De Havilland DH.66 Hercules
| De Havilland DH.66 Hercules | |
|---|---|
|
|
| Type: | Airliner |
| Design country: | |
| Manufacturer: | |
| First flight: |
September 30, 1926 |
| Commissioning: |
1926 |
| Number of pieces: |
11 |
The De Havilland DH.66 Hercules was a three-engine airliner made by the British manufacturer de Havilland Aircraft Company in the 1920s.
history
The DH.66 Hercules was commissioned by Imperial Airways , which had taken over the airmail service of the Royal Air Force between Cairo and Baghdad . In contrast to the DH.10 previously used , the new aircraft was able to carry seven passengers in addition to the post. The disadvantage was the low speed and the high operating costs.
The prototype made its maiden flight on September 30, 1926 . Imperial Airways initially acquired five machines. The first scheduled flight began in Croydon on December 27, 1926 and reached Delhi on January 8, 1927.
A version designed for fourteen passengers was created for West Australian Airways , which wanted to replace their DH.50 with a larger aircraft. On June 2, 1927, the new model flew between Perth and Adelaide for the first time . Two of the four planes were later sold to Imperial Airways, which had lost three planes in crashes. Imperial had previously ordered two more Hercules from de Havilland.
After another crash, Imperial Airways put the remaining DH.66 out of service in December 1935. The South African Air Force acquired three aircraft. The last machine left in Australia was destroyed by the war in 1942.
construction
The Hercules was designed as a double-decker and had a triple tail unit and a tail wheel landing gear. The fuselage consisted of a fabric-covered tubular steel frame, the inside of the cabin was lined with plywood. Three Bristol Jupiter VI radial engines were used as propulsion .
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Technical specifications
| Parameter | Data |
|---|---|
| crew | 3 |
| Passengers | 7-8 |
| length | 17.08 m |
| span | 24.24 m |
| height | 5.56 m |
| Wing area | 143.7 m² |
| Empty mass | 4,110 kg |
| Takeoff mass | 7,076 kg |
| Top speed | 208 km / h |
| Service ceiling | 3,990 m |
| Range | 845 km |
| Engines | three 9-cylinder radial engines Bristol Jupiter VI with 313 kW each |
See also
Web links
- History of Imperial Airways (English)
- Image and description on aviastar.org (English)