de Havilland | International Aviation HQ

28May

By Alya KulikovaNo Comments

Aircraft Digest

How The de Havilland Dove Became a British Aviation Icon

Background Founded in 1920 by veteran aircraft designer Sir Geoffrey de Havilland, de Havilland Aircraft originally made its fortune making one and two-seat biplane trainers under their now-famous Moth line. By the mid-1930's, however, de Havilland had expanded away from just producing biplane trainers, releasing a slew of single and two-engine biplane airliners like DH.83 Fox Moth and DH.84 Dragon. The company's most successful airliner - the DH.89 Dragon Rapide - wasn't released until the summer of 1934. As versatile as it was popular, the Dragon Rapide was as popular with foreign airlines as it was British ones. With the outbreak of WWII, Britain pressed its civil aircraft into military service for the war effort, including the Dragon Rapide where it was known as the Domi...

28Jul

By Alexander Pask4 Comments

History

Remembering Hawker Siddeley: The Rise (And Fall) of Britain’s Aviation Powerhouse

Whilst a giant from the day it was founded until the day it ceased trading, Hawker Siddeley were one of Britain's preeminent aircraft manufacturers, arguably being the largest in Britain during the 1960's and 1970's. Yet, for most of its existence, Hawker Siddeley didn't produce aircraft under its own name - instead letting its subsidiaries produce their own aircraft under their own name. It was only in the mid-1960's when Hawker Siddeley began making its own aircraft! (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Pre-Hawker Siddeley: Hawker Aircraft In June 1912, Thomas Sopwith, a wealthy British sportsman with an interest in aviation, established the Sopwith Aviation Company with the help of Fred Sigrist, an aircraft engineer and Sopwith's close friend. ...

Remembering de Havilland: The Rise And Fall of a British Aviation Powerhouse!

30Jun

By Alexander Pask5 Comments

History

Remembering de Havilland: The Rise And Fall of a British Aviation Powerhouse!

Today, at least in Britain, the name "de Havilland" is synonymous with aviation. Indeed, throughout its existence, the de Havilland Aircraft Company was one of the most prestigious British aircraft manufacturers, behind only its parent company: Hawker Siddeley. Despite having once been one of the largest aircraft manufacturers of its time, the company hasn't existed for almost 60 years, with very few people outside the avgeek community even remembering their name... (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Before The de Havilland Aircraft Company In 1907, Geoffrey de Havilland borrowed £1,000 (£125,000 adjusted for inflation) from his maternal grandfather as an advance on his inheritance. Using this money, and the next two years of his life, Geoffrey bu...

De Havilland Comet: The First Jet Airliner You’d Never Want to Fly on

17Jul

By Christopher HarrowNo Comments

Aircraft Digest

De Havilland Comet: The First Jet Airliner You’d Never Want to Fly on

In 1952, British aircraft manufacturer de Havilland shocked the world. They released the de Havilland Comet, the world's first jet airliner. This single aircraft revolutionized the aviation industry, with it never being the same again! Despite this, you would never want to fly on a Comet! But why exactly is that? (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Pre-Comet Prior to the Comet, jet aircraft were only relatively new. In 1930, Frank Whittle had invented the jet engine. These engines were first used on military fighter jets, designed during WWII, although entering fairly late. All commercial aircraft prior to the Comet had been piston-driven, with the most common long-range airliner being the Lockheed Constellation. Other long range aircraft like th...