DHC-6 Twin Otter - West Coast Air Upgrades
On the South Eastern shore of Sea Island, the home of Vancouver International Airport, is a restaurant called the Flying Beaver Bar & Grill. It doubles as a seaplane terminal for West Coast Air’s parent company, Harbour Air. On the other side of the road is the Vancouver regional airport which is somewhat detached from the main international terminal (YVR) despite using the same runways.
Many thanks go to Bill (Willem2) for building the Flying Beaver from scratch. This model also has a significant dose of Vulcan magic potion to ensure that it interacts with the aircraft. I’m not sure whether Bill intends to upload these to DLS but I really hope so.
The West Coast Air de Havilland DHC-6 Twin Otter float planes are regular visitors to the Flying Beaver. Vulcan has recently upgraded the DHC-6 Twin Otter floatplane he did for me ages ago. I’ve upgraded my two existing re-skins (that were actually my first re-skin attempts) and added a couple of new ones.
The upgraded model has a number of new features.
B key - The start up sequence has been radically enhanced along the same lines as some of the newer light aircraft models. The nav lights switch on; the pilot tests the tail rudder and flaps; the engines start in turn with a puff of engine smoke. The engine sounds have been changed quite a lot and the
“Twin Otter Startup Engine Sound” <KUID2:60238:53022:3> asset has been upgraded as part of the aircraft upgrade.
H Key – Now opens and closes the new door/stair.
V key – Trigger 3 – Flares the aircraft.
Trigger 4 – The touchdown splash has been changed and now deploys for 8 seconds. This is more realistic and allows you to use it for takeoff as well as landing.
Trigger 10 – Deploys wheels and flares the aircraft for dry dock applications.
Triggers 14 & 9 slow and stop the aircraft respectively for landing much like the other newer light aircraft models.
There is now a working interior including Auran passengers, cockpit and pilots. This means the passengers will leave and board the aircraft in the same manner as normal Trainz trains interact with stations. Another upgrade is the wing flaps deploy from +0-200km/h (although the Vulcan original is from 0-120km/h). This is adjustable in the config file. Also there is a distinctly different engine sound for when the aircraft is reversed. This activity is common for these aircraft when trying to maneuver around dock areas.
Now for the West Coast Air history lesson.
Good information is a bit sketchy going back to the late 90s but photos of the first of my re-skin upgrades date at least as far back as 1999. This livery with the white body and blue tail with a yellow gull survived for at least 8 years. You can see the tail elevator pivot during start up and the rear passenger door in the screen shot below.
This is aircraft no. 608 reg C-GGAW
Twin Otter Float Plane West Coast Air Startup (1999+) <kuid2:590184:100087:1>
West Coast Air had a period of acquisition and change around 2007. The white & blue remained but the gull changed to white and also changed style. Here the DHC-6 taxis out to the runway buoys.
This is the second upgraded existing re-skin, Aircraft no. 607 C-GJAW
Twin Otter Float Plane West Coast Air Startup (2007+) <kuid2:590184:100089:2>
Around 2008 the aircraft paint schemes started changing over to the green/light blue livery. The blue engine cowls remained for a while. This one is the Vulcan original that all the other re-skins are generated from. You can clearly see the wing flaps extended.
Here with a trigger 4 and trigger 3 combination, the water spray starts and the aircraft tilts back as the engines power up. I use a second pair of triggers further along to tilt the aircraft back flat and extend the water spray for a further 8s.
Aircraft no. 609 reg C-FGQE
Twin Otter Float Plane West Coast Air Startup 2008+ <kuid2:60238:9737:5>
Late 2008 and 2009 the engine cowls were changed out to grey.
Seen here the aircraft leaves the spray behind and lifts off. The regional airport can be seen in the background with the Flying Beaver to the far right.
This is a new asset to DLS. Aircraft no 604 reg C-FGQH
Twin Otter Float Plane West Coast Air Startup (2009+) <kuid2:590184:100380:1>
2013. Aircraft 606 reg C-GQKN is repainted in a new white/blue livery that carries similar markings and fonts of the other aircraft of the parent company, Harbour Air. 606 can be seen here skipping along on landing in front of the Flying Beaver. Again carefully placed triggers 3 & 4 can add to the realism.
This is also a new asset.
Twin Otter Float Plane West Coast Air Startup (2013+) <kuid2:590184:100383:1>
When the aircraft are due for maintenance, they can be driven up to the holding yard. If you place a trigger 10 just before the boat ramp, the wheels will fade in underwater as the aircraft tilts. Seen here is aircraft no 604 crossing the road. Bill is working on a proper crossing for me that will stop the cars from crashing through the aircraft.
These are all very much for my own Vancouver project but hopefully others will find some use for them. They are really fun aircraft to drive and many thanks must go to Bill & Ian for their innovative work.
I intend doing a couple of other DHC-6 re-skins that are a bit less specific to Vancouver. There are a few other aircraft in the higher priority basket before I get to them though.
