After program certification, production of the Series 400 Twin Otter ramped up to satisfy a two-year sales backlog, reaching its height of production at a rate of 24 aircraft per year. Within five years, Viking was looking towards completion of its 100th Series 400 Twin Otter.
To mark the significance of this accomplishment, Viking set out on a Twin Otter promotional "whistle-stop" tour of Northern Canada in 2015 to coincide with the 50th Anniversary of the legacy De Havilland Twin Otter’s first flight in 1965.
During this tour, factory-new wing ribs were sent via Twin Otter to the tour stop locations for people in the local community to sign, and these wing ribs were allocated for installation in Viking's 100th aircraft. The Twin Otter is often credited as helping to build Canada's North, so it was only natural for the people of the North to help build Viking's 100th Series 400 Twin Otter.
Wing ribs were also signed by employees of key program suppliers, along with Viking employees in Victoria and Calgary. The entire collection of signed wing ribs were installed, and in early 2016, the 100th Viking Series 400 Twin Otter MSN 944 was complete.
Like the legacy De Havilland Twin Otters that came before, the first 100 Viking-built Series 400 Twin Otters have been exported around the world for service in unique roles and remote locations where their robust design, exceptional performance capabilities and renowned reliability is second to none.