[CaberTosser]

De Havilland is setting up to restart production of the CL 415/515 water bombers which haven't been made since around 2015. They're to be made in Calgary temporarily while a brand-new aircraft plant is being constructed between Chestermere & Strathmore. The plant will manufacture the CL 415/515 water bombers as well as the Q400/Dash 8 aircraft. This was all announced in a big ceremony when Kenney was still premier last year. I'm not sure if they'll move the Twin Otter line there from its existing facility or not. I regularly get through their various facilities for building maintenance & repairs & it's great to see the skilled jobs they're bringing, the plant itself is supposed to need 1500 workers once construction is complete. I don't think ground has broken yet on the project. It's a very cool development for the Calgary labor market & job diversification.

One thing their marketing material notes is how they're increasing the utility of the aircraft to add capabilities that make them more attractive to buyers. As was already noted, water bombers out of fire season aren't of much use unless they're being sent to distant nations during their fire seasons. The new capabilities are equipping them for search & rescue as well as fisheries monitoring. The S&R mods include a larger rear door for launching rescue rafts & new wing pods can have sensors mounted (FLIR, etc). These types of tasks can keep the aircraft flying out of fire season, performing necessary work & better justify their expense in gov't budgets.