Hi! Been a while, hasn’t it? 😅 For my first actual upload of the year, I thought it was about time I flew one of my most requested airlines! Thanks for your patience, lots of good stuff coming down the pipeline in the next few weeks!
Being able to go downtown to downtown is what keeps harbour air in business. My mom is a frequent business traveller from Victoria to Vancouver, and she says there is virtually no other way for her to make it to Downtown Vancouver for an early morning meeting or conference without staying the night before. If she flies Harbour air, which she does often - She can sleep in her own bed and take a short flight in the morning and then usually walk to her meeting from the seaplane dock @ CYHC. So much more convenient.
Helijet is the other option. Its a bit more expensive but not that much not sure if there is much difference in the flights otherwise although I feel better on a plane than a helicopter.
My wife and I took HA from Maple Bay to Vancouver Harbour in September. We got to the dock good and early in the still quiet of the morning for the first flight of the day. Perfectly calm. Off behind the boathouses came the most beautiful sound, the turning over and startup of the iconic Radial cylinder engine! That DHC-2 Beaver coming out from behind the boathouses in the low rising sun, the sound of each cylinder firing in sequence as it grumbled up the harbour is truly the absolute BEST experience to witness! About 100’ off the dock the pilot kills the engine, again hearing every mechanical motion of each cylinders piston, connecting rods, valves and lifters winding down and then the quiet gurgling sound as the water slips past the pontoons on the way in, all these sounds go directly to ones soul! Take off and flight was just as spectacular. The takeoff run starts oh so slowly as he nudges the throttle bit by bit, cross checking the engine instruments carefully for the first critical engine check of the day. Finally he goes ‘balls to the wall’ and the ol’ beauty springs into life with its iconic deafening roar, lifting up onto step then becoming airborne! Does it sound like I’m excited and want to relive this experience every single day?👍💕🇨🇦
The new condo owners were complaining about the planes coming and going in the harbour. They've been doing that when the west end downtown's tallest apt. buildings were TEN stories, and now there are lots of sixty story towers, and higher!! Deal with it. I't spart of the Port and Harbour mystique. !!
I remember when I was 11, my dad took me on a harbour air flight whilst on vacation in vancouver. It was just a 45 minute flight on a seaplane near the mountains and back, to tour the area. Now my name is chris, and the pilots name was also chris! The pilot gave me the most unforgettable experience as he let me sit in the co-pilot seat for the entire flight! Since it was just him flying, I was allowed to sit in the right seat for the entire flight and wear the headset. We got to talk and I listened in on his ATC conversations. My dad was also taking videos of me the entire time from the back lol. I ended up extending the flight to about an hour before we landed and the pilot gave me a little captain pin to remember it. I don't think I'll ever forget this experience as it was truly special to sit at the controls to an airplane as a kid and talk to a pilot. I would 1000% fly with them again for a tour!
I went on their Twin Otter in March 2021 and January 2024, and it was definitely one of my favorite flight experiences ever! Love their well-designed lounges and complimentary coffee. I've also filmed the uncut full flight between Vancouver and Victoria on their planes!
Living on Vancouver Island most of my life means I've flown seaplanes a lot. It's great to see you share our beautiful area with your audience. Next flight in this area I would recommend would be Vancouver to Tofino, where you have two choices: Harbour Air seaplane (harbour to harbour) or Pacific Coastal, where take off is from YVR's South Terminal and you get to land on an old air defence airport which happens to be right across the road from Long Beach!
Alex, that's a truly sensational video, thank you. I flew Harbour Air (excellent all-round) Vancouver to Victoria twice last summer, in a Twin Otter. Also Vancouver to Gabriola, and immediately back to Van, in the co-pilot seat, my first time in a glorious Beaver at last (I'm 70), C-FOCN, across the Georgia Strait at 500 feet and 100mph coming back! That flight, with the outstanding 'Gulf Island Seaplanes', was magnificent; 'threading the needle'' through the narrow pass into Silva Bay is especially exhilarating. You'd LOVE it. Yours are the best aviation videos on the internet. Best wishes from Roger Higgs (in England).
I have the highest admiration for floatplane pilots. Landing on a moving runway you transition from a plane to a boat and have to deal with the variables of current, waves, other water craft, and have to glide into the dock..no brakes! No designated taxiways though there are designated corridors for taxiing to the terminal. I flew a wheeled 172 over Vancouver Harbour many times on the way up the coast and it's a special experience (after over flying YVR mid field and watching the big boys approaching and departing. THAT was an experience in and of itself! Wonderful video and I hope those nervous fliers find this video re assuring: Float pilots are a CUT ABOVE THE REST! they are truly stick and rudder pilots.
My old office building had meeting rooms overlooking Vancouver Harbour. Watching the planes take off and land was a godsend in those tedious meetings and calls.
Harbour Air rules. Always ask to sit next to the pilot! It’s an amazing experience I’ve done twice in the past year and the pilots are so cool and professional. Could not recommend Harbour Air more. I feel very blessed to have been able to experience their service.
This is an EXCELLENT documentary and commentary of Harbour Air, the history of the specific plane, the stable and slow videography and the educational information. Thank you. We are sold and will be taking this flight in the near future. Thank you very much.
Harbour Air is also a leading force in electric aviation, the retrofitted a 1956 DHC-2 de Havilland Beaver with a 750hp motor from magniX with the hope of using it for passenger flights in the future and as a proof of concept.
thats one think i cant give De Havilland enough credit for. dude filled his niche so perfectly that hes now got companies making new builds of twin otters to fill the growing float plane market decades after we were all told seaplanes and flying boats were a dead industry.
Vancouver Harbor Flight Center does technically have defined runways, as they have airport charts and predetermined approach patterns, and they have buoys in the water to roughly mark the place for planes to take off
When I lived on Protection Island in Nanaimo Harbour, I took the airline to go to Vancouver Airport where it had a landing on the Fraser River and transportation to the main terminal. Totally convenient without the hassle of ferries, direct from home (by boat) to YVR. Thanks for this video. I also chartered them for a flight when I brought back two mastiff puppies (carried in a box) along with four other friends, two adults and children from the Sunshine Coast back to Protection Island (Nanaimo). Cheers.
Alex, I hope that when Harbour Air gets the certification on their EV (or should that be EA- Electric Aircraft) Beaver that you can be onboard the inaugural flight. That would really be something.
I fly this route a few times a year, it's fantastic. If you get the right seat, you're in for a treat. Sometimes pilot is more than happy to have a chat while cruising along. Would highly recommend.
This was actually quite entertaining. Yes I always thought of wheel based airline's, but pontoon's I now see are another way of air transportation commercially Thanks Alex
Thirty years working in the forest industry on the British Columbia coast I've had opportunities to ride Harbour Air and many other seaplane operators airplanes. Always very professional with excellently maintained aircraft I'd fly with them again, anywhere. BC coast, still my home, the most beautiful place on the planet.
This is one of my favorite videos that you have done. And I love them all! That so great that you Alex got to sit up front! I was happy for you. Well done!
Thank you for this video. I had an email telling me a YVR to YYJ flight I had booked for the summer had been cancelled this morning and none of the other WestJet or Air Canada flights had times that worked. Saw this and thought I'd check Harbour Air website and they had a flight at the perfect time. Wouldn't have thought to check them otherwise.
Nothing like a sunny day in Vancouver! You should also fly this route on Helijet Airways in their 12 passenger Sikorsky S-76 helicopters. They also depart from Coal Harbor.
Alex, of all your videos I think this is my favourite. I know of Harbour Air but have never travelled on them. Usually using AC from Vancouver to Victoria. It was really nice that you got to sit up front and see and hear everything first hand. I was delighted to hear the history of GOPP which in its self was so interesting. Great to know that at 60+ years it is still in demand. Thank you 🛫
I love Harbour Air, I have fond memories being flown out to Vancouver one time to visit my mother when she worked there. As a 12 year old, it was a surreal experience being given the opportunity to sit up front in the cockpit during the journey. Definitely a core memory for sure.
Loved this video! well done and nice scenery shots! Almost at 100k subscribers! keep it coming folks, best aircraft youtuber on the net for real in-depth aircraft content!!
I did a "mail run" on the Otter and the Beaver in 2022, flying from Vancouver to Salt Spring and Maple Bay. Super cool experience, and a beautiful part of the world
I used them once from seattle to vancouver, they were the cheapest option, and the little fishing shack they have in the harbour for customs is adorable! The view from this altitude, lower passenger count, and direct downtown access is phenomenal.
I hope you enjoyed your flight with them. A great little airline. I made the same flight with them back in 2002 and would love the chance to fly with this friendly operation again. When I made that trip we actually flew ove YVR
Excellent plan! I got that ride once by accident many years ago, having booked the sched from Thetis I to Vancouver Hbr, but it turned out that they had pick-ups and drop-offs at, IIRC, Maple Bay, Ganges, Village Bay and Miners Bay before eventually getting to Vancouver. A little later than expected, but more take-offs and landings per dollar than any other experience!
Back in the 70s, I was a ramp rat in Vancouver Harbour for (not Hughes) AirWest -- predecessor to Harbour Air. I can say the newer terminal is a giant step up from the facility back in the day. Sadly, however, the Air Affair disco no longer sits in an adjacent hotel overlooking the float plane docks! :) If you want excitement, be the one docking a Turbo Goose, with the props sitting way forward as one tried to loop the nose cleat. More excitement of deicing the wings of the float planes in winter walking atop frosty wings spraying deicing fluid! Summers were grand, though. Happy memories and very sad memories (crash) from those days. I still remember that "Twenties" (20 gallons in forward and aft tank) was the usual fuel order for a Twin Otter flight to Victoria harbour.
Living near Departure Bay in Nanaimo, I have used the Seair services several times to get to downtown Vancouver and also to the Richmond Seaplane base connecting to YVR. I highly recommend that service as well. Nice video - thanks!
Im not sure if you’ve taken a helijet before, but you should try! I noticed a comment in the couple in the intro saying you should too 😂 I’ve taken one from Nanaimo to Vancouver, and just gonna say I’ve never been on a helicopter before that so it was great, and it feels a lot like harbour air but a bit more sophisticated, and not with 60 year old aircraft lol You should try it!
I also had the privilege of sitting up fron last summer. When I was planning a trip out west, I knew Harbour Air had to be in the TO-DO list. Hope you enjoyed it as much as I did :D
I've lived in Vancouver for almost all of my 69 years but have never flown on Harbour Air. I see their aircraft flying overhead all the time. Glad you made it. Decades ago, there were 4 fuel barges; not just Chevron. I don't recall them all but they were essentially the 4 big name oil companies at that time IIRC. Home, Shell, Texaco, and B/A ??? . And, to go further back in history, what you see behind and to the left of the Chevron barge is / was HMCS Discovery which was a Canadian military training facility ( yes, they used the HMCS moniker ). My father did some of his World War II navy training there in 1943.
Alex, What a great video showcasing one of the most unique and special airline companies in the world. Next time take the "puddle jumper" through the islands! I had the distinct pleasure of the flying Harbour Air many years ago between Vancouver and Saltspring Island. I too am an airplane geek just a different kind. Turbulence to me is a rush as I got to fly in small seaplanes as a youngster over Lake of the Woods as well as a been gliding a few times. Then many moons ago I did my first solo jump out of a perfectly good airplane. Time to get airborne again!
There is one more nearby Seaplane line, one that has a reputation for rebuilding Beavers with custom pontoons and windows: Kenmore Air on Lake Washington in Seattle. They make a "bubble" window that gives slightly better views near the pontoons and make amphibious pontoons with electric-hydraulic wheels that cab be lowered to let the plane drive up a ramp after landing, or land on a runway after taking off from water and visa-versa.
Wow! I work right above the olympic cauldron and I watch these flights come and go every day. I’ve never once thought to take one but after seeing this I think I have to. Such relaxed flying with amazing views.
Flew on Harbour Air last May. My wife and I took an absolutely amazing sightseeing flight around the mountains of Vancouver. Alex, try Kenmore Air in Seattle. Great experience as well. Love your videos!!
Beautiful day for a beautiful trip. Worth noting the unusual clarity of the two magnificent lions in the mountains looking down on the lions gate bridge named after them.
This was a great video! I flew on HA over 400 times Victoria-Vancouver to see my dad for work. Almost all of that was time spent sitting in the co pilot seat. The turbo otter is such a fun aircraft!
Now you need to add the Beaver bar, Nanaimo, Tofino, ..... etc to your bucket list. Recommend a radial DHC2. My usual and preferred travel around home on Vancouver island
Such a wonderful airline! I once took a trip to Victoria from Northern California in what turned out to be an all De Havilland trip: We took a Dash-8 from Santa Rosa to Seattle and back, then a Harbour AIr DHC-2 Beaver from Seattle to Victoria, day tripped to Vancouver on a Turbo Otter both ways and then flew a Twin Otter back to Seattle. The most exciting leg, by far, was on the Beaver, which is quite a piece of history - and I got to sit in the co-pilot seat!!! While Victoria and Vancouver were beautiful, it's the planes I remember the most...
before i became a tower controller at YVR, i actually did my on the job training at CXH (the harbor atc tower alex mentioned earlier). i loved it there, i always got so many looks when i scanned my badge to go to the tower, i was barely 20 years old and some of the older people that worked in the office buildings in floors below always gave me the wtf look lol. it really is a unique experience working in that tower, most of the people in that tower were nearing retirement, some of the nicest people you could ever meet, lots of cool war stories (most of them transferred to civilian atc after the wars). i always go back from time to time now, but man was that a unique job.
That’s awesome you finally flew these guys. I sat in the same seat as you, only on tail number 312. I did the Vancouver harbour tour on the turbo Otter and the Beaver, two separate times. Always worth it.
I’ve flown with Harbour Air a few times and it is a wonderful experience. In fact I had one of the best days of my life when I did the ‘Milk Run’. That was a series of flights, Vancouver Harbour-Ganges (Salt Spring Island)-Maple Bay (Vancouver Island) and return. The Ganges-Maple Bay-Ganges legs were in a Beaver and only lasted a few minutes as the two are only six miles apart! The other flights were in the DHC-3T, one of which was the same aircraft Alex flew on here, C-GOPP. Then, to cap it all, I then got one of the scheduled flights to Victoria Harbour where, like Alex, I sat in the copilot seat in another DHC-3T. The weather was much the same as Alex’s flights, absolutely glorious. Every flight with Harbour Air is memorable, to do five of them in a day was fantastic.
We did a tour from Salt Spring island back in 2017 with them. It is one of my top favourite flight stories. We were there for a wedding and we organized it for the family, my mom dad and I to do on one of our free days.
I did it a couple years ago. It was fun...kinda loud, but spectacular because we stayed low all the way to Victoria and back to Seattle. Victoria is a great town for aimless strolling. We saw a parade ...with Mounties! heh
What’s crazy is, this was right before my trip to victoria and was going to ride on one of harbour airs aircraft! in victoria as i’m commenting this. Great video!
I flew on a HA Twin-Otter from Vancouver to Victoria. Being an avid aviation enthusiast since the age of six, it was a fantastic experience for me. With all the De Havilland history of that plane, I was totally at ease. I also had the luck of a piston Beaver fight from Paine Field, Everett, Wa. It belonged to an air heritage museum. My 65 year old pilot was very professional. He showed up wearing a flight suit! Both flights were more enjoyable and memorable than my flight in a B-25 at the Abbotsford Air Show.
Hi! Been a while, hasn’t it? 😅 For my first actual upload of the year, I thought it was about time I flew one of my most requested airlines!
Thanks for your patience, lots of good stuff coming down the pipeline in the next few weeks!
Yeah
wait, i thought you already flew them
Hi alex!!!!
You should make videos on the recent WestJet route announcements!
Been a month I’ve been dying to see a new video
Being able to go downtown to downtown is what keeps harbour air in business. My mom is a frequent business traveller from Victoria to Vancouver, and she says there is virtually no other way for her to make it to Downtown Vancouver for an early morning meeting or conference without staying the night before. If she flies Harbour air, which she does often - She can sleep in her own bed and take a short flight in the morning and then usually walk to her meeting from the seaplane dock @ CYHC. So much more convenient.
I’ve taken it lots of times for work too, the only is issue is their visual flight rules.
I do the same on the regular. Copilot seat on the turbo otter is the best.
Helijet is the other option. Its a bit more expensive but not that much not sure if there is much difference in the flights otherwise although I feel better on a plane than a helicopter.
My wife and I took HA from Maple Bay to Vancouver Harbour in September.
We got to the dock good and early in the still quiet of the morning for the first flight of the day. Perfectly calm.
Off behind the boathouses came the most beautiful sound, the turning over and startup of the iconic Radial cylinder engine!
That DHC-2 Beaver coming out from behind the boathouses in the low rising sun, the sound of each cylinder firing in sequence as it grumbled up the harbour is truly the absolute BEST experience to witness!
About 100’ off the dock the pilot kills the engine, again hearing every mechanical motion of each cylinders piston, connecting rods, valves and lifters winding down and then the quiet gurgling sound as the water slips past the pontoons on the way in, all these sounds go directly to ones soul!
Take off and flight was just as spectacular.
The takeoff run starts oh so slowly as he nudges the throttle bit by bit, cross checking the engine instruments carefully for the first critical engine check of the day.
Finally he goes ‘balls to the wall’ and the ol’ beauty springs into life with its iconic deafening roar, lifting up onto step then becoming airborne!
Does it sound like I’m excited and want to relive this experience every single day?👍💕🇨🇦
This could be your best video yet ! Excellent!
Love that the single Otter has the single pilot exemption from transport Canada, I used to commute daily on Harbour air and loved riding shotgun.
The new condo owners were complaining about the planes coming and going in the harbour. They've been doing that when the west end downtown's tallest apt. buildings were TEN stories, and now there are lots of sixty story towers, and higher!! Deal with it. I't spart of the Port and Harbour mystique. !!
I remember when I was 11, my dad took me on a harbour air flight whilst on vacation in vancouver. It was just a 45 minute flight on a seaplane near the mountains and back, to tour the area. Now my name is chris, and the pilots name was also chris! The pilot gave me the most unforgettable experience as he let me sit in the co-pilot seat for the entire flight! Since it was just him flying, I was allowed to sit in the right seat for the entire flight and wear the headset. We got to talk and I listened in on his ATC conversations. My dad was also taking videos of me the entire time from the back lol. I ended up extending the flight to about an hour before we landed and the pilot gave me a little captain pin to remember it. I don't think I'll ever forget this experience as it was truly special to sit at the controls to an airplane as a kid and talk to a pilot. I would 1000% fly with them again for a tour!
I went on their Twin Otter in March 2021 and January 2024, and it was definitely one of my favorite flight experiences ever! Love their well-designed lounges and complimentary coffee. I've also filmed the uncut full flight between Vancouver and Victoria on their planes!
Living on Vancouver Island most of my life means I've flown seaplanes a lot. It's great to see you share our beautiful area with your audience. Next flight in this area I would recommend would be Vancouver to Tofino, where you have two choices: Harbour Air seaplane (harbour to harbour) or Pacific Coastal, where take off is from YVR's South Terminal and you get to land on an old air defence airport which happens to be right across the road from Long Beach!
Alex, that's a truly sensational video, thank you. I flew Harbour Air (excellent all-round) Vancouver to Victoria twice last summer, in a Twin Otter. Also Vancouver to Gabriola, and immediately back to Van, in the co-pilot seat, my first time in a glorious Beaver at last (I'm 70), C-FOCN, across the Georgia Strait at 500 feet and 100mph coming back! That flight, with the outstanding 'Gulf Island Seaplanes', was magnificent; 'threading the needle'' through the narrow pass into Silva Bay is especially exhilarating. You'd LOVE it. Yours are the best aviation videos on the internet. Best wishes from Roger Higgs (in England).
I have the highest admiration for floatplane pilots. Landing on a moving runway you transition from a plane to a boat and have to deal with the variables of current, waves, other water craft, and have to glide into the dock..no brakes! No designated taxiways though there are designated corridors for taxiing to the terminal. I flew a wheeled 172 over Vancouver Harbour many times on the way up the coast and it's a special experience (after over flying YVR mid field and watching the big boys approaching and departing. THAT was an experience in and of itself! Wonderful video and I hope those nervous fliers find this video re assuring: Float pilots are a CUT ABOVE THE REST! they are truly stick and rudder pilots.
1:30 - terminal and all that airplanes looks SOOO COOL!
I love going to the Flying Beaver in Richmond just to watch the floats take off and land ❤️
Sunset with a beer in the pub on the river.
Amazing place
My old office building had meeting rooms overlooking Vancouver Harbour. Watching the planes take off and land was a godsend in those tedious meetings and calls.
I watched the flying beaver planes take off 20 yrs ago at their place near the airport I was crew from US airplane.very cool
Wow Alex, one of your best ever! No doubt, a once in a lifetime with the best seat and perfect weather - a home run for an aviation journalist!
Harbour Air rules. Always ask to sit next to the pilot! It’s an amazing experience I’ve done twice in the past year and the pilots are so cool and professional. Could not recommend Harbour Air more. I feel very blessed to have been able to experience their service.
at 6:54 you can make out a the beautiful vortex that the propeller is making
it honestly looks amazing
This is an EXCELLENT documentary and commentary of Harbour Air, the history of the specific plane, the stable and slow videography and the educational information. Thank you. We are sold and will be taking this flight in the near future. Thank you very much.
Harbour Air is also a leading force in electric aviation, the retrofitted a 1956 DHC-2 de Havilland Beaver with a 750hp motor from magniX with the hope of using it for passenger flights in the future and as a proof of concept.
I have flown in a De Havilland Beaver on floats in Alaska several times and it is by far the best aircraft experience I've ever had.
thats one think i cant give De Havilland enough credit for. dude filled his niche so perfectly that hes now got companies making new builds of twin otters to fill the growing float plane market decades after we were all told seaplanes and flying boats were a dead industry.
Vancouver Harbor Flight Center does technically have defined runways, as they have airport charts and predetermined approach patterns, and they have buoys in the water to roughly mark the place for planes to take off
When I lived on Protection Island in Nanaimo Harbour, I took the airline to go to Vancouver Airport where it had a landing on the Fraser River and transportation to the main terminal. Totally convenient without the hassle of ferries, direct from home (by boat) to YVR. Thanks for this video.
I also chartered them for a flight when I brought back two mastiff puppies (carried in a box) along with four other friends, two adults and children from the Sunshine Coast back to Protection Island (Nanaimo). Cheers.
Wow what an awesome flight that was, I'm super jealous. Thanks for sharing it.
Alex, I hope that when Harbour Air gets the certification on their EV (or should that be EA- Electric Aircraft) Beaver that you can be onboard the inaugural flight.
That would really be something.
Yes! I was just about to suggest that.
I fly this route a few times a year, it's fantastic. If you get the right seat, you're in for a treat.
Sometimes pilot is more than happy to have a chat while cruising along.
Would highly recommend.
This was actually quite entertaining. Yes I always thought of wheel based airline's, but pontoon's I now see are another way of air transportation commercially Thanks Alex
Absolutely love Harbour Air, now you gotta go for flights on their Twin Otter and Beaver!!
Thirty years working in the forest industry on the British Columbia coast I've had opportunities to ride Harbour Air and many other seaplane operators airplanes. Always very professional with excellently maintained aircraft I'd fly with them again, anywhere. BC coast, still my home, the most beautiful place on the planet.
that was incredible !!!! thank you Alex, much enjoyed....
This is one of my favorite videos that you have done. And I love them all! That so great that you Alex got to sit up front! I was happy for you. Well done!
My favourite airline (since the demise of Air UK). We always find an excuse to go for a ride with Harbour Air when we visit BC.
Thank you for this video. I had an email telling me a YVR to YYJ flight I had booked for the summer had been cancelled this morning and none of the other WestJet or Air Canada flights had times that worked. Saw this and thought I'd check Harbour Air website and they had a flight at the perfect time. Wouldn't have thought to check them otherwise.
The fact that you sat right next to the captain is so fascinating to me
Flying Victoria to Vancouver in a seaplane as a kid is one of my favorite childhood memories! I love watching them too
Passing over the Lion’s Gate must have been soooo cool! Looked like a perfect day for a low alt flight!
Nothing like a sunny day in Vancouver! You should also fly this route on Helijet Airways in their 12 passenger Sikorsky S-76 helicopters. They also depart from Coal Harbor.
It’s a great airline and the views in summer are nothing short of stunning anywhere on the coast. Loved this video.
Fantastic report Alex. Amazing scenery and you captured it beautifully.
Alex, of all your videos I think this is my favourite. I know of Harbour Air but have never travelled on them. Usually using AC from Vancouver to Victoria. It was really nice that you got to sit up front and see and hear everything first hand. I was delighted to hear the history of GOPP which in its self was so interesting. Great to know that at 60+ years it is still in demand. Thank you 🛫
Amazing video, Alex. Well done
Thanks!
I love Harbour Air, I have fond memories being flown out to Vancouver one time to visit my mother when she worked there. As a 12 year old, it was a surreal experience being given the opportunity to sit up front in the cockpit during the journey. Definitely a core memory for sure.
Nice video. Only one thing missing about the HA experience. A pint at the Flying Beaver!
This is by far the best video ever made. I like to try this someday.
Beautiful ride Alex.
I am surprised you didn't mention their electric driven aircraft.
Great video Alex. You couldn't have picked a better day for the flight. Stunning scenery.
Reminds me of my Mailflight with CorilAir out of Campbell River BC. The most fun flights of my life.
Love it Alex! You never complain about anything and I love that about you!
7:56 The Lions Gate Bridge must have been closed that morning...absolutely no traffic on it
Beautiful BC indeed! Also great to learn about the little history about this very airframe. Thank you for sharing this trip!
Another great video, Alex. Awesome flight and some beautiful scenery to take it too.
Best video yet!! Feels so much more interesting when we are flying lower.
Stunning! Thank you for sharing.
6:49 those vortices look sooo cool
Interesting video and such a smooth landing on the water. Of course, great 4k photography!
The Hullo ferry to Nanaimo operates from the same dock in Vancouver as Harbour Air
Yes! I've wanted to watch this for months! Great video Alex!
What an incredible view Alex, that was a fantastic video Sir!
7:51 Why were there no cars on the Lions Gate except one SUV in the middle? Was this a day with a jumper?
Great video (as usual) great catch on the front seat,,,,definitely on our bucket list thanks for this one
Loved this video! well done and nice scenery shots! Almost at 100k subscribers! keep it coming folks, best aircraft youtuber on the net for real in-depth aircraft content!!
Wonderful video!!
Isn’t Harbor Air starting to go electric power plants now??
Better late than never! Glad you finally got to give our best west coast air experience a try and on such a beautiful day too!
I did a "mail run" on the Otter and the Beaver in 2022, flying from Vancouver to Salt Spring and Maple Bay. Super cool experience, and a beautiful part of the world
Wow, this is an awesome experience, thanks for taking us along for the ride Alex! Maybe there's similar flights up in Alaska too
Hi, I flew Harbor Air in 2018 to Victoria and it was very fun. Will definitely do it again.
I used them once from seattle to vancouver, they were the cheapest option, and the little fishing shack they have in the harbour for customs is adorable! The view from this altitude, lower passenger count, and direct downtown access is phenomenal.
Great video. Brought back great memories of our flight in July 2008 from Coal Harbour.
I hope you enjoyed your flight with them. A great little airline. I made the same flight with them back in 2002 and would love the chance to fly with this friendly operation again. When I made that trip we actually flew ove YVR
Love flying on the floatplane. I think HA just added an electric floatplane to the fleet. The flight from downtown Vancouver to Comox is great!!
I am so glad you got to make this trip. At the Richmond terminal they are adjacent to my local pub...the Flying Beaver. So cool my tall friend.
Just requested a seat for the mail run tour with them, so excited!
Excellent plan! I got that ride once by accident many years ago, having booked the sched from Thetis I to Vancouver Hbr, but it turned out that they had pick-ups and drop-offs at, IIRC, Maple Bay, Ganges, Village Bay and Miners Bay before eventually getting to Vancouver. A little later than expected, but more take-offs and landings per dollar than any other experience!
Godsh Harbour air is definitely one I need to try next time I need to go to the mainland, These scenic views never get old
Back in the 70s, I was a ramp rat in Vancouver Harbour for (not Hughes) AirWest -- predecessor to Harbour Air. I can say the newer terminal is a giant step up from the facility back in the day. Sadly, however, the Air Affair disco no longer sits in an adjacent hotel overlooking the float plane docks! :)
If you want excitement, be the one docking a Turbo Goose, with the props sitting way forward as one tried to loop the nose cleat. More excitement of deicing the wings of the float planes in winter walking atop frosty wings spraying deicing fluid! Summers were grand, though. Happy memories and very sad memories (crash) from those days.
I still remember that "Twenties" (20 gallons in forward and aft tank) was the usual fuel order for a Twin Otter flight to Victoria harbour.
Great video capturing this magical route, Alex! If you're lucky, you can sometimes catch pods of orcas or humpback whales from the air too.
Living near Departure Bay in Nanaimo, I have used the Seair services several times to get to downtown Vancouver and also to the Richmond Seaplane base connecting to YVR. I highly recommend that service as well. Nice video - thanks!
Great Video! I remember my first time flying Harbour Air's twin otter. The best flight experience of my life!
Im not sure if you’ve taken a helijet before, but you should try! I noticed a comment in the couple in the intro saying you should too 😂 I’ve taken one from Nanaimo to Vancouver, and just gonna say I’ve never been on a helicopter before that so it was great, and it feels a lot like harbour air but a bit more sophisticated, and not with 60 year old aircraft lol
You should try it!
I also had the privilege of sitting up fron last summer. When I was planning a trip out west, I knew Harbour Air had to be in the TO-DO list. Hope you enjoyed it as much as I did :D
I've lived in Vancouver for almost all of my 69 years but have never flown on Harbour Air. I see their aircraft flying overhead all the time. Glad you made it. Decades ago, there were 4 fuel barges; not just Chevron. I don't recall them all but they were essentially the 4 big name oil companies at that time IIRC. Home, Shell, Texaco, and B/A ??? . And, to go further back in history, what you see behind and to the left of the Chevron barge is / was HMCS Discovery which was a Canadian military training facility ( yes, they used the HMCS moniker ). My father did some of his World War II navy training there in 1943.
Alex, What a great video showcasing one of the most unique and special airline companies in the world. Next time take the "puddle jumper" through the islands! I had the distinct pleasure of the flying Harbour Air many years ago between Vancouver and Saltspring Island. I too am an airplane geek just a different kind. Turbulence to me is a rush as I got to fly in small seaplanes as a youngster over Lake of the Woods as well as a been gliding a few times. Then many moons ago I did my first solo jump out of a perfectly good airplane. Time to get airborne again!
that's so awesome that they let you sit in the copilot seat
There is one more nearby Seaplane line, one that has a reputation for rebuilding Beavers with custom pontoons and windows: Kenmore Air on Lake Washington in Seattle. They make a "bubble" window that gives slightly better views near the pontoons and make amphibious pontoons with electric-hydraulic wheels that cab be lowered to let the plane drive up a ramp after landing, or land on a runway after taking off from water and visa-versa.
I flew with them, also in a Turbo-Otter, got a front seat, great view. Super service.
Wow! I work right above the olympic cauldron and I watch these flights come and go every day. I’ve never once thought to take one but after seeing this I think I have to. Such relaxed flying with amazing views.
2:20 Is it that famous? It's unique, I guess. There used to be four in the harbour.
Flew on Harbour Air last May. My wife and I took an absolutely amazing sightseeing flight around the mountains of Vancouver. Alex, try Kenmore Air in Seattle. Great experience as well. Love your videos!!
Beautiful day for a beautiful trip. Worth noting the unusual clarity of the two magnificent lions in the mountains looking down on the lions gate bridge named after them.
We had the luck to fly on seaplanes several times in the Maldives. Their base in Male might be just as busy, it was always great fun!
This was a great video! I flew on HA over 400 times Victoria-Vancouver to see my dad for work. Almost all of that was time spent sitting in the co pilot seat. The turbo otter is such a fun aircraft!
Now you need to add the Beaver bar, Nanaimo, Tofino, ..... etc to your bucket list. Recommend a radial DHC2. My usual and preferred travel around home on Vancouver island
Such a wonderful airline! I once took a trip to Victoria from Northern California in what turned out to be an all De Havilland trip: We took a Dash-8 from Santa Rosa to Seattle and back, then a Harbour AIr DHC-2 Beaver from Seattle to Victoria, day tripped to Vancouver on a Turbo Otter both ways and then flew a Twin Otter back to Seattle. The most exciting leg, by far, was on the Beaver, which is quite a piece of history - and I got to sit in the co-pilot seat!!! While Victoria and Vancouver were beautiful, it's the planes I remember the most...
before i became a tower controller at YVR, i actually did my on the job training at CXH (the harbor atc tower alex mentioned earlier). i loved it there, i always got so many looks when i scanned my badge to go to the tower, i was barely 20 years old and some of the older people that worked in the office buildings in floors below always gave me the wtf look lol.
it really is a unique experience working in that tower, most of the people in that tower were nearing retirement, some of the nicest people you could ever meet, lots of cool war stories (most of them transferred to civilian atc after the wars).
i always go back from time to time now, but man was that a unique job.
That’s awesome you finally flew these guys. I sat in the same seat as you, only on tail number 312. I did the Vancouver harbour tour on the turbo Otter and the Beaver, two separate times. Always worth it.
I’ve flown with Harbour Air a few times and it is a wonderful experience. In fact I had one of the best days of my life when I did the ‘Milk Run’. That was a series of flights, Vancouver Harbour-Ganges (Salt Spring Island)-Maple Bay (Vancouver Island) and return. The Ganges-Maple Bay-Ganges legs were in a Beaver and only lasted a few minutes as the two are only six miles apart! The other flights were in the DHC-3T, one of which was the same aircraft Alex flew on here, C-GOPP. Then, to cap it all, I then got one of the scheduled flights to Victoria Harbour where, like Alex, I sat in the copilot seat in another DHC-3T. The weather was much the same as Alex’s flights, absolutely glorious. Every flight with Harbour Air is memorable, to do five of them in a day was fantastic.
about 40 years ago took bc air seaplane from victoria to vancouver, enjoyed the ride.
We did a tour from Salt Spring island back in 2017 with them. It is one of my top favourite flight stories. We were there for a wedding and we organized it for the family, my mom dad and I to do on one of our free days.
I did it a couple years ago. It was fun...kinda loud, but spectacular because we stayed low all the way to Victoria and back to Seattle. Victoria is a great town for aimless strolling. We saw a parade ...with Mounties! heh
What’s crazy is, this was right before my trip to victoria and was going to ride on one of harbour airs aircraft! in victoria as i’m commenting this. Great video!
I flew on a HA Twin-Otter from Vancouver to Victoria. Being an avid aviation enthusiast since the age of six, it was a fantastic experience for me. With all the De Havilland history of that plane, I was totally at ease. I also had the luck of a piston Beaver fight from Paine Field, Everett, Wa. It belonged to an air heritage museum. My 65 year old pilot was very professional. He showed up wearing a flight suit! Both flights were more enjoyable and memorable than my flight in a B-25 at the Abbotsford Air Show.
Another great video as always. Love it. Sidenote: 3:11 you mentioned and printed MSN: 355, but on the plane itself it says 305.
355 is the plane's build number. 305 is the harbour air in-house number for the plane. With air traffic control, the call sign is Harbour Express 305