de Havilland Australia DHA-3

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de Havilland Australia DHA-3 Drover
De Havilland Australia DHA-3
Type: Feeder aircraft
Design country:
Manufacturer:

de Havilland Australia

First flight:

January 23, 1948

Production time:

1948-1953

Number of pieces:

20th

The de Havilland Australia DHA-3 Drover ("drover") was a small three-engine transport aircraft made by the Australian manufacturer de Havilland Australia (DHA) in the 1940s and 1950s. The Drover was a further development of the twin-engine De Havilland DH.104 Dove .

history

After the Second World War there was a need for a successor to the outdated De Havilland DH.84 Dragon biplane . The Dove with its nose wheel landing gear was not suitable for the mostly unpaved slopes in Australia . Therefore, in 1946, the Australian de Havilland subsidiary began developing them.

In contrast to the Dove with its two six-cylinder Gipsy Queen engines, the DHA-3 had three four-cylinder Gipsy Major engines and a tail wheel landing gear . A pilot and eight to nine passengers could be accommodated in the shortened fuselage. The wingspan remained unchanged. The name "Drover" was chosen by the workforce. The DHA-3 Mk.1 made its maiden flight on January 23, 1948.

After the launch, the model's weaknesses became apparent. The engine power turned out to be too low, especially at high temperatures. After the prototype and another machine crashed in 1951/52 due to the failure of the controllable pitch propellers , these were exchanged for Fairey Reed fixed propellers. The aircraft were then given the designation DHA-3 Mk.1F. After the installation of modified landing flaps, the name was changed to DHA-3 Mk.2. Seven of these machines were converted to Lycoming O-360 engines with Hartzell pitch propellers from 1960 and returned to their owners as DHA-3.Mk.3.

After sixteen aircraft had been built by the end of 1952, the problems that arose led to a collapse in demand. The last four of a total of twenty Drover were built in 1953, but could not be sold until 1955/56.

use

The first two DHA-3s went to the Department of Civil Aviation (DCA) in 1949 . In 1950 Qantas received five models and another six from the Royal Flying Doctor Service of Australia (RFDS). The aircraft delivered to Qantas turned out to be unsuitable for traffic to Papua New Guinea . A drover was lost in 1951 due to a propeller failure. Of the four surviving machines, three were taken out of service in 1954/55, the last one was sold in 1960. The DCA sold its last machine in 1959.

Trans Australia Airlines received two DHA-3s in 1952 and a third in 1956. These machines were used on scheduled flights and by the Flying Doctor Service. One plane crashed in January 1952, the others were sold to the RFDS in 1963/65. Of the two machines delivered to the Ministry of Health, one was lost in 1957. Fiji Airways took over two other models that had originally been ordered by Qantas . The last DHA-3 Mk.2 built was sold to a private person in 1956.

The RFDS had its six Drover converted to Mk.3 versions in the early 1960s, but replaced them with the more modern Beechcraft Queen Air at the end of the decade . The inventory also included a seventh machine, which the Ministry of Health acquired and had also converted. The planes provided space for a pilot, two patients and two medical personnel.

Used Drover were later owned by airlines operating in the Western Pacific. A few aircraft were sold to New Zealand and Great Britain. The last production machine was converted into an agricultural aircraft at the end of the 1960s and is now in an airworthy condition owned by Hawker de Havilland Aerospace , the successor to de Havilland Australia.

Users

Versions

  • Drover Mk.1 : Original version with controllable pitch propellers
  • Drover Mk.1F : conversion version with fixed propellers
  • Drover Mk.2 : modified version with new landing flaps
  • Drover Mk.3 : Conversion version with three Lycoming O-360 -A1A engines
    • Mk.3a : modified version with modified tail unit and larger wingspan
    • Mk.3b : modified version with increased take-off weight

Technical data (DHA-3 Mk.2)

Parameter Data
crew 1
Passengers 8-9
length 11.28 m
span 17.39 m
height 3.28 m
Wing area 30.23 m²
Empty mass 1815 kg
Takeoff mass 2950 kg
Cruising speed 201 km / h
Top speed 253 km / h
Range 1450 km
Engines 3 × De Havilland Gipsy Major Mk-10 with 108 kW each

See also

Web links

Commons : De Havilland Australia DHA-3 Drover  - Collection of images, videos and audio files