 | |
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Aerospace |
| Predecessor |
|
| Founded | 2019; 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] |
| Website | dehavilland |
De Havilland Aircraft of Canada Limited (DHC) is a Canadianaircraft manufacturer founded in 2018 that purchased the aircraft programs of the original thede Havilland Canada, which was founded in 1928. The aircraft types currently in production or planned for production include theDHC-6 Twin Otter,DHC-8 Dash 8, andDHC-515 Firefighterturboprop aircraft.[4] The company's primary facilities were located in theDownsview area ofToronto, Ontario, but in 2022, it was announced that it would relocate primary manufacturing to De Havilland Field, under development nearCalgary, Alberta.[5]
The original de Havilland Aircraft of Canada, Limited was created in 1928 by the Britishde Havilland Aircraft Company to buildMoth aircraft forthe training of Canadian airmen, and subsequently after the Second World War, designed and produced indigenous designs.[6] In the 1980s, thegovernment of Canada under Prime MinisterBrian Mulroney privatized DHC and in 1986 sold the aircraft company to thenSeattle-basedBoeing.[7] DHC was eventually acquired byMontreal-basedBombardier Aerospace in 1992[8] after cumulative losses of US$636 million over five years under Boeing.[9]
In 2006,Viking Air ofVictoria, British Columbia, purchased thetype certificates for all the original out-of-production de Havilland Canada designs (DHC-1 to DHC-7).[10] In November 2018, Viking Air's holding company,Longview Aviation Capital, announced the acquisition of theDash 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 theCanadair CL-415 program to produce theDHC-515.
The de Havilland Canada name was originally used bythe de Havilland Aircraft of Canada, Limited, which was established as a subsidiary ofde Havilland Aircraft (UK) in 1928. It was first located atDe Lesseps Field in Toronto, before moving toDownsview in 1929. The company was founded to buildMoth aircraft forthe 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-designedGrumman S2F Tracker. In 1962 theAvro Canada aircraft production facility was transferred to de Havilland Canada by their then-merged parent company, UK-basedHawker Siddeley.
In the 1980s, theGovernment of Canada privatized DHC and in 1986 sold the aircraft company to thenSeattle-basedBoeing.[11][12] Boeing discontinued several popular product lines including theDHC-6 Twin Otter and theDHC-7 Dash 7, before putting the company up for sale. DHC was eventually acquired byMontreal-basedBombardier Aerospace in 1992 and incorporated into the Bombardier group of companies.[13] During this time, theDash 8 line remained in production, with the product line being expanded to four models, with the largest being theQ-400.
On 24 February 2006,Viking Air ofVictoria purchased thetype certificates fromBombardier 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 theCanadair CL-415 program in October 2018.[15]
In November 2018, Viking Air parent Longview Aviation Capital acquired theBombardier 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 theShort 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 nearbyMississauga.[23]
In September 2022, DHC announced its plans to construct a new manufacturing facility, De Havilland Field, inWheatland County, Alberta. The new facility is intended to merge its two manufacturing facilities and produce theTwin Otter andDash 8 planes, as well as the newDHC-515 firefighting aircraft. First production at the new site is planned to begin in 2025.[24]
| Aircraft | Purpose | Capacity | First flight | Span of production | Number built |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DHC-6 Twin Otter | STOLutility aircraft | Two crew and 20 passengers | 1965 | 1966–1988 (original DHC) 2008–present (Viking and DHC) | 150 (844 by the original DHC)[26] |
| Dash 8 | Turboprop regional airliner | Two or three crew and 37 to 90 passengers | 1983 | 1984–2021 (original DHC and Bombardier) | 0 (1,100 by the original DHC and Bombardier) |
| De Havilland Canadair 515 | Turbopropfirefighting aircraft | Two crew, additional passenger capacity optional | TBD | c. 2025 (DHC) | 0 (95 CL-415s by Canadair) |
The company also owns the type certificates for aircraft produced by the originalde Havilland Canada and theShort C-23 Sherpa.
 | This section needs to beupdated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information.(November 2025) |
De Havilland Field is an announced aircraft production facility inWheatland County, Alberta to replace the previous sites including the one atDownsview Airport. The new facility is to be built just east ofCheadle. 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]