de Havilland Canada DHC-3 Otter (Turbine/Floatplane Conversion)

Dutch_Spotter 🇨🇦

22 Sep 2026 · © Unknown

Harbour Air departing Nanaimo seaplane

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De Havilland Canada DHC-8-402 Dash 8 Q400

Aircraft

DHC-3 Otter (Turbine/Floatplane Conversion) DHC-3T

Harbour Air standard livery

C-GHAZ

Registration

Airline

Harbour Air

Manufacturer

de Havilland Canada

Gear

Apple iPhone 16 Apple iPhone 16 back dual wide camera 5.96mm f/1.6

Achievements

Turboprop Tracker, Vintage Voyager, Prop to Jet, First Catch

4 badges earned

Photo grade

Silver

Score: 84.0

Nicely sharp profile of the seaplane; only slight distraction is the tall building directly above the tail.

Location

Nanaimo Airport

YCD/CYCD

49.0550, -123.8700

Open map

Nanaimo Airport YCD

Airport

Insights

Aviation History

The DHC-3 Otter is a legendary bush plane, originally designed in the 1950s. The turbine-conversion floats are widely used in Canada for regional and remote water access.

Fleet Rarity

Harbour Air operates one of the world\'s largest DHC-3 Otter floatplane fleets. Turbine conversions are rarer than original piston models.

Record Flights

Commonly used for short regional seaplane hops in British Columbia, including some of the highest-frequency scheduled water flights in the world.

Safety & Events

The Otter platform has had a strong safety record with Harbour Air and is notable as a testbed for electric seaplane conversions since 2019.

Future Outlook

Likely to remain in passenger service; Harbour Air has also begun converting some Otters to electric propulsion.

Specifications

Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-34

Engine

17.7 m

Wingspan

12.65 m

Length

1,310 km

Range

210 km/h

Speed

11 passengers

Capacity

3,629 kg

MTOW

4.42 m

Height

750 shp (shaft horsepower)

Thrust

ICAO Chapter 10 (varies based on configuration, typically mid-range for turboprops)

Noise