The De Havilland Canada DHC-7 “Dash 7” was the first aircraft with which Tyrolean Airways began scheduled service on 1 April 1980, and it remained part of the fleet into the 1990s.

Development: A STOL Aircraft for Demanding Airports

Development of the Dash 7 began in 1972 at De Havilland Canada, essentially as an enlarged, four-engined version of the smaller DHC-6 Twin Otter, with a pressurised cabin and a T-tail. The goal was a quiet regional aircraft for around 50 passengers capable of operating from runways as short as 610 metres (STOL, Short Takeoff and Landing). To achieve this, the Dash 7 was fitted with four comparatively small, slow-turning propellers along with double-slotted Fowler flaps, spoilerons and ground spoilers, enabling steep approaches and short landing distances. The first flight took place on 27 March 1975, and the type entered service in 1978 with the Canadian operator Rocky Mountain Airways.

Technical Data (DHC-7-102)

• Crew: 2 pilots
• Capacity: 50 to 54 passengers
• Engines: 4 × Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-50, 1,120 hp (840 kW) each
• Length / Wingspan / Height: 24.58 m / 28.35 m / 7.98 m
• Maximum speed: around 428 km/h
• Range: around 1,280 km with a full cabin
• Takeoff / Landing distance: around 690 m / around 594 m

Why the Dash 7 Suited Tyrolean

For demanding flight operations out of Innsbruck, an airport in the middle of the Alps with short approach paths and changeable mountain weather, the Dash 7’s pronounced short-takeoff-and-landing capability was a decisive factor. At low speeds, the four engines also increased lift over the wing through so-called propwash, and an engine failure had a less dramatic effect than on twin-engined types, thanks to the more symmetrical distribution of thrust. Tyrolean Airways was the first European operator of the Dash 7 and later even received, with an additional aircraft, the very last example of the type ever built.

A total of 114 Dash 7s were built between 1975 and 1988. The manufacturer, De Havilland Canada, was acquired by Boeing in 1986, and the type certificate later passed to Bombardier and, in 2006, finally to Viking Air.

For the complete fleet of Tyrolean Airways, see: The Fleet of Tyrolean Airways

Legendary Landing: Courchevel

The French Alpine airport of Courchevel, with its mere 537-metre, steeply sloped runway, is considered one of the most demanding airfields in the world. A Tyrolean Airways Dash 7 registered OE-LLU, the very same aircraft also shown in an earlier livery in this site’s photo gallery, was able to land there without the weight limitations otherwise usually imposed at Courchevel, according to dash7.at, a site specialising in the type. Footage of this landing survives on YouTube:

Video: a Tyrolean Airways Dash 7 landing at Courchevel, via YouTube.

Sources (Selection)

• Wikipedia: De Havilland Canada Dash 7
• aerotelegraph.com: Interview with Jakob Ringler, “The Dash 7 was the only option”
• dash7.at: Photo documentation and data on the De Havilland Dash 7, including the Courchevel landing

Part of the fleet history of Tyrolean Airways. Independent, private history project with no connection to Austrian Airlines AG or the Lufthansa Group.