Jump to content
Sign in to follow this  
P_7878

The less known DHC (sibling) Dash 7...(7 images)...

Recommended Posts

[I caught this file, from the Library, with the Author/Contributor's Readme saying, "This is what I've been up to while in lockdown - 10 new liveries for the Milton Shupe/Eagle Rotorcraft de Havilland DHC-7...". A worthy effort...worth taking a look, I thought...]

We are familiar, in our SIM world, here, with DHC-3 Otter, DHC-6 Twin Otter, and, of course, the popular DHC-8 Dash 8 (especially the Q-Series, -400). But, the (intermediate) sibling between DHC-6 and DHC-8, the DHC-7 Dash 7, is, somewhat, less known. Not surprisingly, below are the relative numbers of units of each built (DHC6/DH7/DHC8):

DHC-6 (985)
DHC-7 (113)
DHC-8 (1,249)

DHC7 first flew in 1975 and remained in production until 1988 when the parent company, de Havilland Canada, was purchased by Boeing. Nonetheless, it was an interesting and capable plane: essentially a larger, four-engine version of the Twin Otter, originally targeted for STOL operational roles. Even today, many remain in service. The Dash 7 was used as the basis for the Dash 8, with the Dash 8 featuring a modified airframe (e.g. for comparison, DHC7 was 81' in length vs. 84' for the DHC8 Q300), and, the Dash 8 was given twin engines, and other (modern) advancements. The fate of 4-engined aircraft, generally speaking, whether in case of (small) prop (commuter) airliners like Dash 7, or (large) jetliners like B747/A340/A380, have already lost their (commercial) appeal for passenger service, because they are no longer considered efficient to maintain. The Dash 7 was no exception.

Note about the Powerplants: Both DHC-6 and DHC-7 were equipped with P&W PT6A series engines. For the DHC-8, when de Havilland Canada asked for a much larger engine, roughly twice the power of the largest PT6, Pratt & Whitney had responded with an entirely new design initially known as the PT7, later renamed to the new (numerical) series designation PW100.

So, please find below, 7 (selected) liveries of the (not-often-seen) DHC-7 Dash 7. Thanks for viewing...!

[Freeware(DHC7), Orbx(NZ), REX]

Wardair Canada
City Express
AirBC
British Airways Landor
Wideroe
Arkia
DHC demonstration Prototype

AXRvIR.png

NQ7ayj.png

PwTmDv.png

YunHK7.png

1mE877.png

pDpMFg.png

KyHarC.png

  • Like 6

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Folks:

Thanks for the reactions...!

It's quite rare, these days, to come by a propliner of such small size, but, with 4-engines...either in SIM or in RW, so, I got a bit curious about this unique plane. It was indeed in a class of its own, an innovative creation from de Havilland Canada: the company's (prior) proven and legendary (STOL) experiences with (Beaver, Otter, Twin Otter, Buffalo etc.) - rolled into a brand new 4-engined aircraft. It could touch down at only 900 rpm, lifted off at only 1210 rpm, and, would prove a veritable winner in the mountainous wilderness and rough weather conditions of both the Canadian and American Rockies, for the operators, who had ordered it (and loved it). No wonder, as far as I can tell, this was the first DHC aircraft that came to be nicknamed "Dash"...! Its oversized propellers (see screenshots) were intentionally designed to be slow-turning (for quieter operation) without reduction in engine thrust.

The first operator of the Dash 7 was Rocky Mountain Airways of Denver, who took delivery of the first aircraft, in 1978, for providing tourist flights to resort airports, often those with relatively short runways and high airfield elevations. One of the most successful of routes was from Denver directly into Avon Airport in Colorado which provided easy access to the local ski resort at Vail.

British Antarctic Survey (see first livery) trusted the aircraft's worldwide reputation for reliability, STOL performance and ruggedness, and flew the aircraft's first flight to Antarctica in 1994. It then regularly made the 2000km journey from Falklands to the Ice Continent in just about 5 hours (safely landing on the ice runways of Sky-Blu field station).

The QantasLink color looks good on the Dash 7, but, please excuse, it is fictional. Sometimes, one gets a "gentle" warning from the painter about use of the livery...here is the caution that came with this one,...🙂..., "As with all my paints,if you don't like it then simply delete it from your hard drive instead of sending me grumpy emails!"...But, seriously, I do like it, and I hope you folks, here, do too...🙂...!

The Pan Am is a throwback livery, but, Pan Am Express did actually operate Dash 7 aircraft in its feeder (passenger) networks. I recommend the 2 min video, please search for "Pan Am Express De Havilland Canada DHC-7-102 Departing LAX" - (impressive) takeoff and landing included - when sound is enabled, of course, with due consideration, to (nearby) kith and kin...🙂...! BTW, did it outpace, on takeoff, that 727 above it...? And, that prominent [FAA] sign, on the wayside, was a bit un-nerving...

Tyrolean Airways was an Austrian airline based in Innsbruck. In March 2015, it was merged into Austrian Airlines and lost its existence as an independent airline. Tyrolean operated a fleet of Dash 7s.

In the final image, I leave you with the Dash 7 in a classic (1960s/1970s) color of the (once proud) ANSETT Australia.

So, find, below, 7 more interesting liveries of this (iconic) workhorse, the short-takeoff-and-landing maverick...!! Thanks for your interest.

6IyDx0.png

OfwiKs.png

IYeQmV.png

5gtRfI.png

T5duxt.png

M7rd5c.png

Dboopm.png

Edited by P_7878
  • Like 1

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Beautiful plane and shots!   It seems like total overkill these days to see 4 engines hangin' on the wings...but good looking nevertheless. 🙂  (And in an engine emergency you can never have too many engines) 🤣

  • Like 1

Regards,
Steve Dra
Get my paints for MSFS planes at flightsim.to here, and iFly 737s here
Download my FSX, P3D paints at Avsim by clicking here

9Slp0L.jpg 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Great post, P_7878. The Dash 7 was very popular throughout South East Asia, flying tourists to those spots that were otherwise unreachable for planes of this size. Luckily it was very reliable, because in those remote locations it did not always get the maintenance it should have received. I must have spent dozens of hours in them trying to get to those destinations and I always felt safe in them. As Steve already said, in case of an engine emergency you can never have too many engines. 

  • Like 1

Any attempt to stretch fuel is guaranteed to increase headwinds

My specs: AMD Radeon RX6700XT, AMD Ryzen 9 5900X, 32GB RAM, 34" monitor, screen resolution: 2560x1080

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Todd, Steve, Bernd: Appreciated the comments...!

Steve/Bernd, agree, emergency is one factor for sure...especially in those earlier times...e.g. I can only imagine the Peace of Mind of the BAS Crew, while leaving the normal world, behind, on their way across the vastness of no man's land or (ocean or ice...🙂..) to the Antarctica's Sky-Blu station...

  • Like 1

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
Sign in to follow this  

  • Tom Allensworth,
    Founder of AVSIM Online


  • Flight Simulation's Premier Resource!

    AVSIM is a free service to the flight simulation community. AVSIM is staffed completely by volunteers and all funds donated to AVSIM go directly back to supporting the community. Your donation here helps to pay our bandwidth costs, emergency funding, and other general costs that crop up from time to time. Thank you for your support!

    Click here for more information and to see all donations year to date.
×
×
  • Create New...