Viking Air of Victoria, British Columbia, has acquired certain assets of Bombardier’s Commercial Service Centre, thus becoming the exclusive parts manufacturer, distributor and provider of technical support for out-of-production de Havilland Canada (DHC) aircraft.

Viking has assumed product support responsibility for the DHC-1 Chipmunk, DHC-2 Beaver, DHC-3 Otter, DHC-4 Caribou, DHC-5 Buffalo, DHC-6 Twin Otter and DHC-7. (Field Aviation of Calgary will continue to provide spares for the Caribou and Buffalo under contract with Viking.)

“This acquisition allows us to provide a full range of services across all the de Havilland heritage product lines,” said David Curtis, president and CEO of Viking. “This effectively eliminates the middleman. By being on the front line of the industry, Viking can react to customer requirements and adjust our services to meet specific needs.”

Curtis said that consolidating de Havilland parts, sales and services under one roof allows Viking greater flexibility in offering owners and operators custom services and discounts that they couldn’t receive previously. “Now we’re a one-stop shop for de Havilland owners, operators and maintainers worldwide; we can do it all.”

Building a One-stop Shop

To accommodate Viking’s new sales and service functions, the company has initiated expansion plans for its current facilities in Victoria. In addition to hiring additional personnel, Viking is building a new facility to house, among other things, new product support activities and engineering support.

Furthermore, a company affiliated with Viking has purchased the Spar hangar at Calgary International Airport and will act as a distribution center, housing an inventory of more than 10,000 part numbers. Indeed, two truckloads of parts have already been transferred from Bombardier’s Montreal facility to the new distribution center in Calgary.

Incorporated in 1970, Viking is an aerospace manufacturer and an aircraft modification, sales, leasing and repair facility. Since 1983 the company has held the exclusive rights to parts manufacturing and distribution for the Beaver and Otter and has been a major supplier to Bombardier on the Twin Otter and Dash series product lines. Viking is part of Westerkirk Capital, a Canadian private investment firm.