De Havilland DH89 Dragon Rapide

[clarion]

There it was, in the sky over london.

The wing shape is as distinctive as a Spitfire's.  Elegant & lovely.

[Adam]

A real aircraft.  I flew in one from Duxford a couple of years ago.  The seats were very low down, so you had sit up straight to look out.

The Rapides were the height of luxury when they were introduced.

Lovely sound from the engines............

[pdm]

Truly beautiful craft...
I had the pleasure of inspecting one at a fly-in at Caledon in South Africa about 25 years ago. The pilot was also pretty good - he won the "bomb a marker on the runway with a bag of flower" competition - we did not even come close!

[Really Ancien]

The type of aircraft which carried Franco from the Canaries to Morroco.
http://www.secret-tenerife.com/2007/06/can-we-still-fly-to-tenerife-north.html
Don't tell MV or we'll have another Spanish Civil War thing on the go.
Although I do rather like this Spanish history channel explanation, which has echoes of Terry Gilliam's Monty Python animations.
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/gnhglMz-WXc&rel=1" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/v/gnhglMz-WXc&rel=1</a>

Damon.

[hazeii]

Blimey - didn't happen to be heading for Shoreham, did it?

There were a bunch of us riding on the South Downs, but try as I might no-one else seems interested in the very unusual biplane burbling slowly past overhead.

[Séamas M.]

Tsk! Couldn't you have found a picture of one with a British registration? 

[Aidan]

I flew in the one at Duxford as well. A real experience.

[PaulF]

Beautiful aeroplane. Bit tenuous but a neighbour of my ex-wife's parents has an airstrip. Same neighbour also has a friend with a DH89 who came to visit and allowed me to crawl over it. Didn,t get a flight though

[Martin]

I don't get the Spanish video; looks like a modern version of the Skye boat song (but very Gilliam-esque; BTW saw Time Bandits for the 1st time last week, what a crock of shite); wasn't Franco a bit of an arsehole?

[TheLurker]

I believe there're a couple of Rapides that fly out of Kemble and, if you've ever got the time, the Science Museum's large object store at Wroughton (just S of Swindon) has a (non-flying) DH Dragon.

<edit>
http://www.aeroflight.co.uk/mus/uk/u-z/wroughton.htm
</edit>

[Tom B]

Is it the one that appeared in the Torchwood episode 'Out of Time'?

Super pics and youtubes, everyone   

[pcolbeck]

wasn't Franco a bit of an arsehole?

You generally find that most evil fascist dictators are.

[Martin]

wasn't Franco a bit of an arsehole?

You generally find that most evil fascist dictators are.

that's what I thought; just that the theme of the video with its Greensleeves music seemed rather sympathetic when perhaps Imperial March from The Empire Strikes Back might have been more appropriate

[clarion]

Didn't know about the taint of the Franco business.  For me, it's still the epitome of flying with style..

[Tourist Tony]

I don't know if they still have it, but one used to do scenic flights over Snowdonia

[pdm]

The last time I went past Caernarfon airport, I did not see the Rapide in service. I did notice they were using a high wing single engine aircraft for their flights.....

[alecstilleyedye]

i think there's one in the manchester museum of sci and tech. lovely looking plane.

[Jakob]

I got about 10 hours in the DH82a...

[Martin]

I did notice they were using a high wing single engine aircraft for their flights.....

That was what we went on in 1997

[nuttycyclist]

I don't know if they still have it, but one used to do scenic flights over Snowdonia

Possibly about to end I fear 

There's a Dakota farewell tour mentioned in my local paper as the new "rules" for pasenger carrying aircraft can't be met.  As from "soon" all passenger carrying aircraft need to be fitted with escape chutes and oxygenmasks - that can't be met on the Dakota due to impracticality and cost.  BUT!!!!   The plane can't fly high enough to require oxygen, and the exit door is only 4 feet from the ground so no escape chute is required.   

If the Dragon falls into the same boat, as I fear it will, no more passenger flights will be possible.


I bloody hate paperwork, bureaucracy, and the "one solution fits all" approach. 

[Séamas M.]

This is the last year for Dakotas in Europe, but I think the Rapides are OK due to lower weight and/or lower passenger capacity.  Anyway, Air Atlantique are still taking bookings for both. 

[nuttycyclist]

Yes Air Atlantique are taking bookings from both, but as you'll see from that website this year is the final year of the Dakota 

European Regulations have prevented the plane carrying passengers after July 16th 2008 

[Mr Larrington]

I don't know if they still have it, but one used to do scenic flights over Snowdonia

Likewise over Lands End, though the last time I looked at the sky in those parts was 1975...

[Tourist Tony]

A bit like the situation with the old buses in Malta...

[orienteer]

My first flying experience was in one of these from St Just airfield (near Lands End) to the Scilly Isles in the late 1950s, before they introduced the helicopter service from Penzance.

It seemed to take off by taxiing across the grass and over the edge of the cliff!