De Havilland Dragon Rapide
Building on the commercial success of the De Havilland DH.84 Dragon, and filling the need for a faster, more capable aircraft, De Havilland came up with the DH 89 Dragon Six - sometimes called the Dragon Rapide, and later just Rapide - the prototype first flying in April 1934. With its DH Gipsy Major 6 engines of 200 hp, and capable of carrying eight passengers, it was an instant success in the civil market.
The De Havilland factory at Hatfield was soon occupied with orders for companies, and airlines such as Olley Air Services and Hillman Airways Ltd. In response to requests to improve landing performance, De Havilland fitted small flaps under the lower wings from 1936, which steepened the glide angle and prevented the problem of ‘floating’ which had affected the Rapide.
The RAF ordered two DH.89a aircraft as communication machines for No. 24 Squadron in 1938, but this was just the start of the flood. With the outbreak of war, orders poured in for aircraft for navigation training, radio operator training, air ambulances and more communications machines. These military aircraft were called Dominie T.1, and given the designation of DH.89b; they joined no less than 205 civilian machines which had been ‘impressed’ for both RAF and Royal Navy use.
With Hatfield starting to concentrate on building the impressive, new, Mosquito, De Havillands needed a sub-contractor to build the Dominie. They chose Brush Coachworks Ltd of Loughborough, Leicestershire, a company who normally built ‘bus bodies (which used a great deal of wood framework), and had built Avro 504 aircraft during the Great War. The Dominie was a true workhorse during World War II, with some even being supplied to USAAF units in the UK in a form of ‘reverse Lend-Lease’!
The shape of British commercial aviation following WWII was to have been dictated by the Brabazon Report. However, some of the recommended ‘Brabazon Types’ were slow coming into service, and the newly-formed nationalised airline, British European Airways, brought into being by the new Labour Government, had to launch with a diverse mix of ex-RAF Dakotas, captured ex-Luftwaffe Ju52/3m aircraft, and the ever-reliable ‘demobbed’ Dominies, now converted to civilian DH.89a standard.
Formed in 1946, BEA started absorbing the small independent airlines like West Coast Air Services and Scottish Airways, and their fleets of Rapides; in fact, so many were acquired that BEA had to start selling excess aircraft off. Finally, 19 of them were formed into the ‘Islander' class in 1950 and, in the fashion of the day, given names including ‘RMA Cecil John Rhodes’ and ‘RMA Rudyard Kipling’ (RMA meaning ‘Royal Mail Aircraft’, being authorised to carry mail). The ‘Islander’ class were used on short ‘thin’ routes such as those serving the Scottish Highlands and Islands, the Channel Islands and the Scilly Isles, sometimes operating from flat, hard stretches of beach.
Here above we see the immaculately-restored G-AGSH, c/n 6884, formerly ‘NR808’ in military service, parked at Old Warden aerodrome, awaiting the Shuttleworth Collection's 2015 Wings and Wheels Show. It is in BEA silver and red livery, and originally bore the ‘Islander’ Class name of ‘RMA James Kier Hardie’ - a prominent Scottish politician and one of the founders of the Labour Party. It is now named ‘Jemma Meeson’, after the daughter of the current owner.
G-AGSH has been operated by Channel Island Airways, been on the Irish Register (as EI-AJO), and operated by the RAF Parachuting Association. Finally it has come to roost at Old Warden, and we can all enjoy this survivor of the early days of post-war European flying, particularly at the wonderful air shows that the Shuttleworth Trust produces. - from shortfinals blog.
De Havilland Dragon Rapide
Building on the commercial success of the De Havilland DH.84 Dragon, and filling the need for a faster, more capable aircraft, De Havilland came up with the DH 89 Dragon Six - sometimes called the Dragon Rapide, and later just Rapide - the prototype first flying in April 1934. With its DH Gipsy Major 6 engines of 200 hp, and capable of carrying eight passengers, it was an instant success in the civil market.
The De Havilland factory at Hatfield was soon occupied with orders for companies, and airlines such as Olley Air Services and Hillman Airways Ltd. In response to requests to improve landing performance, De Havilland fitted small flaps under the lower wings from 1936, which steepened the glide angle and prevented the problem of ‘floating’ which had affected the Rapide.
The RAF ordered two DH.89a aircraft as communication machines for No. 24 Squadron in 1938, but this was just the start of the flood. With the outbreak of war, orders poured in for aircraft for navigation training, radio operator training, air ambulances and more communications machines. These military aircraft were called Dominie T.1, and given the designation of DH.89b; they joined no less than 205 civilian machines which had been ‘impressed’ for both RAF and Royal Navy use.
With Hatfield starting to concentrate on building the impressive, new, Mosquito, De Havillands needed a sub-contractor to build the Dominie. They chose Brush Coachworks Ltd of Loughborough, Leicestershire, a company who normally built ‘bus bodies (which used a great deal of wood framework), and had built Avro 504 aircraft during the Great War. The Dominie was a true workhorse during World War II, with some even being supplied to USAAF units in the UK in a form of ‘reverse Lend-Lease’!
The shape of British commercial aviation following WWII was to have been dictated by the Brabazon Report. However, some of the recommended ‘Brabazon Types’ were slow coming into service, and the newly-formed nationalised airline, British European Airways, brought into being by the new Labour Government, had to launch with a diverse mix of ex-RAF Dakotas, captured ex-Luftwaffe Ju52/3m aircraft, and the ever-reliable ‘demobbed’ Dominies, now converted to civilian DH.89a standard.
Formed in 1946, BEA started absorbing the small independent airlines like West Coast Air Services and Scottish Airways, and their fleets of Rapides; in fact, so many were acquired that BEA had to start selling excess aircraft off. Finally, 19 of them were formed into the ‘Islander' class in 1950 and, in the fashion of the day, given names including ‘RMA Cecil John Rhodes’ and ‘RMA Rudyard Kipling’ (RMA meaning ‘Royal Mail Aircraft’, being authorised to carry mail). The ‘Islander’ class were used on short ‘thin’ routes such as those serving the Scottish Highlands and Islands, the Channel Islands and the Scilly Isles, sometimes operating from flat, hard stretches of beach.
Here above we see the immaculately-restored G-AGSH, c/n 6884, formerly ‘NR808’ in military service, parked at Old Warden aerodrome, awaiting the Shuttleworth Collection's 2015 Wings and Wheels Show. It is in BEA silver and red livery, and originally bore the ‘Islander’ Class name of ‘RMA James Kier Hardie’ - a prominent Scottish politician and one of the founders of the Labour Party. It is now named ‘Jemma Meeson’, after the daughter of the current owner.
G-AGSH has been operated by Channel Island Airways, been on the Irish Register (as EI-AJO), and operated by the RAF Parachuting Association. Finally it has come to roost at Old Warden, and we can all enjoy this survivor of the early days of post-war European flying, particularly at the wonderful air shows that the Shuttleworth Trust produces. - from shortfinals blog.