Memento of the original dated August 16, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.alaskadispatch.com
  4. Transport Safety Board of Canada: Loss of Control - In-flight Breakup. Black Sheep Aviation & Cattle Co. Ltd. ... , Aviation Investigations Report A11W0048, Ottawa, March 31, 2011, p. 9 (accessed March 9, 2015)