Aircraft model
DEHAVILLAND DHC-2 MK. I(L20A)
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.
Compare with…
Put DEHAVILLAND DHC-2 MK. I(L20A) side by side with up to two other models.
- DEHAVILLAND DHC-2 MK. I(L20A)
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 |
Cost of ownership
| Price, low | $300,000 |
|---|---|
| Price, high | $800,000 |
| 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 | 124 |
|---|---|
| Active fleet | 91 |
| Median year built | 1955.0 |
| NTSB events, last 10 years | 11 |
| Fatal events, last 10 years | 5 |
| Events per 1,000 active, last 10 years | 120.88 · thin base (low)1 |
| Personal-flying events per 1,000 active | 10.99 · thin base (low)2 |
| Ownership transfers, last 24 months | 20 |
| Transfers per 100 active | 21.98 · 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 91 active.
- Personal-flying events per 1,000 active: per 1,000 active aircraft · base 91 active.
- Transfers per 100 active: per 100 active aircraft · base 91 active.
Peer scores6
| Peer class | Fixed wing single-engine, piston, 1 engine, 7+ seats |
|---|---|
| Accident record | 6.9 of 101 |
| Severity | 0 of 102 |
| Access | 2.9 of 103 |
| Support | 6.3 of 104 |
| Liquidity | 6.3 of 105 |
| Overall (sum of the categories shown) | 22.4 out of 506 |
- Accident record: class median 28.99 · 17 models in class.
- Severity: class median 25.
- Access: class median 1,586.8.
- Support: class median 76.
- Liquidity: class median 20.59.
- 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.