Canadian manufacturer Viking Air reports that its Viking Series 400 Twin Otter certification work is in the final phase. Certification from Transport Canada and the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) is expected within 90 days, Viking Air says.
The Series 400 airplane has a maximum takeoff weight of 12,500 pounds, can carry up to 20 passengers, and is powered by Pratt & Whitney PT6A-34 or -35 turboprop engines. It also features a Honeywell Apex avionics suite. The airplane is available as a landplane, but also can be ordered with skis, floats, or as an amphibian.
The Twin Otter can cruise as fast as 182 knots true airspeed, and its maximum range with a 3,250-lb payload is 400 nautical miles. Vitaz Avia of Moscow is the newest Twin Otter Series 400 customer, having bought two airplanes configured for commuter operations. Vitaz Avia also will act as Viking Air’s sales representative in Russia. Libya’s Petro Air also ordered a Series 400, and will add it to its current fleet of nine original-iteration Twin Otters.
Thomas A. Horne
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