de Havilland DHC-2 MK 1
Everything here is true of every aircraft of the type, not of any one aircraft.
This is the Beaver registered under its US Army designation: the L-20A, redesignated U-6A in 1962, of which the Army and Air Force bought several hundred. Mechanically it is the standard DHC-2 — a 450 hp radial, a high wing, a tailwheel, and the load-carrying ability that made the type famous.
What differs is the paperwork rather than the aeroplane. Ex-military Beavers came onto the civil register through surplus sales, and the ones that were properly converted hold a standard airworthiness certificate against the civil type certificate; some did not, and a buyer must establish which. Military service history also means a hard life to check for. Beyond that the type's economics apply: an expensive radial overhaul, twenty-seven gallons an hour, 125 knots, and a resale value that has risen for decades because nothing else does the job.
Variants of the de Havilland Canada DHC-2 Beaver
Also consider
- Cessna 207AScore 23.4/50 · 8 seats · 143 kt
- Piper PA-32R-300Score 23.2/50 · 6 seats · 155 kt
- Piper PA-32-301Score 22.9/50 · 6 seats · 155 kt
Compare with…
Put de Havilland DHC-2 MK 1 side by side with up to three other models.
- de Havilland DHC-2 MK 1
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Watch this model
One email a day if anything changes: new ADs and NTSB records.
What it is
| Seats | 7 |
|---|---|
| Landing gear | taildragger |
| Engines | 1 |
| Engine | Pratt & Whitney R-985-AN-1 Wasp Junior (radial) |
| Horsepower | 450 hp |
| Fuel | 100LL |
| Certification basis | CAR3 |
| Production start | 1951 |
| Production end | 1960 |
| Endorsements required | high-performance;tailwheel |
Performance
| Cruise speed | 125 KTAS |
|---|---|
| Range | 455 nm |
| Service ceiling | 18,000 ft |
| Climb rate | 1,020 ft/min |
| Stall speed (Vso) | 45 KCAS |
| Takeoff over 50 ft | 1,000 ft |
| Landing over 50 ft | 1,000 ft |
Load and fuel
| Seats | 7 |
|---|---|
| Useful load | 2,100 lb |
| Full-fuel payload | 1,626 lb |
| Max takeoff weight | 5,100 lb |
| Empty weight | 3,000 lb |
| Usable fuel | 79 gal |
| Fuel burn at cruise | 27 gal/h |
Estimated cost to own
An estimate, not a quote. Change the inputs to match how you would fly it. Defaults are for a single-engine piston, 5 or more seats.
| Fuel (burn × price) | hourly | $200/h | $20,007/yr |
| Engine reserve (overhaul ÷ TBO) | hourly | $7,917/yr | |
| Maintenance reserve | hourly | not counted | |
| Insurance | fixed | $2,800/yr | |
| Annual inspection | fixed | $2,200/yr | |
| Hangar | fixed | $6,000/yr | |
| Rental rate, wet | for comparison |
Not in the totals: Maintenance reserve. We have no reliable default for this line; enter your figure to include it.
How these estimates are built. Fuel = this model's typical burn x the national average price from AirNav's Fuel Price Report (100LL $7.41, Jet A $7.66 per gallon, 5 Oct 2026; your airport may differ by $2 or more). Engine reserve = typical overhaul cost / TBO for this engine. The remaining lines are class-level defaults, not quotes for this aircraft: annual inspection is the base inspection fee (findings are counted in the per-hour maintenance line); insurance assumes an instrument-rated owner with time in type and a $1M liability limit - less experienced pilots commonly pay 1.5-2x; hangar and tie-down are national mid-tier figures, with rural and metro options; the rental rate is a 2026 flight-school rate for a comparable aircraft, including fuel. Twin and turboprop maintenance defaults are estimates, not published figures. Sources: AirNav, BWI Aviation Insurance (2019-2026), Flying (May 2026), Savvy Aviation, American Flight Schools, published airport rate sheets. Every default is editable - change any number to match your situation. Depreciation, taxes, financing and major upgrades are not included. Depreciation is not included. An estimate, not a quote.
Cost of ownership
| Price, low | $325,000 |
|---|---|
| Price, high | $835,000 |
| Prices as of | 2026 |
| Engine TBO | 1,200 h |
| Overhaul cost, low | $70,000 |
| Overhaul cost, high | $120,000 |
The fleet and its record
| Registered, all time | 78 |
|---|---|
| Active fleet | 44 |
| Median year built | 1956.0 |
| NTSB events, last 10 years | 4 |
| Fatal events, last 10 years | 1 |
| Events per 1,000 active, last 10 years | 90.91 · thin base (low)1 |
| Personal-flying events per 1,000 active | 0 · thin base (low)2 |
| Ownership transfers, last 24 months | 6 |
| Transfers per 100 active | 13.64 · thin base (low)3 |
| Airworthiness directives | 0 |
| Directives, last 5 years | 0 |
| Rate confidence | low |
- Events per 1,000 active, last 10 years: per 1,000 active aircraft · base 44 active.
- Personal-flying events per 1,000 active: per 1,000 active aircraft · base 44 active.
- Transfers per 100 active: per 100 active aircraft · base 44 active.
Peer scores6
| Peer class | Fixed wing single-engine, piston, 1 engine, 7+ seats |
|---|---|
| Accident record | 7.5 of 101 |
| Severity | 7.5 of 102 |
| Access | 1 of 103 |
| Support | 7.5 of 104 |
| Liquidity | 0.8 of 105 |
| Overall (sum of the categories shown) | 24.3 out of 506 |
These record scores treat de Havilland DHC-2 MK 1 as one design with the same aircraft registered under other names: it includes 76 aircraft registered as DEHAVILLAND BEAVER DHC-2 MK.1; includes 69 aircraft registered as DEHAVILLAND DHC-2; includes 38 aircraft registered as DEHAVILLAND BEAVER DHC-2; includes 20 aircraft registered as DEHAVILLAND DHC-2 MK.I; includes 7 aircraft registered under DEHAVILLAND-KENMORE; includes 4 aircraft registered under DEHAVILLAND ACFT CANADA LTD; includes 3 aircraft registered under DEHAVILLAND ACFT OF CANADA LTD; includes 2 aircraft registered under DEHAVILLAND-SHAWANO; includes . Prices are not combined.
- Accident record: class median 32.47 · 13 models in class.
- Severity: class median 20.83.
- Access: class median 1,444.5.
- Support: class median 167.
- Liquidity: class median 21.98.
- Each of the five categories places the model within its peer class, from 0 (the worst of the class) to 10 (the best): a position among comparable models, not a grade. The overall score is the sum of the categories shown that are scored, out of 10 for each (50 when all five are); it is given only when at least 4 of the five are scored, and it can be set against another model's only when both are in the same peer class and scored on the same categories. When accident record and severity cannot be scored because the model has too few records, the other three give a partial score out of 30, labelled as such; it is never set against a full score.
Data as of: FAA registry Sep 28 · NTSB Oct 2 · ADs Oct 6 · scores Sep 30