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The Worlds only De Havilland D.H.84
Dragon "Iolar" currently maintained in flying condition. It is owned
and operated by Aer Lingus. The D.H. 84 first entered operational service in
December 1932. |
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The
Military version of the Dragon Rapide was known as the Dominie
Mk 1. It was employed by the RAF as a trainer and liaison aircraft. Many were
converted for civilian use when hostilities ceased. |
A Dragon Rapide painted in the livery of Alderney Airlines.
728 Dragon Rapide's were built, and served the regional and smaller airlines of the world
for many years. |
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| This De Havilland D.H.89 Dragon Rapide, is owned and operated by
Air Atlantique. Until recently it was the only Rapide in the U.K. licensed to carry
passengers, it has since been joined by two other examples. The Museum at
Caernarfon contains many Dragon Rapide Photographs and artefacts. For Fans
of the Rapide a visit is highly recommended. Now based at Coventry G-AIDL
occasionally visits Caernarfon to give pleasure flights. Power for the Dragon
Rapide was provided by two De Havilland Gipsy Queen 3 inline piston engines of 200 h.p.
each. De Havilland were one of the few British Aircraft makers to build their own
engines. The service ceiling 19,500 feet (5,944 m), maximum range with standard
fuel tanks was 578 miles (930 km) The take off run is 870 feet (265 m), the landing run
510 feet (155 m). The Rapide was sometimes refereed to as a Gentlemen's Ariel
Carriage. The Rapide was designed to land into wind, and can be somewhat tricky to
operate in cross winds. Cruising speed was 132 mph (212 km/h) with a maximum speed of 157
mph (253 km/h), the initial rate of climb was 867 feet (264 m) per minute. The cockpit
provided space for one pilot, the cabin accommodation for eight passengers. The
empty weight was 3,276 lb. (1,486 kg), and the Maximum take-off weight 5,500 lb.
(2,495 kg) As a small child living in the Island of Jersey the Rapide was a familiar
sight, it is the first aircraft I ever flew in, when Grandfather chartered a Rapide of
Jersey Airlines and flew the family to France. |
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| The Vickers-Armstrongs Viscount first appeared in 1950. Powered by four Rolls-Royce Dart
505 propeller turbines giving a cruising speed of 302 mph. It proved to be a revolution in
air transport providing levels of passenger comfort far superior to piston engined
rivals. It went on to serve airlines World wide until the early 1990's. |
The de Havilland Comet was the first turbojet powered airliner
to enter service in the world. Unfortunatly early version had a fatal fault in the
window design. After lengthy investigation the aircraft was redesigned. By
this time the Boeing 707 had appeared and while later Comets served may airlines
faithfully the aircraft never achived the success of it's US rivals. |
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| The
Aérospatiale/British Aerospace Concorde, is the worlds only
airliner that has operated on regular scheduled routes at supersonic speed. Power is
provided by four Rolls Royce/SNECMA Olympus 593 Mk 610 after-burning turbojet
engines. Cruising speed for optimum range is Mach 2.04 1,354 mph (2,179
km/h) The Concorde prototype first took to the air on2 March 1969, and
scheduled services began on 21 January 1976. Concorde has often been the most
punctual type operated by BA. |
