De Havilland DH.84 Dragon
| De Havilland DH.84 Dragon | |
|---|---|
|
|
| Type: | Transport plane , airliner |
| Design country: | |
| Manufacturer: | |
| First flight: |
November 12, 1932 |
| Commissioning: |
1933 |
| Number of pieces: |
202 |
The De Havilland DH.84 Dragon ( English for kite ) is a small twin-engine transport aircraft made by the British manufacturer de Havilland Aircraft Company in the 1930s.
history
After the single-engine Fox Moth was successfully introduced, the launch customer Hillman's Airways expressed a desire for a larger twin-engine version. De Havilland then developed a biplane that took over the drive and parts of the wings of the Fox Moth. The hull was largely made of plywood. The original name Dragon Moth was shortened to Dragon when it was launched .
The prototype had its maiden flight on November 12, 1932 and was used as a commercial aircraft between London and Paris from April 1933 . It offered space for six passengers.
From the end of 1933, the Dragon 2 was built with single windows and covered landing gear struts. Due to the reduced air resistance , speed, payload and range could be increased slightly.
Production in Great Britain ended after 115 copies in favor of the stronger and more elegant Dragon Rapide . In World War II , De Havilland Australia resumed production and delivered 87 DH.84s to the Royal Australian Air Force as navigation training aircraft . Unlike the Dragon Rapide, the Dragon was equipped with engines that were already in production in Australia for the Tiger Moth . After the war these dragons were also used in civil aviation.
The dragon was also used in the French colonies in Africa.
Versions
- Dragon 1 : twin-engined medium-sized biplane
- Dragon 2 : improved version with individually framed windows and two covered landing gear legs
- DH.84M Dragon : military transport, armed with two machine guns; carried sixteen twenty-pound bombs; Export to Denmark , Iraq and Portugal
use
The Irish airline Aer Lingus started operations with a DH.84 that the name IOLAR ( Irish was baptized for "eagle"). For the fiftieth anniversary in 1986, Aer Lingus acquired a replica of the Dragon, which was redesigned based on the Iolar. This machine, registered EI-ABI, was restored by a group of volunteers over a period of 18 months and flew again on February 24, 2011 on the occasion of Aer Lingus' seventy-fifth anniversary.
The Dragon was used worldwide as a small airliner on short-haul routes.
Military users
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Ethiopia
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Australia
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Brazil
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Denmark - two dragons -
Kingdom of Iraq - eight dragons -
Ireland
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New Zealand
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Austria
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Portugal - three dragons -
Spain
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South African Union
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Turkey
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United Kingdom
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Technical data (DH.84)
| Parameter | Data |
|---|---|
| crew | 1 |
| Passengers | 6-10 |
| length | 10.50 m |
| span | 14.40 m |
| height | 3.10 m |
| Wing area | 34.9 m² |
| Empty mass | 1040 kg |
| Takeoff mass | 1900 kg |
| Top speed | 167 km / h |
| Service ceiling | 3800 m |
| Range | 830 km |
| Engines | two 4-cylinder de Havilland Gipsy Major engines with 97 kW each |
See also
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Dragon flies again , Airplane Monthly, May 2011, p. 12