It hangs in the air, seconds before touching down on the short runway of the Toronto Island airport.

This Dash 8-400 was designed by De Havilland Aircraft, where my father, an aircraft engineer, worked in the 1940s. It’s a descendant of DH’s famed short takeoff and landing (STOL) aircraft. Their best known STOLs are the Beaver and the Otter, which continue to fly after many decades, from snow, ice, water, and tiny grass strips, notably in the Canadian north, the Amazon rainforest, and the African bush.

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