Press Release

Issued by BAC Aerospace.

November 15, 2023

Canadian consulting and aircraft design approval company BAC Aerospace and its valued client Avionneire Valdor (AVD) are pleased to announce that Transport Canada Civil Aviation has issued a supplemental type certificate (STC) for the AVD Turbo-Beaver aircraft.

The AVD Turbo-Beaver is derived from the venerable de Havilland DHC-2 Beaver bush plane. It combines a clean-sheet design engine installation based on the reliable PT6A-34 engine, a BX wet wing, an increase in payload weight, Wipline 6100 amphibious floats, glass-cockpit engine indicating and crew alerting aystem (EICAS), modifications to the empennage, and a host of other secondary changes and improvements. With 750 shaft horsepower and a usable fuel load of over 210 US gallons, the upgrade more than doubles the rate of climb of the original DHC-2 Mk I, while offering long-range capability with an endurance exceeding eight hours at a faster cruising speed.

The extensive and comprehensive nature of the modifications required the design to comply with the latest airworthiness regulations and safety standards, much like a new clean-sheet aircraft design. This ambitious certification programme was carried out by a partnership of Transport Canada design approval companies, with BAC Aerospace providing systems engineering and design approval in the aspects related to aircraft propulsion and interdisciplinary programme integration, and Deca Aviation Engineering, SDC Consulting, and Avionics Design Services covering the remainder of the full spectrum of the technical disciplines involved.

With a significant and growing interest from the legacy Beaver owners and operators in the newly modified aircraft, mass production of the AVD Turbo Beaver will help to diversify the economy in the Val d'Or region while creating new jobs in an exciting field.