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Information About

De Havilland Dragon Rapide




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.


Military Operators

  • Australia, Spain, United Kingdom (Fleet Air Arm, Royal Air Force), United States.



SPECIFICATIONS (DRAGON RAPIDE)


  plane Or Copter plane
  jet Or Prop prop
  crew 2
  capacity 8 passengers
  length Main 34 ft 6 in
  length Alt 105 m
  span Main 48 ft 0 in
  span Alt 146 m
  height Main 10 ft 3 in
  height Alt 31 m
  area Main 340 ft&2
  area Alt 316 m&2
  empty Weight Main 3,230 lb
  empty Weight Alt 1,460 kg
  loaded Weight Main 5,500 lb
  loaded Weight Alt 2,490 kg
  max Takeoff Weight Main lb
  max Takeoff Weight Alt kg
  engine (prop) De Havilland Gipsy Six
  number Of Props 2
  power Main 200 hp
  power Alt 150 kW
  max Speed Main 157 mph at 1,000 ft
  max Speed Alt 253 km/h at 300 m
  range Main 573 mi
  range Alt 920 km
  ceiling Main 16,700 ft
  ceiling Alt 5,090 m
  climb Rate Main 867 ft/min
  climb Rate Alt 43 m/s
  loading Main lb/ft&sup2
  loading Alt kg/m&sup2
  power/mass Main hp/lb
  power/mass Alt kW/kg




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