The Indispensable Otter

[Widow]

Did anyone see this on CBC National yesterday? Looks like it is archived from February, but I couldn't find it posted anywhere else ... a good watch.

http://www.cbc.ca/mrl3/23745/thenationa ... 022309.wmv

[lostinthebattle]

Nice find and remarkably well done for a CBC piece.

[Easy Flyer]

?? They're no Fox News eh?

Great story. I didn't realize how much work and research Viking had to do figure out how the plane was built originally. I thought it would just be a matter of dusting off the tools, jigs, and reading up on the plans. No one ever thought that it would enter production again though I guess.

[Just another canuck]

That was really cool... I'm curious though, will it be the same? Will it be as tough? Will a Twotter brought off the assembly line tomorrow last decades in the bush like the original ones have?

[The Old Fogducker]

Easy Flyer, you're right. The CBC isn't Fox News.

Fox News would have shown the difficulties faced by the owners of Viking and how hard work, belief in a concept, taking huge personal financial risks, and persistence has paid off in the manufacture of a viable product in the marketplace for the benefit of those who have a piece of the vision and society in general. Further, it would have featured interviews with satisfied production line workers who were able to find gratifying, mentally challenging employment, and the ability to advance within the company based upon their individual merits, not on date of hire.

It surprises me the CBC didn't start lobbying for tax-payers money to further underwrite the program right off the top, and tell a story of how unfair it is that the poor, hard working, exploited production line workers could never afford to buy their own personal Twin Otters on the low rates of pay provided by the "The Man" who founded Viking Air and became an over-paid CEO purely motivated by greed.

That would be a typical CBC news story of how "The hobnailed jackboot of The Man is continually on the neck of the employee, keeping The Little Man down, while earning obscene profits on the sweaty, bent backs of the workers"

Oh, I almost forgot about the subsequent follow up story ... the one where some social misfit over-paid CBC freelance broadcaster does an expose on the damage done to Goddess Gaia (Mother Earth) by those dirty-gas burning whining turbine engines that harm the high frequency hearing of the endangered Fruit Bat of Guatemala ... where several of these carbon-emitting Twin Otters are based and plying their capitalist driven trade in a modern version of a slave ship from Guinea enroute to the plantations of the Empire.

I look forward to seeing the new "Dash 6" take to the air and be a great commercial success, and hopefully hundreds of units will be manufactured.

Viking Air is a good company that deserves full credit for bringing a daring venture to fruition.

The Old Fogducker

[Easy Flyer]

Great post Fogducker. Put a smile on my face anyways. Have you ever done any writing professionally? You have a talent for it.

[The Old Fogducker]

That was a previous life Easy Flyer.

It must run in the family genes though, my great, great uncle was Sir Winston Churchill's English teacher at Harrow School.

The Old Fogducker

[canwhitewolf]

what happened to this otter on take off?...density altitude? or too much flap? or what

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e0DEb0M6 ... re=related

[dashx]

"Solving the riddles that are in the sketches"

I believe I heard that correctly.

I wonder how many of the engineers involved in the original twin otter are still alive?

I wonder how many Viking has hired or consulted on the new twin otter?

Any info out there????

Maybe they too were indispensible........

[HS-748 2A]

what happened to this otter on take off?...density altitude? or too much flap? or what

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e0DEb0M6 ... re=related

It was a t/o out of Muncho Lake Lodge on the Alaska Highway. Full of fuel and freight. Overloaded. I'm sure it's been covered on Avcan before.

[Rudy]

viewtopic.php?f=54&t=43761&start=0

I don't know if there was ever an official report. The TSB # is A07W0128. I used to make myself watch that video quite often when I was new to the twin otter. It's still hard to watch him try desperately to pull it off the ground.

[canwhitewolf]

for anyone who flys the twotter pause the video and see if that looks like it is proper flap setting, - is that half flap or full flap?

always possible to land with with full flap for a quick turnaround no shutdown and maybe forget to retract them and then take off again with full flap assuming it is the proper setting

[canwhitewolf]

what happened to this otter on take off?...density altitude? or too much flap? or what

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e0DEb0M6 ... re=related

It was a t/o out of Muncho Lake Lodge on the Alaska Highway. Full of fuel and freight. Overloaded. I'm sure it's been covered on Avcan before.

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I didnt know it was covered before, thanks

was that the cause...overloaded?

[Widow]

Muncho Lake crash threads:

viewtopic.php?f=54&t=43761
viewtopic.php?f=54&t=32793

Although the TSB report has apparently been released, it has not been posted to the website. I have requested a copy and will post to one of the old threads when rec'd.

[Adam1100]

nice to see, I was working there when the announcement was made that it would be built again and i designed some of the parts on the new aircraft, cant wait to see one in person

[HS-748 2A]

was that the cause...overloaded?

Perhaps I was talking out of turn but I passed through there over a year ago. Turns out I knew the base pilot, acting CP, I think he was then.

Anyhow, he and I chewed the fat over it for some time and his thought was only that it was overloaded in consideration of the strip length and density alt.

They were planning to go to YVR direct.

He made no mention of flaps but they look 'Full' to me in the pictures. That would not have been good.

[The Old Fogducker]

Well, from the sounds of it so far, the trip was booked and the load was stacked beside the runway.... therefore the pilot didn't have any choice in the matter, he had to go!

Besides, he was just a "Good 'Ole Boy" trying to make a living... coulda happened to any one of us I guess.

Fog

[HS-748 2A]

My friend the CP was in the midst of quite the juggling act that summer to justify that they keep their O.C.

He had to prove that the 'culture' that allowed that to accident to happen was not the M.O. anymore.

[canwhitewolf]

was that the cause...overloaded?

Perhaps I was talking out of turn but I passed through there over a year ago. Turns out I knew the base pilot, acting CP, I think he was then.

Anyhow, he and I chewed the fat over it for some time and his thought was only that it was overloaded in consideration of the strip length and density alt.

They were planning to go to YVR direct.

He made no mention of flaps but they look 'Full' to me in the pictures. That would not have been good.

******************************************************************

nope wouldnt have been good at all , if it was full flap there was going to be a problem for sure.
lotsa drag not enough lift, not enough acceleration etc

maybe same as what happened here to this cessna as posted here at avcan previously

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8nb845lDWMk

but id want a pro opinion on the position of the flaps before making an assumption for sure

but i can understand how it could happen if it did,

combine that with some temperature and some altitude and load and a problem arises big time

[Beaver2509]

When he applies full power the camera pans over the flap indicator. Looks like he has zero flap set.

[canwhitewolf]

When he applies full power the camera pans over the flap indicator. Looks like he has zero flap set.

*******************************************************************

take a closer look just below and slightly to the left of copilots yoke

heres a pic

[lostinthebattle]

Consider this thread hijacked!!

[canwhitewolf]

Consider this thread hijacked!!

***************************************************************

we could continue talking about the cbc article if you wish, they did in fact do a good job on that, its wonderful to know viking is building the plane again and appears to be doing a real pro job of it and will probably make this wonderful plane even better, who knows-it may even have flir

as to the highjacking you are suggesting took place, I can see your point because it drifted into a possible flight safety issue of discussion out of relevance to the otter and flying but if something is learned then it may be worth it

it may be indispensable but perhaps not infallible

perhaps the temporary sideline discussion was useful