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#1566

De Havilland Canada DHC-3 Otter

🇨🇦 Canada ·first flew 1951· stol utility transport

🛩️ light / GA piston ✓ still flying
10 photos from Wikimedia Commons · credits & licences
  1. 1. C-FUKN-Northway-Aviation-DHC-3-Otter-2: Wikimedia Commons· CC BY-SA 3.0
  2. 2. DHC U-1B Otter U.S. Navy Pensacola 15.12.02R: RuthAS· CC BY 3.0
  3. 3. Harbour Air De Havilland Canada DHC-3T Vazar Turbine Otter C-FHAS 3 (cropped): Tony Hisgett· CC BY 2.0
  4. 4. K2 Aviation DHC-3 Otter at Denali Base Camp (cropped): Quintin Soloviev· CC BY 4.0
  5. 5. US Army U-1A Otter Running up for Takeoff at the Hue Citadel Airfield, Republic of Vietnam July, 1967: Sciacchitano· CC BY-SA 3.0
  6. 6. De Havilland Canada CC-123 Otter (DHC-3) AN1620205: Alain Rioux· GFDL 1.2
  7. 7. De Havilland Canada CC-123 Otter (DHC-3), Canada - Air Force AN0202383: John Davies - CYOW Airport Watch· GFDL 1.2
  8. 8. De Havilland Canada CC-123 Otter (DHC-3), Canada - Air Force AN1197077: Alain Rioux· GFDL 1.2
  9. 9. K2 Aviation DHC-3 Otter at Denali Base Camp: Quintin Soloviev· CC BY 4.0
  10. 10. N2899J DHC OTTER RUST FLYING SERVICES LAKE HOOD ANCHORAGE ALASKA USA APRIL 1998 (8272731147): calflier001· CC BY-SA 2.0
Read about it on Wikipedia ↗
De Havilland Canada DHC-3 Otter, photo 1 of 10
1/10 Wikimedia Commons· CC BY-SA 3.0

what is it?

The de Havilland Canada DHC-3 Otter is a single-engined, high-wing, propeller-driven, short take-off and landing (STOL) aircraft developed by de Havilland Canada. It was conceived to be capable of performing the same roles as the earlier and highly successful Beaver, including as a bush plane, while also being a larger aircraft. The type certificate of the aircraft is now owned by the De Havilland Canada founded in 2019.

How to recognise it: 1 piston engine with propeller · shoulder wing · fixed tailwheel (taildragger) · 17.7 m wingspan

base stats

  • speed 257 km/htop speed
  • range 1,519 kmwithout refuelling
  • seats 11passengers
  • size 3,629 kgmax take-off weight
  • built 466made in total

Bars compare against all aircraft: 3,500 km/h, 20,000 km, 850 seats; size and number built on a log scale up to 640 t (An-225) and 45,000 built (Cessna 172).

fun facts

  • First flew 75 years ago, in 1951.
  • Top speed is 2.0× a car on the Dutch motorway (130 km/h).
  • Wingspan of 17.7 m: about 4 cars parked nose to tail.
  • Range of 1,519 km: 8× Amsterdam to Brussels.

piston: A car-like piston engine turning a propeller: simple and cheap, the classic small plane.

spec sheet

first flight
1951-12-12
introduced
1953
status
still flying
number built
466
role
stol utility transport
origin
🇨🇦 Canada
makers
de Havilland Canada
engines
1× Pratt & Whitney R-1340-S1H1-G Wasp / R-1340 Wasp
crew
1
passengers
11
length
12.8 m
wingspan
17.7 m
height
3.8 m
max take-off weight
3,629 kg
top speed
257 km/h
cruise speed
222 km/h
range
1,519 km
ceiling
5,730 m
wings
shoulder wing
landing gear
fixed conventional landing gear

Specs are for the version in the Wikipedia article's specification section. Blank means the sources don't say.

Sources: Wikidata Q309792, Wikipedia: De Havilland Canada DHC-3 Otter (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-24.

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