de Havilland Dragon Rapide

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/De_Hav..._Dragon_Rapide

The de Havilland DH.89 Dragon Rapide was a 1930s British short-haul biplane
airliner for 6–8 passengers. It proved an economical and durable craft, despite
its relatively primitive plywood construction.

In late 1933, the Dragon Rapide was designed at the de Havilland company as a
faster and more comfortable successor to the DH.84 Dragon. It was in effect a
twin-engined, scaled-down version of the four-engined DH.86 Express. It shared
many common features with the DH.86 Express, including its tapered wings,
streamlined fairings and Gipsy Six engines but it demonstrated none of the
operational vices of the Express and went on to become perhaps the most
successful British-built short-haul commercial passenger aircraft of the 1930s.


Role
Short-haul airliner

Manufacturer
de Havilland

First flight
17 April 1934

Primary user
Royal Air Force

Number built
731

On 17 April 1934, the prototype aircraft first flew at Hatfield and 205 aircraft
were built for airlines and other owners all around the world, before the
outbreak of World War II. Originally called the "Dragon Six" it was first
marketed as "Dragon Rapide", although later it was popularly referred to as the
"Rapide". From 1936, with the fitting of improved trailing edge flaps, they were
redesignated DH.89As.

In the summer of 1934, the type entered service with UK-based airlines, with
Hillman Airways Ltd being first to take delivery in July. From August 1934,
Railway Air Services (RAS) operated a fleet of Dragon Rapides on routes linking
London, the north of England and on to Northern Ireland and Scotland. The RAS
DH.89s were named after places on the network, for example "Star of Lancashire".

Isle of Man Air Services operated a fleet of Rapides on scheduled services from
Ronaldsway Airport near Castletown to airports in north-west England including
Blackpool, Liverpool and Manchester. Some of its aircraft had been transferred
to it after operation by Railway Air Services.

Edward, Prince of Wales (later Edward VIII), owned a Dragon Rapide (G-ADDD),
which he used for royal duties. He flew this aircraft to London on his accession
as king in 1936, being the first British monarch to fly.

One famous incident was in July 1936 when two British SIS agents, Cecil Bebb and
Major Hugh Pollard, flew Francisco Franco in Dragon Rapide G-ACYR from the
Canary Islands to Spanish Morocco, at the start of the military rebellion which
began the Spanish Civil War. It is on display in the Museo del Aire, Madrid.

At the start of World War II, many (Dragon) Rapides were impressed by the
British armed forces and served under the name de Havilland Dominie, for
passenger and communications duties. Over 500 more were built for military use,
powered by improved Gipsy Queen engines, to bring total production to 731. The
Dominies were mainly used by the Royal Air Force and Royal Navy for radio and
navigation training. Postwar they were used as communications aircraft by Royal
Naval air station flights.

Other civilian Dragon Rapides continued to fly for UK airlines as part of the
Associated Airways Joint Committee (AAJC). The AAJC co-ordinated the UKs wartime
scheduled services which were entirely operated on over-water routes.

After the war, many ex-RAF survivors entered commercial service; in 1958, 81
examples were still flying on the British register. Dominie production was by de
Havilland and Brush Coachworks Ltd, the latter making the greater proportion.

The DH.89 proved an economical and durable aircraft, despite its relatively
primitive plywood construction and many were still flying in the early 2000s.
Several Dragon Rapides are operational in the UK and several operators including
Classic Wings and Plane Heritage offer pleasure flights in them. After the
Second World War de Havilland introduced a Dragon Rapide replacement, the de
Havilland Dove.

Specifications (Dragon Rapide)

General characteristics
Crew: 1
Capacity: 8 passengers
Length: 34 ft 6 in (10.5 m)
Wingspan: 48 ft 0 in (14.6 m)
Height: 10 ft 3 in (3.1 m)
Wing area: 340 ft² (32 m²)
Empty weight: 3,230 lb (1,460 kg)
Loaded weight: 5,500 lb (2,490 kg)
Powerplant: 2 × de Havilland Gipsy Six inline engine, 200 hp (149 kW) each

Performance
Maximum speed: 157 mph (136 kn, 253 km/h) at 1,000 ft (305 m)
Range: 573 mi (498 nmi, 920 km)
Service ceiling: 16,700 ft (5,090 m)
Rate of climb: 867 ft/min (4.3 m/s)
Wing loading: 16 lb/ft² (79 kg/m²)
Power/mass: 0.036 hp/lb (60 W/kg)





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