View allAll Photos Tagged RAPIDE
RIAT 2012
RAF Fairford, UK
5th July 2012
DH.89 Dragon-Rapide (G-AGTM) and Avro Anson (WD412) break formation for landing.
N683DH (G-AHXW)
de Havilland DH.89A Dragon Rapide Mk.IV
Historic Flight Foundation
Built 1944
C/N 6782
In at Sealand for fabric work, now painted as BEA one side and Railway Air Services the other. Must surely be ready for return home to Everett soon and the 2018 airshow season.
Built by Brush Coachworks during WW2 as a Dominie I and registered to the Ministry of Supply as NR683 and served with 5 MU (Maintenance Unit) out of Speke - the current Liverpool John Lennon airport, presumably ferrying parts and mechanics. After the war in Jul 1946 for just one month it was taken on by AAJC (Associated Airways Joint Committee) with this civil reg, which was the replacement of the NAC (National Air Communications). Basically this was a body to administer use of civilian airfields and civilian aircraft operators to ensure essential civilian air services, military co-operation flights and movement of essential civilian materials such as blood in times of war. It did serve with BEA post war for almost 7 years from Aug 1946 before being acquired by Aeradio of Croydon in Apr 1953 then Fairey Aviation (of Swordfish fame) as a survey aircraft based in White Waltham, then GRM Airwork of Staverton in Feb 1968 and was exported to the USA in 1971. with various individuals associated with the EAA Museum Foundation of Oshkosh WI. To the Historic Flight Foundation in Jan 2017.
UPDATE JUN 2024
Crashed at the 2018 Abbotsford airshow, registration is still current so presumably back at Everett being rebuilt. asn.flightsafety.org/wikibase/214384 www.bst-tsb.gc.ca/eng/rapports-reports/aviation/2018/a18p...
The de Havilland DH.89 Dragon Rapide was a British short-haul passenger airliner of the 1930s. Designed by the de Havilland company in late 1933 as a faster and more comfortable successor to the DH.84 Dragon Powered by 2 de Havilland Gipsy Queen 3 inline engine, 200 hp each. G-AGJG (X7344).
The beauty and the charm of the thirties... Yes, they flew passengers in these. In its military version (which this one may well be), it ran (flew, quite often) under the name of Dominie. Anyone out there knows what a Dominie is? No, not a pizza.
The plane was conceived in or before 1935. Despite obsolescence, de Havilland produced them until 1946!