Story ID: 
Viking Air Celebrates Milestone Anniversary
By: Curt Epstein
Caption: Viking Aerospace celebrated 10 years since the first flight of its first production aircraft of the restarted Twin Otter line.
Word Count: 221
This week marks the 10th anniversary of a milestone in the revival of the Twin Otter utility by Viking Air. A decade ago, the company’s first production Series 400 made its first flight. It was the first of the turboprop twins to be built since the original de Havilland Canada production line was shuttered in 1988 after producing 844 legacy Twin Otters.

Viking decided to relaunch the aircraft after obtaining the type certificates for the out-of-production de Havilland Canada fleet, and five months after its first flight, the aircraft—MSN 845, to maintain serial number continuity—was delivered to launch customer Zimex Aviation at the 2010 Farnborough International Airshow.

“MSN 845 has been reliably, economically, and safely serving our organization in various special missions in Africa and the Middle East,” said Zimex CEO Daniele Cereghetti, adding the missions are primarily humanitarian aid and support to the oil and gas sector. “After 4,250 cycles, we are looking forward to many more happy landings with MSN 845.”

Viking has since delivered 155 Twin Otters, and as president and CEO David Curtis noted, “It’s hard to believe it has been 10 years since that memorable day I was able to witness MSN 845’s first flight from the cockpit’s right seat…I am truly amazed at what Viking has accomplished [over the past decade]."