The Wild Orca seaplane in all its glory. Fun fact: though the DHC-3 is nearly 2x as long as an adult male orca, a fully-grown orca will weigh nearly twice as much as this plane – Photo: Lee Zerrilla | AirlineReporter

At a sun-filled event, Kenmore Air unveiled the Wild Orca seaplane, a 1954 de Havilland Canada DHC-3 Turbo Otter that’s been dressed up in the familiar markings of Orcinus Orca.

Inside and out, this plane has been made over with all-things Orca, from the sleek, stunning paint job to the custom embroidery on the cabin bulkhead.  The whale paint job isn’t just for fun, however, and as it traverses the skies of the Pacific Northwest, hundreds or thousands of feet above the water, its goal is to bring attention to our friends below the surface.

The tale of the tail begins with longtime Kenmore Air pilots Anna Gullickson and Michael Hays.  In 2014, the pair founded Wild Orca, a Washington State-based non-profit aimed at raising public awareness and funds for these majestic mammals and the organizations that support them.  Listening to either of them speak, it becomes apparent that their bird’s-eye perspective gives them a personal connection to the Northwest’s Orca population.