AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2022 - 60

T
orrents of saltwater spray from
the metal floats as the DHC-3
Turbine Otter begins its takeoff
run in bustling Ketchikan,
Alaska, on the canal packed with
gargantuan cruise ship, yachts,
fishing boats, and U.S. Coast Guard cutters.
A 10-knot north wind and boat wakes create waves in
the bustling canal, but the muscular 750-horsepower de
Havilland with Edo floats cuts through the chop and is airborne
in 15 seconds.
As soon as the airplane is off the water and climbing,
Misty Fjords Air Chief Pilot David Doyon Jr. raises the
flaps and lets the moderately-loaded Otter accelerate to 90
knots. Then he starts a 180-degree left turn to the south and
levels off at 1,000 feet.
" Most de Havillands require flaps for the climb, but not
the Turbine Otter, " says Doyon, 45, who's flown both piston
and turboprop Otters and Beavers in Southeast Alaska
since 2002. " It's got plenty of power, and the cuffed wing
and broad span provides more than adequate lift, even with
the flaps up. "
It's an unusually clear 65-degree day in this regularly
rainy region, and the 11-seat Otter climbs at 90 knots and
1,000 feet per minute-roughly twice the climb rate as the
450-horsepower piston Beavers that Misty Fjords, a Part 135
air charter firm, also operates for sight-seeing, air cargo, and
passenger flights.
The Otter burns twice as much fuel per hour as the piston
airplanes, but the kerosene-based jet fuel typically costs
half as much as avgas.
" The Otter's higher speed and larger payload actually
make it more cost-effective to operate on many of our missions, "
Doyon says. " It's a real workhorse for us. "
King Beaver
Canadian aircraft manufacturer de Havilland started building
Otters in 1951 after the rugged DHC-2 Beaver became a
backcountry sensation. The airplane's toughness, reliability,
load-hauling capacity, and responsive and beautifully
balanced handling characteristics made it a hit the world
over. De Havilland originally called its DHC-3 the " King
Beaver " to capitalize on its predecessor's popularity, but
then decided the clean-sheet design deserved its own
animal identity.
Otters came from the factory with geared 600-horsepower
Pratt & Whitney R-1340 engines, and just about
everything about them was upsized. The Otter has a far
larger cabin; it's made to operate on wheels, floats, or skis;
and its payload was twice as much as a Beaver.
The Otter also includes changes: a cruciform tail to prevent
the horizontal stabilizer from getting nicked by rocks
at gravel strips, and highly efficient Fowler flaps instead
of the Beaver's slotted flaps. De Havilland built and sold
60
AOPA PILOT / October 2022
SPEC SHEET
Turbine Otter on wheels
SPECIFICATIONS
Crew / 1 or 2
Seats / up to 11 passengers
Length / 45 ft
Wingspan / 58 ft
Height / 12 ft 7 in (land airplane), 15 ft (seaplane)
Wing area / 375 sq ft
Empty weight / 4,200 lbs
Gross weight / 8,000 lbs
Fuel capacity / 252 U.S. gal
Engine / Pratt & Whitney PT6A-34
Horsepower / 750
Cruise speed / 135 mph
Range / 600 nm
The snow-capped mountains of the Misty Fjords National
Monument provide a fitting backdrop for the de Havilland
DHC-3 Turbine Otter. The 60-degree flaps setting (upper left)
is seldom used in flight. Large cargo doors allow the airplane
to carry bulky freight, increasing its utility. Dave Doyon Sr.
founded Misty Fjords Air when he moved to Alaska after
serving in the U.S. Army in Vietnam in 1970.
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2022

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