De Havilland Canada Dash 8

Development

Initial development

In the 1970s, de Havilland Canada had invested heavily in its Dash 7 project, concentrating on STOL and short-field performance, the company's traditional area of expertise. Using four medium-power engines with large, four-bladed propellers resulted in comparatively lower noise levels, which combined with its excellent STOL characteristics, made the Dash 7 suitable for operating from small in-city airports, a market DHC felt would be compelling. However, only a handful of air carriers employed the Dash 7, as most regional airlines were more concerned about the operational costs (fuel and maintenance) of four engines, rather than the benefits of short-field performance.

In 1980, de Havilland responded by dropping the short-field performance requirement and adapting the basic Dash 7 layout to use only two, more powerful engines. Its favoured engine supplier, Pratt & Whitney Canada, developed the new PW100 series engines for the role, more than doubling the power from its PT6. Originally designated the PT7A-2R engine, it later became the PW120. When the Dash 8 rolled out on April 19, 1983, more than 3,800 hours of testing had been accumulated over two years on five PW100 series test engines. The Dash 8 first flight was on June 20, 1983.

Certification of the PW120 followed on December 16, 1983.

The airliner entered service in 1984 with NorOntair, and Piedmont Airlines was the first US customer the same year.

DHC resale

In 1986, Boeing bought the company in a bid to improve production at DHC's Downsview Airport plants, believing the shared production in Canada would further strengthen their bargaining position with the Canadian government for a new Air Canada order for large intercontinental airliners. Air Canada was a crown corporation at the time, and both Boeing and Airbus were competing heavily via political channels for the contract. It was eventually won by Airbus, which received an order for 34 A320 aircraft. Allegations of secret commissions paid to Prime Minister of Canada Brian Mulroney are today known as the Airbus affair. Following its failure in the competition, Boeing immediately put de Havilland Canada up for sale. The company was eventually purchased by Bombardier in 1992.

Q-Series, -400

The market for new aircraft to replace existing turboprops once again grew in the mid-1990s, and DHC responded with the improved "Series 400" design.

All Dash 8s delivered from the second quarter of 1996 (including all Series 400s) include the Active Noise and Vibration System designed to reduce cabin noise and vibration levels to nearly those of jet airliners. To emphasize their quietness, Bombardier renamed the go-forward production of Dash 8 models as the "Q"-Series turboprops (Q200, Q300, and Q400).

The last Dash 8-100, a -102, was built in 2005.

In April 2008, Bombardier announced that production of the remaining classic versions (Series Q200 and Q300) would be ended, leaving the Series Q400 as the only Dash 8 still in production. Production of the Q200 and Q300 was to cease in May 2009.

A total of 672 Dash 8 classics were produced; the last one was delivered to Japan Coast Guard in August 2008.

Continuing on with the Q400, the 1,000th Dash 8 was delivered in November 2010.

Production

Bombardier aimed to produce the Q400 more economically. A deal with its machinists union in June 2017 allowed the assembly of the wings and cockpit section outside Canada and searches for potential partners commenced.

Bombardier expected to produce the cockpit section in its plant in Queretaro, Mexico, outsourcing the wings to China's Shenyang Aircraft Corp, which already builds the Q400's centre fuselage. The Q400 components are chemically milled while older variants are assembled from bonded panels and skins.

The production of the Dash 8 Series 100 stopped in 2005, and that of the Series 200 and 300 in 2009.

Proposed Q400X stretch

Bombardier proposed the development of a Q400 stretch with two plug-in segments, called the Q400X project, in 2007.

It would compete in the 90-seat market range.

In response to this project, as of November 2007, ATR was studying a 90-seat stretch.

In June 2009, Bombardier commercial aircraft president Gary Scott indicated that the Q400X would be "definitely part of our future" for possible introduction in 2013–14, although he did not detail the size of the proposed version or commit to an introduction date.

In July 2010, Bombardier's vice president, Phillipe Poutissou, made comments explaining the company was still studying the prospects of designing the Q400X and talking with potential customers. At the time, Bombardier was not as committed to the Q400X as it had been previously. In May 2011, Bombardier was still strongly committed to the stretch but envisioned it more likely as a 2015 or later launch. The launch date was complicated by new powerplants from GE and PWC to be introduced in 2016.