Aeroplane September 2017

94 http://www.aeroplanemonthly.com AEROPLANE SEPTEMBER 2017

INSIGHTS DE HAVILLAND DRAGON

A

my Mollison recalled

in 1939 her earlier

flying for Hillman’s

Airways: “Day after

day, in all weathers, I turned

up in the morning to fly the

9am service to Paris with full

loads of six passengers and

baggage in a DH twin-

engined Dragon plane. I was

in sole charge of the aircraft

and used a wireless telephony

set to communicate with

Croydon and Le Bourget. With

no blind-flying instruments

such as we know them today,

and with only telephonic radio

communication, no directional

wireless, and no blind-landing

apparatus, some of those

crossings were far more

hazardous than my passengers

ever guessed. However, two

completely reliable engines

saved us from trouble.”

When Amy christened the

first Dragon in Hillman’s

service on 20 December 1932,

a Flight correspondent

recorded their experience of a

subsequent press trip: “We

had the pleasure of a short

flight in the Dragon on this

occasion, and were very

favourably impressed with the

comfort afforded. It is

definitely quieter than a Puss

Moth and very comfortable

indeed. In whatever part of

the cabin the passengers sit,

they get a reasonably good

view, in fact, better than one

would at first imagine

possible, bearing in mind the

twin-engined arrangement.

The cabin is so quiet that

speech is quite possible

without raising the voice

unduly, while the upholstery of

the inside should prove as

durable as it is comfortable

and practical. Adequate

arrangements are provided for

the introduction of fresh air

and also for keeping the cabin

warm”. This author,

incidentally, can confirm that

the Dragon is still a

comfortable and enjoyable

conveyance in the 21st

century.

“From the pilot’s point of

view”, the report went on,

“the Dragon must be

considered an excellent

machine for commercial

purposes. The outlook is

unrestricted in all directions,

and, in fact, cannot be better,

while Mr H. Woods, the chief

pilot of Hillman’s Airways, told

us that he finds the Dragon

admirable to fly. From a

maintenance point of view it is

also very accessible.”

‘PONTIUS’ PILOTS

THE DH84

A pilot’s report on the Dragon

was published in The

Aeroplane on 16 August 1933,

under the nom de plume of

‘Pontius’, and it was a

remarkable write-up. “I

suspect that the average pilot

thinks of the multi-engine

aeroplane as a Higher Mystery,

like slide-rules or money-

making”, the anonymous

aviator wrote. “Let them try

the Dragon. Nothing could be

simpler, easier or more

self-explanatory.

“Sitting in the pilot’s seat

the petrol taps and the

switches obviously belong to

their appropriate engines. The

instruments are those of the

ordinary aeroplane, and are

clearly seen, although the

compass might be raised

nearer the Reid and Sigrist

turn-indicator. RPM indicators

and oil pressure gauges are

clearly visible on the engine-

housings. A generous tail

adjustment wheel with trim

indicator provides a very

sensitive and excellent

adjustment, necessary with the

great variations of load which

can be accommodated in the

cabin. Two segmented

windows open cunningly.

“The take-off is short, full

control is available straight

away, and there is a marked

absence of tendency to swing.

I tried taking off with one

engine throttled well back and

still kept perfectly straight...

Flying light we reached 1,000ft

in exactly 50 seconds from

opening the throttles. There

was no difficulty in

synchronising the engines, as

the throttles very sensibly have

a wide angle of movement.

The aeroplane can rapidly be

trimmed to fly ‘hands off’, and

could be left for many seconds

‘feet off’ as well. The view in

the air is not good, it is

magnificent.

“The controls are the best I

have ever used on an

aeroplane of this size, and

better than a number of light

aeroplanes. I was sorely

tempted to acrobat a little, but

did not know what

accumulators and loose stuff

were aboard. Steeper turns

can be made, effortlessly, than

is usual, and a few level stalls

showed perfect control

harmony. We turned freely

against either engine in our

light condition. We took the

opportunity of a cloud layer to

fly blind for 10 minutes, and

found no vice but a good deal

of virtue in this respect.

“Incipient spins to left and

right showed that the

aeroplane really would stall, in

extremis, which seemed

almost surprising after the

rather searching but

uneventful ‘errors of

judgement’ which I

deliberately perpetuated. Spin

recovery is positive and

instantaneous. There is aileron

control up to and even into

the spin, which is a very fine

testimonial.”

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS:

Thanks to Maurice Austin and

Phil Vabre of the Airways

Museum, Monica Walsh of the

RAAF Museum Archive, Geoff

Goodall, and Stan Smith,

operator of New Zealand’s

airworthy Dragon.

A delight to fly

LEFT: The first Dragon delivered

to Hillman’s Airways, G-ACAN

Maylands, as christened by Amy

Mollison in December 1932.

AEROPLANE

A very elegant, unmarked,

Dragon II — possibly the initial

such example, G-ACMC, before

it was registered. AEROPLANE

81-94_AM_DATABASE-Sept17_cc C.indd 94 31/07/2017 11:15