Not so long ago, the idea of electric commercial aviation was a decidedly futuristic notion. But last December, B.C.-based Harbour Air and magniX made a giant leap forward with the first flight of their DHC-2 Beaver “ePlane.”
Name an airport that’s located in a major North American city, and has scheduled airline service. Easy? Sure. How about one that doesn’t have any runways? And has the world’s highest control tower, uses something other than radar to keep an eye on traffic, and even has instrument approaches that aircraft use when the weather is down. Not possible? Think again - I’ve just described Vancouver Harbour Tower and Water Airport. (CYHC)
There are 2 regular airline services flying between Victoria’s and Vancouver’s harbours. Both harbours are Transport Canada certified airports, with designated water “runways”. You can fly fixed-wing on Harbour Air’s 14 passenger DeHavilland Canada DHC-3 Turbine Otters or 18-seat DHC-6 Twin Otters. Or you can take a helicopter – Helijet flies 12-seat, twin-engine, Sikorsky S-76s or 4-seat Bell 206L LongRangers. Which way to go? Let’s have a look at the two airlines.
