Aircraft model
DEHAVILLAND DHC2 MK1 (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 DHC2 MK1 (L20A) side by side with up to two other models.
- DEHAVILLAND DHC2 MK1 (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 | $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 | 2 |
|---|---|
| Active fleet | 0 |
| Median year built | — |
| NTSB events, last 10 years | 0 |
| Fatal events, last 10 years | 0 |
| Events per 1,000 active, last 10 years | — |
| Personal-flying events per 1,000 active | — |
| Ownership transfers, last 24 months | 0 |
| Transfers per 100 active | — |
| Airworthiness directives | 0 |
| Directives, last 5 years | 0 |
| Rate confidence | none |
Peer scores6
| Peer class | Fixed wing single-engine, turbo-prop, 1 engine, 7+ seats |
|---|---|
| Accident record | —1 |
| Severity | —2 |
| Access | —3 |
| Support | 0.3 of 104 |
| Liquidity | —5 |
- Accident record: class median 4.81 · 11 models in class.
- Severity: class median 28.57.
- Access: class median 3,668.5.
- Support: class median 64.
- Liquidity: class median 19.78.
- 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.