De Havilland DH.89 Dragon Rapide
| De Havilland DH.89 Dragon Rapide | |
|---|---|
 De Havilland DH.89A Dragon Rapide 6 (G-AGTM), 1944 |
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| Type: | Airliner |
| Design country: | |
| Manufacturer: | |
| First flight: |
April 17, 1934 |
| Production time: |
1934 to 1946 |
| Number of pieces: |
731 |
The De Havilland DH.89 Dragon Rapide is a double-decker , twin-engine, short-haul passenger aircraft produced by the British manufacturer De Havilland Aircraft Company in the 1930s.
history
The Dragon Rapide was a further development of the DH.84 Dragon , as its engines had proven to be too weak. In the event of an engine failure, the altitude could no longer be maintained. In the DH.89, new six-cylinder Gipsy Six engines with 200 hp were used instead of the only 130 hp Gipsy Major engines . In addition, more passengers could be transported in the enlarged cabin, and larger wings were also used. The designation of the design was initially DH.89 Dragon Six , but at the end of 1934 the then managing director of De Havilland Francis St Barbe arranged for a change to be made to Dragon Rapide in order to make the higher performance and speed recognizable in the name. It was later shortened to Rapide .
The first flight took place on April 17, 1934. From July 1934 the aircraft were delivered. Changes to the landing flaps led to the DH.89A version in 1937, some of which were delivered with Gipsy Queen engines. The DH.89M was a military transporter intended for export.
In 1936 a DH.89 flew the Spanish General Franco from the Canary Islands to Spanish Morocco . This was the beginning of the subsequent Spanish Civil War .
Around 200 copies were built up to the beginning of the Second World War and used in civil aviation. During the war, more than 500 other aircraft powered by Gipsy Queen engines were built, some of which were also built in other plants, such as the Brush Electrical Engineering Company . The DH.89B Mk.1 was used to train navigators, the Mk.2 served as a lightly armed reconnaissance aircraft and a liaison aircraft. The machines were called de Havilland Dominie by the Royal Air Force .
A total of 731 machines had been built by July 1946. Some machines are still flying today. In the Imperial War Museum Duxford two DH.89s serve for sightseeing flights over the airfield. Two other machines are still flying in New Zealand . The only airworthy Dragon Rapide in Germany is in the Flying Museum in Großenhain.
On June 16, 1960, eight youth and adult national football players from Denmark and two crew members died in the crash of a DH.89 of the Danish Air Force shortly after take-off in Copenhagen.
On August 11, 2018, a museum owned machine crashed shortly after take-off during an air show in Abbotsford, Canada , and was destroyed in the process. The five passengers were only slightly injured.
Production numbers
The Dragon Rapide or Dominie was built in Great Britain by De Havilland in Hatfield until the end of 1942 and by Brush Coachworks from 1943.
| version | Hatfield | Brush coachworks | total |
|---|---|---|---|
| DH.89B | 183 | 341 | 524 |
| year | number |
|---|---|
| 1939 | 21st |
| 1940 | 24 |
| 1941 | 99 |
| 1942 | 39 |
| 1943 | 36 |
| 1944 | 150 |
| 1945 | 106 |
| 1946 | 49 |
| total | 524 |
The RAF received two additional DH.89s in 1935 and two more in 1938. This gave the RAF 528 aircraft. A total of 728 DH.89 were built. In addition, one DH.89 was built in Canada and two at De Havilland Witney from spare parts, bringing the total to 731 DH.89s.
use
Civil users
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Military users
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Technical specifications
| Parameter | Data de Havilland DH.89A |
|---|---|
| crew | 2 |
| Passengers | 8th |
| length | 10.5 m |
| span | 14.6 m |
| height | 3.1 m |
| Wing area | 31.6 m² |
| Empty mass | 1460 kg |
| Takeoff mass | 2490 kg |
| drive | 2 × 6-cylinder in-line engine de Havilland Gipsy Six with 200 HP each (approx. 150 kW) |
| Top speed | 253 km / h at an altitude of 300 m |
| Service ceiling | 5090 m |
| Range | 837 km |
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Colin Doffs: Database - DH.89 Dragon Rapide. In: Airplane Monthly. April 2004, p. 39.
- ^ History. In: Brush Traction. Retrieved March 21, 2016 .
- ↑ Flyulykken 1960 ( memento of April 5, 2009 in the Internet Archive ), report on the website of the Danish Association on the plane crash ( Danish ).
- ↑ Plane crash sends 5 to hospital after Abbotsford Airshow. In: CBC Online. Retrieved September 1, 2018 .
- ↑ a b c Public Record Office (National Archives), Kew, inventory AVIA 10/311; John F. Hamlin: The de Havilland Dragon / Rapide Family. Tunbridge Wells 2003, p. 45 ff.