WELCOME TO A UNIQUE flight report on a de havailland dhc-3 otter (c-gutw)
Welcome to this flight report as i don't think anyone has uploaded this kind of report on this site. Today we are taking Harbour Air from Vancouver Coal Harbour to Victoria Harbour. Flight time is about 35 mins in duration.
First, we need to get to the airport which is conveniently located in Downtown Vancouver
It is a floatdock structure with numerous Harbour Air aircraft parked on the dock
Once you get down the stairs, there is very clear instruction as to what kind of aircraft operate in this airport. Obviously a seaplace.
Harbour Air operates a fleet of seaplanes for regular scheduled flights as far as away to Seattle's Lake Union and scenic tour where you can browse the city and nature in a seaplane. Harbour Air also operates as their
After you check-in and the agent weighed all your luggage, you are given a "boarding pass"
Because Harbour Air mainly market to business travel, free snacks & coffees are provided in the lounge area while you are waiting. They operate a very interesting market as their main route is Vancouver-Victoria, 35 mins in flight but if you take the ferry services, the journey can take abour 4 hrs (downtown-downtown). The same route is also seeing another competitor Helijet which operates a fleet of S76 helicopters.
Time to board, the captain flying is also the one leading you to board. Today we are flying on a De Havilland Canada DHC-3T Otter, C-GUTW. Manufactured in Canada in the 1960, still flying strong today. Seaplanes life last longer than regular aircraft as they are not pressurized so the metal last a lot longer. They also fly in much lower altitude than your regular commercial aircraft.
Today we got lucky as the jump seat is available. Harbour Air allows you to sit in the jump seat as long as the pilot permits it. Seaplanes are usually single pilot operation.
The pilot aligned on the "runway" and ask for permission to take off. It's more tricky than your regular airport takeoff as they also need to warn other marines traffic about the pending takeoff.
Perks of sitting in the front, you have a set of headphones which allows you to listen to the ATC conversation between the pilor and also talk to your pilot when permit.
Some photos for the in-flight entertainment
We are now turning to land onto Victoria Harbour.
After landing, you cruise toward the seaplane terminal which is located in the heart of downtown
Very cool flight! Definitely memorable. This is definitely the 1st on the English site on Harbour Air, there were a few on the French site. You also had fantastic weather, which is perfect for this kind of flight! Would love to try a seaplane on day.
Thanks for sharing!