Farnborough, United Kingdom, July 22, 2024 – In 2018, De Havilland Aircraft of Canada (then Viking Air) announced a program to convert and upgrade previously used CL-215 aircraft into the CL-415 Enhanced Aerial Firefighter. To date, nine aircraft have been upgraded with the remaining two to be completed. 

Building on the success of this program, and in keeping with our commitment to “keep the fleet flying,” De Havilland Canada (DHC) is pleased to announce a similar program for the Dash 8 fleet. DHC has actively been acquiring aircraft in the marketplace and has begun upgrading these aircraft for delivery to customers looking to expand their fleets or become Dash 8 customers for the first time. 

The De Havilland Canada OEM Certified Refurbishment Program is a program whereby DHC acquires, upgrades and re-markets the aircraft for each specific customers’ needs. Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) work will take place at our facilities in Calgary, Alberta. 

Refurbishments offered include: 

  • Aircraft configuration to match the customer’s existing fleet 
  • Completion of overdue maintenance, integration of Airworthiness Directives, and Service Bulletin upgrades
  • Airframe life extensions through our ESP (Extended Service Plan) to extend the lives of Dash 8-100/200/300 to 120,000 cycles, or the ESP+ which can take the Dash 8-100 to 160,000 cycles
  • Freighter conversions, including the introduction of the new Dash 8-400 Large Cargo Door and Quick Change between cargo and passenger missions
  • Avionics upgrades

To date, De Havilland Canada have acquired 28 Dash 8-400 aircraft for the program. 

De Havilland Canada’s Dash 8 aircraft are well-known for their ruggedness, long-service life, unique performance capabilities and market leading operating economics.  The DHC OEM Certified Refurbishment Program will extend the operational life of these aircraft and meet the needs of current and future customers of DHC. 

Following today’s announcement of De Havilland Canada’s roadmap of the future of the Dash 8, this new program supports our customer’s need to grow or renew their Dash 8 Fleets while we work on our production plans for the future through DHC’s Product Strategy Council. 

As an industry-leading OEM, DHC is uniquely positioned to provide turnkey solutions to customers. Customers will benefit from access and integration of DHC’s Engineering/DAO support, local parts depot, program expertise and history and all the support and services we can offer during the delivery and entry into service phase.