DHC-6 Twin Otter
ICAO DHC6A short-field utility twin that goes where nothing else can land. Live DHC-6 Twin Otter positions.
Flying right now
Live · 30sAirframe
- Manufacturer
- De Havilland Canada
- Role
- Light utility transport
- Class
- L2T — Landplane, 2 turboprop engines
- Crew
- 2
- First flight
- 20 May 1965
- In service
- 1966
Operators airborne
About the DHC-6 Twin Otter
The Twin Otter is the aircraft you use when the runway is a gravel bar, a glacier or four hundred metres of grass. It has fixed undercarriage, a high wing and enormous flaps, and it can be fitted with skis or floats, which is why it turns up in the Arctic, the Antarctic and every mountain range in between.
Militaries use it for exactly those reasons. Canada flies it as the CC-138 in the far north, the US Air Force Academy uses it for parachute training, and Chile, Peru, Norway, Nepal and others operate it where terrain rules out anything larger.
Production restarted in 2010 after a twenty-year gap, which says something about how little has replaced it.
Callsign prefixes
- CFC
- Canforce — Royal Canadian Air Force
- ACADEMY
- US Air Force Academy parachute flights
How to recognise it
- —A high wing with two turboprops mounted directly on it, and fixed undercarriage that does not retract.
- —A squared-off fuselage with large windows and a very short nose.
- —Slow: typically 130 to 160 knots, and often below 10,000 feet.
Common questions
+ Why does the Twin Otter have fixed landing gear?
Simplicity and ruggedness. Retracting gear adds weight and things to break, and the aircraft is slow enough that the drag penalty barely matters. It also makes fitting skis and floats straightforward.
+ Is the Twin Otter still made?
Yes. Production restarted in 2010 as the Series 400 after a two-decade gap, because nothing had displaced it in the short-field utility role.
+ What is the CC-138?
Canada's military Twin Otter, used for search and rescue and transport in the Arctic, where it can operate on skis from unprepared surfaces.