Aeroplane, Dragon

This aeroplane, a Dragon, was built in 1942 by De Havilland at Bankstown Aerodrome at Sydney in Australia. It was delivered to the Royal Australian Air Force in 1942 and was used mainly for the training of navigators. After being released from RAAF service, it was used between 1962 and 1967 for Christian missionary work. It was later sold to the Strathallan Collection and in 1980 was bought by the Museum. It is pictured here in the Australian outback.

The six-seater biplane has two de Havilland Gipsy Major engines of 130 horsepower each. It had a maximum speed of 128 mph and a range of 460 miles.

The De Havilland Dragon was one of the most successful pre-World War II medium-range passenger airliners. Following the success of the Fox Moth of 1932, de Havilland met the increasing demand for a larger, longer-range passenger aircraft with a twin engined high-aspect-ratio, two bay biplane - the Dragon. In its production form the aircraft could accommodate six passengers in reasonable comfort and the folding wings made storage more economical. The prototype Dragon flew at the end of 1932. A significant number of the uprated Dragon - the Dragon Rapide - are still flying today.

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