De Havilland Canada announces OEM certified refurbishment program

In 2018, De Havilland Aircraft of Canada (DHC; then Viking Air) announced a program to convert and upgrade previously used CL-215 aircraft as the CL-415 Enhanced Aerial Firefighter. To date, nine aircraft have been upgraded, with the remaining two to be completed. 

Building on the program, and in keeping with its commitment to “keep the fleet flying”, DHC announced 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 DHC OEM Certified Refurbishment Program is a program whereby DHC acquires, upgrades and re-markets the aircraft for each specific customer’s needs.

Refurbishments offered include: 

• Avionics upgrades 
• Aircraft configuration to match the customer’s existing fleet 
• Completion of overdue maintenance, integration of airworthiness directives, and service bulletin upgrades 
• Freighter conversions, including the introduction of the new Dash 8-400 large cargo door and quick change between cargo and passenger missions 
• Airframe life extensions through DHC’s Extended Service Plan (ESP) 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.

To date, DHC has acquired 28 Dash 8-400 aircraft for the program. 

The DHC OEM Certified Refurbishment Program will extend the operational life of the Dash 8 aircraft. 

Earlier this year, Spain purchased seven De Havilland Canada DHC-515 aircraft to join its current fleet of 14 firefighting amphibious aircraft.