De Havilland Canada has acquired the oldest still-active Dash 8 and is returning the aircraft to Canada for its historic aircraft collection. The Dash 8-100, which has flown for more than 42 years, left Cairns on 9 October for an planned eight-day ferry flight to St. Thomas, Ontario, covering approximately 23,900 kilometres with 15 intermediate stops.
The aircraft began its career as a De Havilland Canada demonstration aircraft in Australia during the mid-1980s before spending almost four decades with Australian operators. It flew for Skytrans as VH-QQB from 2016 until July 2026, when the airline retired it after more than 61,500 flight cycles and 42.5 years of service. Cairns-based dealer Air Pursuits acquired the aircraft before selling it to De Havilland Canada.
The aircraft was removed from the Australian register in early October and received the Canadian registration C-FMQA while remaining in Australia. The reported routing included Darwin, Denpasar, Johor Bahru, Banda Aceh, Hambantota, Surat, Muscat, Bahrain, Hurghada, Heraklion, Athens, Zagreb, Prague, Inverness, Reykjavík, Qaqortoq and Goose Bay. Planned flight time was approximately 40 hours.
Its preservation will retain a representative of the original Dash 8 generation, linking the type’s early demonstration programme with decades of Australian regional operations. The reported ferry plan does not independently confirm the aircraft’s arrival in St. Thomas or that every listed stop was completed as scheduled.