Photo credit Dolf Vermeulen
We are a locally owned float plane operator located on the Sunshine Coast of British Columbia. We operate daily flights between the Sunshine Coast, Vancouver and Vancouver Island, as well as local tours and charter services around the beautiful West Coast of British Columbia. Our fleet consists of Cessna 180 and de Havilland Beaver floatplanes, as well as a Cessna 182 on wheels. This mixture allows us the flexibility of being able to offer our passengers a wide variety of options for their flights.
de Havilland Canada DHC-2 Beaver
A single-engined high-wing propeller-driven short takeoff and landing (STOL) aircraft developed and manufactured by de Havilland Canada. It has been primarily operated as a bush plane and has been used for wide variety of utility roles, such as cargo and passenger hauling, aerial application (crop dusting and aerial topdressing), and civil aviation duties.
Shortly after the end of the Second World War, de Havilland Canada made the decision to orient itself towards civilian operators. On 16 August 1947, the maiden flight of the aircraft, which had received the designation DHC-2 Beaver, took place. In April 1948, the first production aircraft was delivered to the Ontario Department of Lands and Forests.
In addition to its use in civilian operations, the Beaver has been widely adopted by armed forces as a utility aircraft. The United States Army purchased several hundred aircraft; nine DHC-2s are still in service with the U.S. Air Force Auxiliary (Civil Air Patrol) for search and rescue. A Royal New Zealand Air Force Beaver supported Sir Edmund Hillary’s expedition to the South Pole. By 1967, in excess of 1,600 Beavers had been constructed prior to the closure of the original assembly line. Various aircraft have been remanufactured and upgraded. Additionally, various proposals have been mooted to return the Beaver to production.
The Beaver has become one of the more iconic aircraft to have been produced in Canada. Due to its success, the Royal Canadian Mint commemorated the aircraft on a special edition Canadian quarter in November 1999. In 1987, the Canadian Engineering Centennial Board named the DHC-2 one of the top ten Canadian engineering achievements of the 20th century.
Cessna 182
Much like the Cessna 180, our Cessna 182 is a fixed conventional gear airplane which was produced in 1981. Being able to land and take off from airports, it has a pay load of 900 pounds and cruises at 145 mph. Seating for 3 passengers this aircraft offers more opportunities and convenience for travellers with Sunshine Coast Air.
Cessna 180
A two or three seat aircraft, fixed conventional gear general aviation airplane which was produced between 1953 and 1981. Though the design is no longer in production, many of these aircraft are still in use for commuter services for local airlines. Cessna introduced the heavier and more powerful 180 as a complement to the Cessna 170. It eventually came to be known as the Skywagon.
For more information, call us at 604-740-8889 or email info@sunshinecoastair.com