De Havilland Dragon Rapide

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The de Havilland DH 89 Dragon Rapide was a successful British short-haul passenger airliner of the 1930s. Designed as a successor to the DH 84 Dragon, it featured the tapered wings and streamlined undercarriage fairings of the four-engined DH 86 Express.

In 1936 General Franco was carried in a DH 89 on his escape from Canarias to the Spanish Morocco, at the start of the Civil War.

At the start of World War II many Dragon Rapides were impressed by the British armed forces and, together with fresh RAF orders, served under the designation de Havilland Dominie. They were used for passengers duties and radio navigation training.

731 Rapides were built. They have proved astonishingly durable with many still flying into the 21st century. At the IWM Duxford air museum in Cambridgeshire, UK, a pair of Rapides is used daily for short pleasure flights around the airfield. A pair of Rapides are also airworthy in New Zealand.

[edit] Military Operators

• Australia
• South Africa
• Spain
• United Kingdom
  • Royal Navy, Fleet Air Arm
  • Royal Air Force
• United States

[edit] 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 (31.6 m²)
• Empty weight: 3,230 lb (1,460 kg)
• Loaded weight: 5,500 lb (2,490 kg)
• Max takeoff weight: lb (kg)
• Powerplant: 2× de Havilland Gipsy Six , 200 hp (150 kW) each

Performance

• Maximum speed: 157 mph at 1,000 ft (253 km/h at 300 m)
• Range: 573 mi (920 km)
• Service ceiling: 16,700 ft (5,090 m)
• Rate of climb: 867 ft/min (4.3 m/s)
• Wing loading: lb/ft² (kg/m²)
• Power/mass: hp/lb (kW/kg)

[edit] Related content

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Related development

de Havilland Dragon - de Havilland Express

 

Designation sequence

DH 86 - DH 87 - DH 88 - DH 89 - DH 90 - DH 91 - DH 92

Related lists

List of aircraft of the RAF